“Israeli” Media: “Kiryat Shmona” in Dire Condition

By Al-Ahed News, Hebrew Media

“Israeli” enemy media continue to portray conditions in the northern settlements more than two years after fighting erupted there. The “Israeli” Channel 14’s website reported today that the reality in the illegal settlement of “Kiryat Shmona” remains harsh, with the town struggling to get back on its feet and return to the rhythm of life it knew on the eve of the fighting.

The site quoted Orly Hurf, a resident of the settlement, as saying:

“‘Kiryat Shmona” has not been the same since the war. There is no livelihood, no culture, no education, no health care. The ‘city’ is shut down — cafés close at five or six in the evening, shops shut their doors, and the shopping center is not operating as it did before.”

According to the report, about 25,000 settlers were living in “Kiryat Shmona” until October 2023. Since then, nearly a third of them have not returned to the settlement, choosing instead to remain where they were relocated during the war. Those who did return found a “city” in retreat: nearly empty streets, shops closing early, and a commercial center that has yet to resume full operation. Many apartments remain vacant or are being sold at low prices to buyers from outside the “city,” including “Arabs” who have begun settling there in recent years.

Settlers say this situation is not inevitable, but rather the result of ongoing failure. They accuse the city’s leadership of not fighting hard enough for “Kiryat Shmona” and blame the government for a lack of investment, resources and engines of growth.

Settlers also speak of the education system suffering from a severe shortage of staff, of recreational activities for children and youth being almost nonexistent and of the disappearance of the cultural life that once formed a central pillar of “Kiryat Shmona”.