Revealed: Gaza ‘collaborators’ making new lives inside Israel
EXCLUSIVE: Former mayor of Sderot reveals that Palestinians who once lived in Gaza have now made their home in the Israeli border town
Jenni Frazer is a freelance journalist
The former mayor of an Israeli town near the Gaza border has revealed that it is also home to the families of 17 Palestinian collaborators – and the locals are absolutely fine with it.
Speaking to Jewish News during a recent visit to Sderot, the Negev town that takes the brunt of rocket attacks from Gaza, the former mayor revealed that collaborators who once lived in Gaza have now made their home here.
The collaborators – Israel’s eyes and ears in the Strip – were later extracted, said former mayor Dr David Bouskila, and both Sderot residents and the ex-collaborators are more than comfortable with the situation.
“They use the same names as they had in Gaza,” he said. “They work in our factories. Their children go to the same schools as our children. They feel part of the community.” At least one family is Dr Bouskila’s neighbour, he added.
The startling revelation follows a month of rising violence, after a rocket fired from the strip flew 75 miles and hit a house near Tel Aviv, injuring seven family members. Israel retaliated with airstrikes, destroying terrorist buildings and infrastructure.
It has long been known that Israeli agencies recruit Palestinians to report on – and disrupt – terror operations against Israel, but news that the families of 17 one-time Gazan collaborators now live and work in Sderot is nevertheless striking.
All those who worked with Israel were brought out of the Gaza Strip when it withdrew from the area in 2005, and the men and their families were sent to a number of Israeli towns, including Netivot, Ashkelon, and Ashdod.
Everyone in Sderot was aware of the situation, Dr Bouskila maintained. “These people were brought out of Gaza and initially the IDF rented housing for them, but today the government pays for them.”
He added: “They don’t have Israeli citizenship – their status is between citizenship and a local licence – but they have the same rights as we do, in welfare and education.”
Dr Bouskila said Sderot residents were “very comfortable” with the presence of the Gazans. “They helped Israel fight against terrorists in Gaza,” he said. He was unaware of any more recent arrivals from the Gaza Strip, but believed that many places in Israel were now new homes for the men who had — often at great risk — co-operated with Israel. “Now they feel safe,” he declared.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
