Jerusalem, 7 July, 2024 (TPS) -- The Israeli government approved two different development plans for settlements of Israel’s Druze and Circassian communities located in the Galilee, Carmel (near Haifa) and the Golan Heights.
The new Galilee and Carmel communities were allocated 385 million Shekels ($104.15 million) in funding, and the Druze settlements in the Golan Heights were allocated 58 million Shekels ($15.7 million).
The Circassians are a Christian ethnic community whose ancestors immigrated to the area from the Caucuses after a genocide almost wiped out their entire population. The Druze are an Arab ethnic group who, like Jews, are both a nation of people and their own religion. They live in the north of Israel, the south of Syria and in southern Lebanon, but claim no territory as their own and serve in the Israeli military.
The new plans are in addition to ones already promoted since the outbreak of the war against Hamas terrorists in Gaza and include: