JNF helps resettle Gaza evacuees
Two new Negev communities slated for families that were evacuated from Gush Katif during disengagement being established with help from Jewish National Fund-Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael; ‘the people who have experienced the ordeal of leaving their homes have not given up,’ head of the Eshkol Regional Council says
Ground was broken and the foundation was laid Wednesday at two new communities in the Negev Desert established for Gaza evacuees.
Halutzit 1 and Halutzit 4, located in the Halutza Sands in the southwest Negev on the Egyptian border, are being set up with the help of Jewish National Fund-Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael (JNF-KKL) and will become home to 3,500 people from the Gush Katif communities of Atzmona and Netzarim.
Back in June 2005, JNF responded to theIsraeli government's request for assistance following the disengagement from Gaza.
“Within 48 hours, JNF-KKL’s heavy machinery was at work at Moshav Mavki’im, which borders on Ashkelon’s southern industrial zone. There JNF-KKL created the infrastructure to move people in as soon as possible and set up greenhouses to replace those they left behind,” the organization said in a statement.
“Since then, hundreds of families evacuated from Gaza have already been moved with the help of JNF-KKL and the Or Movement to Shomriya, Haruv, Amatzia, Shekef, Yated, and Yavul in the Negev. Hundreds more will be moved as development of those new communities expands and the families can be accommodated.”
At Halutzit, ground was already prepared for nearly 100 hothouses that are standing filled with potatoes and organic produce. More than 400 acres have also been cleared for orchards and farming.
'Continue to practice Zionism'
According to the JNF, each community will have 300 plots, of which 100 will be combined farming and residential; the remaining will be strictly residential.
“As there is a severe lack of resources, we could never have achieved what we have thus far without the support and intense involvement of JNF-KKL,” said Uri Na’amati, head of the Eshkol Regional Council.
“The people from Gush Katif, who have experienced the ordeal of leaving their homes, have not given up. Instead, they continue to practice Zionism elsewhere in the Negev. Thanks to JNF-KKL Halutzit is the embodiment of the ethos that our generation absorbed at the feet of our elders: fulfillment, Zionism, solidarity, and initiative.”
“Ronald S. Lauder, president of JNF of America, said, “What stands out about the work we have done throughout our century of existence is our ability to focus on the important national missions. History has seen us respond to security concerns by building security roads, to droughts by building reservoirs, to preserving fragile ecosystems by planting trees and protecting open spaces. Once again we felt we had to provide a real response and act on behalf of the people of Israel. And we did.”
