Gaza Strip Israeli Settlements

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Main article: Israeli settlement

The Gaza Strip Israeli Settlements were 21 communities built by Israel in the territory of the Gaza Strip captured in the 1967 Six-Day War. These settlements were abandoned in 2005 as part of Israel's unilateral disengagement plan.

[edit] The settlements

The 21 settlements in the Gaza strip were

• Bedolah
• Bnei Atzmon (Atzmona)
• Dugit
• Elei Sinai
• Gadid
• Gan Or
• Ganei Tal
• Katif
• Kfar Darom
• Kfar Yam
• Kerem Atzmona
• Morag
• Neveh Dekalim
• Netzarim
• Netzer Hazani
• Nisanit
• Pe'at Sade
• Rafiah Yam
• Slav
• Shirat Hayam
• Tel Katifa

[edit] History

[edit] Pre-1967

Kfar Darom was an Israeli community within Gush Katif in the Gaza Strip. It was founded on 250 dunam (250,000 m²) of land purchased in 1930 by Tuvia Miller for a fruit orchard on the site of an ancient Jewish settlement of the same name mentioned in the Talmud. Following the Arab riots of 1936-1939, Miller deeded his land to the Jewish National Fund. A community was established on the land in 1946 by the Hapoel Mamizrachi kibbutz movement. In the summer of 1948, the community was withdrawn following a three month siege by the Egyptian army during the Israeli War of Independence.

[edit] Following the Six Day War

The first of the post war settlements was Morag, which was first established on May 29, 1972 as a pioneer Nahal military outpost, and then demilitarized and turned over to residential purposes in 1983

[edit] The disengagement

On July 13, 2005, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon signed the closure order of Gush Katif, making the area a closed military zone. From that point on, only residents who presented Israeli ID cards with their registered address in Gush Katif were permitted to enter. Permits for 24-48 hours were given to select visitors for a few weeks before the entire area was completely sealed off to non-residents. Despite this ban, supporters of Gush Katif managed to sneak in by foot through fields and dirt. Estimates range from a few hundred to a few thousand people were there illegally at this time. At one point, Sharon was ready to send in the border police (Magav) to remove non-residents, but decided against it because the manpower requirement would have been too great.

At midnight between August 14 and 15, the Kissufim crossing was shut down, and the Gaza Strip became officially closed for entrance by Israelis. The evacuation in agreement continued after midnight of the August 17, for the settlers who ask an extension for packing their things.

On August 17, the first forced evacuation of settlers, as part of the disengagement, commenced under Maj. Gen. Dan Harel of the Southern Command's orders. About 14,000 Israeli soldiers and police prepared to forcibly evacuate settlers and "mistanenim" (infiltrators).

On August 22, Netzarim was peacefully evacuated by the Israeli military. [1] This officially marked the end of the 38-year-long Israeli presence on the Gaza Strip, although demolition crews continued to work there, and the official handover was planned to occur some weeks later.

[edit] Population

At their height, the total population of these settlements was about 8,000 people.

[edit] Motivation for settlements

A number of reasons are cited from both sides for the establishment of settlements.

• Palestinians argue that the policy of settlements constitute an effort to pre-empt or even sabotage a peace treaty that includes Palestinian sovereignty, and claim that the settlements are built on land that belongs to Palestinians [2] [3].
• Israeli governments on the left and right have argued that the settlements were of strategic and tactical importance. The location of the settlements was primarily chosen based on the threat of an attack by the bordering hostile country of Egypt and possible routes of advance into Israeli population areas.
• Supporters of the settlements argue that the settlements are of strategic and tactical importance to Israel's security.[4][5][6][7][8]
• Many Israelis, assert the historical Jewish connection to at least some of the areas in dispute, arguing that their claim is at least equal to that of the Palestinians.
• Many religious Jews, assert the biblical Jewish connection to the areas in dispute, arguing that their claim to build is equal to the biblical Jewish connection to the other areas in Israel.
• According to IDF information, the five Jewish settlements were constructed in order to disrupt the Arab territorial contiguity-- symbolized as 'a five finger print' on the Gaza Strip with each settlement and the road serving it being under Israeli control similar to a hand placed on the map. But after the Sinai relocation, a large settlement was constructed between the 3rd and 4th fingers uniting the two into one block, called Gush Katif. The 5th finger was lost upon peace with Egypt.[9]

The settlers themselves have varying reasons for choosing to reside where they do. While some live in the territories out of religious and/or political idealism and the lower price of rural real estate, others were attracted by tax incentives that were given, in general, to Israelis living in rural, periphery areas, but these were revoked entirely in 2003. [10][11]

[edit] References

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