by Hillel Fendel Shevat 8, 5769 / February 2, '09 http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/129736
(IsraelNN.com) The third of three new towns to be built in the Lachish region for long-waiting Gush Katif expellees has received final approval. Expected move-in time: August 2011.
The Lachish region is located in the northern Negev, between Kiryat Gat and southern Judea. Two years ago – a year and a half after the expulsion from Gush Katif and Northern Shomron – the construction or expansion of seven new communities were given initial government approval. As of today, one of them has been shelved, while the other six are on their way to fruition.
Three totally new towns are to be built:
- Mirsham, which will be called Neta, is to be populated by 20 expelled families of Kfar Darom and 30 expelled families from Tel Katifa. They are currently living in temporary housing - upgraded caravans - in Shomeriya and Shekef, respectively. The plans call for a total of 350 families in Neta.
- Slightly to the north is Chazan, on which will be built a new town called Bnei Dekalim. It will initially be populated by some 80 expelled families from N’vei Dekalim – the largest Gush Katif town - who are currently living in temporary housing in Ein Tzurim. The plans call for a total of 500 families in Bnei Dekalim.
- Yet further to the north is Charuv, to be called Kerem Ami, and which is to be populated by some 30 religious and non-religious families. The families are not from Gush Katif, and they have been living in Shekef for the past five years. The plans call for a total of 220 families in Kerem Ami.
Perpetuating the Green Line?
Eliraz is sensitive to the charge that the establishment of new towns just outside southern Judea detracts from the settlement enterprise in Judea and Samaria. “This is the first time in recent memory that the religious-Zionist community is involved in a settlement enterprise in what is called ‘smaller Israel,’” Eliraz says. “There have been those who have criticized us for our indirect involvement in replacing Yesha-type settlements with towns inside the Green Line, and for giving young couples another option outside Yesha (Judea and Samaria). But certainly the government was very instrumental in determining the location of the new towns - and not to mention that the residents themselves can hardly be blamed, at this stage in their lives, for hesitating to move to yet another outside-the-consensus location.”
Two More New Gush Katif Towns
The Lachish region also has two other concentrations of Gush Katif expellees, in the existing communal settlements of Amatzia and Shomeriya. The first group comprises some 50 families from Gush Katif’s Moshav Katif, who currently live in temporary housing aside the 80 families of the existing Moshav Amatzia. The two populations will continue to be neighbors, though they will have distinct secretariats, both recognized by the Interior Ministry.
The second group is some 75 families – mostly from the former Gush Katif town of Atzmona – who will continue to live in Shomeriya; work on their permanent houses there has just barely begun. The fewer than 20 veteran families who still lived in Shomeriya three years ago were “bought out” by the government, but their small houses are not suitable for the large families that were so representative of Gush Katif.
The existing town of Shekef, which has been home to two groups of future Lachish-regions settlers for the past 3-5 years, will also be expanded, according to the current plans.
Ganei Tal and Netzer Hazani
Two other groups of Gush Katif expellees have also recently had their plans finalized, and hope to move into permanent homes within two years or so: The families of Ganei Tal, currently living in Yad Binyamin, are to build outside Kibbutz Chafetz Chaim, and those of Netzer Hazani, currently in Ein Tzurim, are to build their new town outside Yesodot.
Chafetz Chaim, Yad Binyamin and Yesodot are three religious towns roughly located along a west-east line west of Beit Shemesh.
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