Gush Katif
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Gush Katif (also Gush Katiff, Hebrew: גוש קטיף) was a block of Israeli settlements in the southern Gaza Strip.
Gush Katif was evacuated in August 2005; see Disengagement Plan.
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Settlements in Gush Katif
- Bedolah בדולח (lit. Crystal)
- Bene Atzmon בני עצמון
- Gadid גדיד (lit. picking of palm tree fruits)
- Gan Or גן אור (lit. Garden of light)
- Ganei Tal גני טל (lit. Gardens of dew)
- K'far Yam כפר ים (lit. Village of sea)
- Kerem Atzmona כרם עצמונה
- Morag מורג (lit. Harvest scythe)
- Neve Dekalim נוה דקלים (lit. Palm tree Oasis)
- Netzer Hazani נצר חזני
- Pe'at Sade פאת שדה (lit. the edge of the field)
- Katif קטיף (lit. harvest, picking of flowers)
- Rafiah Yam רפיח ים
- Shirat ha-Yam שירת הים (lit. Singing of the Sea)
- Selav שליו(lit. Quail)
- Tel Katifa תל קטיפא
The Gush Katif settlements are concentrated in one block in the south-west edge of the Gaza Strip and are surrounded by fence.
In addition to Gush Katif, there are three Israeli settlements at the north edge of the Gaza Strip (Ele Sinay, Dugit and Nisanit), and two more near its center (Netzarim and Kfar Darom).
Geography
Gush Katif was located in the south edge of the Gaza Strip, along the Mediterranean Sea coast. The main road between Gush Katif and the outside of the Gaza Strip ("Israel proper") is through the Kissufim junction. The main road which connects Gush Katif with Kfar Darom and Netzarim (known as "Tencher Road") strays from south-to-north.
Demography
Gush Katif had about 8000 residents, many of them religious Jews (see: Religious Zionism and Mafdal) and the rest secular Jews.
The Gush area also included several hundred Muslim families, mostly of Bedouin heritage who lived in peaceful relations with their Jewish neighbors.
See also: Israeli settlement/Gaza Strip Israeli Population Statistics.
Controversy
Gush Katif was located in the Gaza Strip, part of the territories taken over by Israel in 1967 during the Six Day War.
In Israeli public opinion, the settlements in the Gaza Strip, especially Gush Katif, were not unanimously accepted and many had questioned in public the benefit of settling population in the region. Some claimed, as reserve soldiers who served in Gaza Strip had also testified, that in some settlements only a few houses were occupied. Late ex-Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, referring to this, insisted that Nezarim was not a "real" settlement but rather a "ghost" settlement, and stated that "If Netzarim is a settlement, I am a Kugellager" (ball-bearing). According to the Foundation for Middle East Peace, the population of Nezarim stood at 297 in 1999 and had grown to 432 by 2003, see [1]. Many of those who opposed the Gaza withdrawal plan viewed the Gush Katif settlements as belonging to the Land of Israel, and asserted that they enhance Israel's security by preventing heavy bombardment of long-range Katyusha rockets on Israeli towns such as Sderot and Ashkelon.
At the end of 2004, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon announced plans to evacuate Gush Katif, despite significant opposition from within the Likud party and its coalition partner, the NRP (Mafdal). See main article: Israel's unilateral disengagement plan of 2004.
On July 13 2005, the Gush Katif region was closed to non-residents, in keeping with the plan to evacuate the Gush.
Economy
In the Katif Bloc’s unique hothouses, using the most advanced technology, leafy vegetables and herbs were grown, all bug-free, answering to the strictest health, aesthetic and religious requirements. Most of the chemical-free organic agricultural products were exported to Europe. In addition, the community of Atzmona had Israel’s largest plant nursery, and the Katif dairy, with 800 cows, was the second largest in Israel.
The total sum of exports from the greenhouses of Gush Katif came to $200,000,000 per year and made up 15% of the agricultural exports of the State of Israel.
The combined assets in Gush Katif were estimated at $23 Billion.
Of Israel’s total exports abroad, Gush Katif exported:
- 95% of bug-free lettuce and greens
- 70% of organic vegetables
- 60% of cherry tomatoes
- 60% of geraniums to Europe.
Terror attacks on Gush Katif
Although the Gush Katif settlements and the roads leading to it were guarded by the Israeli Army, settlers were still vulnerable to terrorist attacks.
Since the beginning of the al-Aqsa Intifada, Gush Katif settlements saw thousands of attacks by Palestinian terrorists. More than 5,800 mortar shells and Qassam rockets were launched over Gush Katif, causing mostly property damage with a few fatalities; a fact which the residents attribute to God's supervision (i.e., a miracle). Most of the ground terror attacks were infiltrations and shooting attacks. In one of these attacks, three Palestinian children, aged 14, 12 and 8–10, infiltrated a settlement and tried to stab unarmed Jewish children. There were also attempts to infiltrate by sea.
Palestinian attacks on Israeli vehicles traveling on the Kissufim road were very common. In one of these attacks, Palestinian terrorists killed a pregnant mother and her four daughters. In another, a schoolbus was bombed, leaving two dead and several maimed children.
Many of the ground attacks on Gush Katif were thwarted by the Israeli Defence Forces.
See also
- Gaza strip
- Terrorism against Israelis
- Israeli settlements
- Israeli settlement/Gaza Strip Israeli Population Statistics
- Israel's unilateral disengagement plan of 2004
- Religious Zionism
- Occupied territories
- Israeli-occupied territories
