The Ramat Negev Regional Council, which spans nearly a fifth of Israel’s territory, prepares to accommodate tens of thousands of evacuees in case of an escalation on the northern border. The plan includes the construction of a tent city and hundreds of beds and mattresses that have already been purchased.
The council anticipates that thousands of Israelis will evacuate to the Negev independently — "a move that will complicate managing the situation." The council noted, "For this reason, we’ve established an evacuee management unit aimed at aiding the incoming population."
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Regional council heads in meeting with Home Front Command personnel
(Photo: Ramat Negev Regional Council)
Neta Yagel, a resident of Kibbutz Sde Boker and head of the evacuee management unit, explained, "The unit includes representatives from the welfare, education, and health departments, as well as a representative from the IDF Home Front Command.”
Yagel said this would have to be a state-run effort. “The government will manage it, but we understand there might also be independent, uncontrolled evacuations. Each community will have a representative responsible for receiving the evacuees. This will allow us to create an organized registry of the evacuees and their details, and then address issues that must be seen to by the regional council."
The council's emergency headquarters conducted a drill simulating a scenario of mass evacuations two weeks ago. "We see it as our moral duty and privilege to welcome our brothers and sisters, who have become refugees in their own country," said council head Eran Doron.
"Evacuating thousands of people from the north is a realistic scenario, and it would have been better to prepare for it six months ago. I welcome the IDF Home Front Command’s practical efforts to address a very complex challenge that could happen at any moment."
However, there are still shortages of manpower and the ability to provide educational services to both evacuees and residents. A possible solution would be to recruit additional personnel from pre-military programs, soldier-teachers, veterans, students, and others.