By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

Nearly one million Israelis have reportedly obtained foreign passports in recent years as an insurance policy in the event of a comprehensive war.

There has been a significant increase in emigration from Israel, since the beginning of the year, reaching a level three times more than the emigration rates before the war, according to an Israeli media report.

Israel’s Maariv newspaper reported that the first seven months of the year witnessed the emigration of 40,000 Israelis, equivalent to three times the emigration rates before the war, as 2,000 more people emigrate monthly than the rates from previous years.

“The Israelis flee abroad. In the first seven months of the year, their number reached 40,600. In addition, each month this year there were an average of 2,200 more compared to the average in 2023,” the report said.

Israeli newspaper Maariv reports that this year has seen a significant increase in "reverse migration" from "Israel" to abroad. Compared to previous years, three times as many settlers have emigrated this year.

Additionally, over one million settlers have issued foreign… pic.twitter.com/tSRj0IKHUz

— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) October 12, 2024

Moreover, nearly one million Israelis have obtained foreign passports in recent years as an insurance policy in the event of a comprehensive war, the report added, noting that “the magic of Israel has expired in the eyes of some of the elites of the West.”

‘Brain Drain’

Regarding financial transfers abroad, the newspaper reported that Israelis transferred $7 billion abroad in deposits during the first seven months.

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The newspaper also described this as a “brain drain”, as the emigrants included doctors, scientists, pharmacists and high-tech experts who left after being presented with attractive offers to work for foreign companies.

“Among the long-term emigrants aged 20-90, approximately 54% have an education of 13 years or more, compared to 44% who have a similar education among the entire Israeli population,” according to Maariv.

Ongoing Genocide

Israel continues to defy a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire and has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza.

Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.

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According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health,  42,126 Palestinians have, to date, been killed, and 98,117 wounded. Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.

Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.

Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.

Forceful Displacement

The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.

Israel is Turning Gaza into ‘Uninhabitable Ruins’ – Doctors without Borders

The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety.

(MEMO, PC)