SURVEY: Almost half of the residents from northern Israel reporting PTSD
A new survey carried out by the Tel-Hai Academic College and Eshkol East Galilee revealed that 48% of the residents from the north of Israel who remained in place during the war reported post-traumatic symptoms. The study found that 90% of residents who remained in their homes are planning to continue living in their towns on the Israel-Lebanon border, compared to 60% of those who evacuated.
The study was conducted among residents of the Eastern Galilee and communities on the northern border. It included about 2,000 respondents. About 90% of the research participants identified themselves as Jews, and the rest self-identified as Druze, Muslim or Christian. Also, about 48% of the participants remained in their homes during the recent conflict, while the rest (about 52%) were evacuated or vacated independently from the area.
88% of the business owners reported a serious injury to their financial situation. 50% reported severe harm to their economic situation, described as having lost at least 50% of their income.
The majority of the respondents claimed that implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 would be the most effective solution to their security concerns. Resolution 1701 was unanimously approved by the UN Security Counci as a resolution to the 2006 Lebanon War. The resolution called for the disarmement of Hezbollah. Since the resolution was passed, Hezbollah has drastically increased its arsenal of rockets and its military manpower. After the 2006 war ended, Hezbollah amassed an arsenal of 150,000 rockets and missiles and has tens of thousands of fighters.
After the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, Hezbollah, Hamas, and other militant groups in southern Lebanon routinely fired rockets at Israeli cities and fired on IDF positions on the Israel-Lebanon border.
Benny Ben-Mobacher, the head of the Rosh Pina and chairman of Eshkol Galil Mizrahi, noted that the survey emphasized the need for a permanent security solution.
“The results of the study clearly illustrate that the residents of the Mizrahi Galilee do not intend to return to their homes until complete security is achieved in the area,” Ben-Mobacher said. “Community resilience is the basis of our lives. Along with the full confidence we have in the security forces, we demand a responsible military-political solution for the residents.”
“We have zero tolerance for temporary solutions, we as authorities and government officials have the responsibility to strengthen the residents, support them, and above all maintain their resilience and security.”
According to Dr. Ayala Cohen, a senior lecturer in the Department of Social Work who is heading the study together with Dr. Noam Cohen, evacuation is not a solution.
“The study presents a very worrying picture,” Dr. Cohen said. “The state tried through the evacuation to protect the personal safety of the residents of the area of conflict, but personal resilience is not based solely on personal security. It also consists of mental, emotional and spiritual resilience, which were probably greatly damaged as a result of being cut off from home, from the familiar environment, and from the supportive community.”
“The residents of the north face many difficulties of staying in hotel rooms for a long time and above all they are left with great uncertainty, when they are not clear what the future holds.”
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