The Israeli army’s radio reported on January 15, 2024, that the 36th Division, belonging to it, has withdrawn from the Gaza Strip, leaving 3 divisions (99, 162, and 98) stationed in the sector.
The Israeli army had previously announced the withdrawal of military units from the Gaza Strip in recent weeks. The withdrawn 36th Division includes the Golan Brigade, the Sixth, Seventh, and 188 Brigades, as well as the engineering corps, according to the Israel Today newspaper.
According to the Israeli newspaper, the decision to withdraw the division came “after the Israeli army evaluated the combat situation due to the need to maintain the efficiency of the forces.” It further explained, “Based on the Israeli army’s assessments of the combat situation, it was decided to introduce the division, which includes the Golan Brigade, the 188th Brigade, and the Seventh Brigade of the armoured corps, and a firefighting unit attached to the artillery corps and the reserve Atzmoni Brigade, into a period of significant preparation and activation.”
According to the site, the forces of the 36th Division are leaving the Gaza Strip to enter a period of renewal, training, and increased efficiency. Once this period is over, it will be decided based on evaluations whether they will continue their operational activity according to the requirements of the Israeli army’s operations.
The site added, “There are currently three combat divisions in the Gaza Strip, in addition to special forces, which continue to fight throughout the sector.”
In a related context, Haaretz newspaper stated on Monday that Israel had moved the “Duvdevan” special unit from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank amid concerns that the situation might deteriorate if Tel Aviv does not make decisions about the economic future of Palestinians in the West Bank.
According to the Hebrew newspaper, “Israeli security officials said the situation in the West Bank is on the verge of exploding,” against the backdrop of a problem related to clearance funds and the return of Palestinian workers from the West Bank to their jobs in Israel.
They also warned that if the Israeli political leadership does not make decisions about the economic future of Palestinians living in the West Bank, the risk of conflict will increase.
From the perspective of the Israeli army, withdrawing the special forces unit from Gaza represents a significant concession in the military effort, without specifying the number of unit members withdrawn from the sector.
Since the outbreak of the war on Gaza on October 7th last year, Israel has prevented Palestinian workers from the West Bank from entering Israel.
To avoid escalating tensions in the West Bank, the Israeli army and the Shin Bet security agency called for transferring the clearance funds to the Palestinian Authority and allowing workers from the West Bank to return to work in Israel.
Since the beginning of the war on Gaza, Israeli Finance Minister Avigdor Smotrich has announced his refusal to transfer the full clearance funds to the Palestinian Authority.
On January 10th of this year, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, during his meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, emphasized his country’s position that “all Palestinian tax revenues collected by Israel must be transferred continuously to the Palestinian Authority according to previous agreements.”
The Palestinian Authority relies heavily on “clearance funds,” which Israel collects on behalf of the Authority in exchange for Palestinian imports of imported goods.
Israel is supposed to transfer the funds to the Palestinian Authority monthly, with an average of 750-800 million shekels (about $190 million). Gaza’s share under normal circumstances is 270 million shekels (about $75 million), distributed to pay the salaries of Palestinian Authority employees in the sector and 100 million shekels to pay the fuel bill for the Gaza power station.
Overall, security tensions have also increased in the West Bank since the outbreak of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, with Tel Aviv intensifying its military operations in cities, towns, and camps in the West Bank, in addition to increasing incursions and arrests.
Since October 7, 2023, the Israeli army has been waging a devastating war on Gaza, causing until Monday “24,100 killed and 60,832 injured, most of them children and women, and displacing more than 85% of the population of the sector (equivalent to 1.9 million people),” according to the authorities in the sector and the United Nations.
