The evacuation of the former Jewish community of Morag during the 2005 Gaza withdrawal. Photo: Israel Defense Forces.

JNS.org — President-elect Donald Trump reportedly contributed money to help create new communities in Israel for settlers evacuated from the Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip.

Due to the high cost of the evacuation project during Israel’s 2005 unilateral withdrawal from Gaza, the Israeli government reportedly sought assistance from numerous Jewish organizations such as the Jewish National Fund (JNF).

“We issued an appeal to all Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael (KKL) and JNF offices worldwide,” said Effie Stenzler, former chairman of the JNF, Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported Tuesday.

“KKL-USA sought donations in the US and one of them was sought from Trump, who is considered to be an avowed supporter of Israel, and he donated money toward the establishment of infrastructure in new communities,” Stenzler added.

Further, Trump donated towards helping Jewish evacuees from the Sinai Peninsula in the early 1980s, when Israel pulled out of the region as a result of the peace treaty it signed with Egypt in 1979.

According to Yedioth Ahronoth, Trump’s name appears on a plaque honoring the donors in the Hevel Shalom region, which absorbed evacuees from the Sinai and Gaza. While the exact figure of Trump’s donation for settlement evacuees is not cited, it is estimated to amount to millions of Israeli shekels.