Kerem Atzmona
Encyclopedia
Kerem Atzmona was an unauthorized Israeli outpost in the Gush Katif
settlement bloc, located in the south-west edge of the Gaza Strip
, and evacuated as part of Israel's unilateral disengagement plan
of 2005. The village
, founded on Tu Bishvat
in 2001, was located adjacent to the settlement of Bnei Atzmon
.
The history of Kerem Atzmona starts prior to the outbreak of the Al-Aqsa Intifada
. Between the settlements of Morag
and Bnei Atzmon, within Gush Katif, lied several thousand dunams of unused land that until a decade earlier had been a vineyard (kerem in Hebrew translates to vineyard) of Bnei Atzmon. In the summer of 2000, second generation children of the settlement decided to hold a summer camp on the plateau which is sixty meters above sea level. A few months later in the fall, before the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashana (and before the October 2000 riots), two families decided to move to the site and live in a trailer. The following spring, more families decided to move to the location and took up residence in additional trailers that were installed on the site. At the beginning of this venture, financial and logistical support came from the community of Bnei Atzmon, but eventually the residents themselves became independent and took administrative control of that neighbourhood-turned-settlement. Along with the living quarters, a synagogue
, a mikveh for men, and a children's playground were built. Plans for adding a nursery were already finalized, and a master plan for an expansion along with permanent housing was in development at the time of evacuation.
The settlement was never legally recognized by the Israeli government.
The 20 families of Kerem Atzmon were evicted on August 17, 2005 by the Israeli Army and Israeli Police. The trailers and other structures were destroyed and the area was later transferred to the Palestinians.
Gush Katif
Gush Katif was a bloc of 17 Israeli settlements in the southern Gaza strip. Gush Katif was specifically mentioned by Yitzhak Rabin, the Israeli prime minister who fell victim to an assassin in 1995, as essential to Israel's security border. In August 2005, the Israeli army moved the 8,600...
settlement bloc, located in the south-west edge of the Gaza Strip
Gaza Strip
thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...
, and evacuated as part of Israel's unilateral disengagement plan
Israel's unilateral disengagement plan
Israel's unilateral disengagement plan , also known as the "Disengagement plan", "Gaza expulsion plan", and "Hitnatkut", was a proposal by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, adopted by the government on June 6, 2004 and enacted in August 2005, to evict all Israelis from the Gaza Strip and from...
of 2005. The village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
, founded on Tu Bishvat
Tu Bishvat
Tu Bishvat or Tu B'Shevat is a minor Jewish holiday, occurring on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shevat . It is also called "The New Year of the Trees" or...
in 2001, was located adjacent to the settlement of Bnei Atzmon
Bnei Atzmon
Bnei Atzmon was an Israeli settlement founded in 1979 in the Yamit region of the Sinai peninsula as a response to Camp David Accords, which promoted trading territory for peace...
.
The history of Kerem Atzmona starts prior to the outbreak of the Al-Aqsa Intifada
Al-Aqsa Intifada
The Second Intifada, also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada and the Oslo War, was the second Palestinian uprising, a period of intensified Palestinian-Israeli violence, which began in late September 2000...
. Between the settlements of Morag
Morag, Gaza
Morag was a moshav and an Israeli settlement in Gush Katif, in the south-west edge of the Gaza Strip, evacuated in Israel's disengagement of 2005....
and Bnei Atzmon, within Gush Katif, lied several thousand dunams of unused land that until a decade earlier had been a vineyard (kerem in Hebrew translates to vineyard) of Bnei Atzmon. In the summer of 2000, second generation children of the settlement decided to hold a summer camp on the plateau which is sixty meters above sea level. A few months later in the fall, before the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashana (and before the October 2000 riots), two families decided to move to the site and live in a trailer. The following spring, more families decided to move to the location and took up residence in additional trailers that were installed on the site. At the beginning of this venture, financial and logistical support came from the community of Bnei Atzmon, but eventually the residents themselves became independent and took administrative control of that neighbourhood-turned-settlement. Along with the living quarters, a synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
, a mikveh for men, and a children's playground were built. Plans for adding a nursery were already finalized, and a master plan for an expansion along with permanent housing was in development at the time of evacuation.
The settlement was never legally recognized by the Israeli government.
The 20 families of Kerem Atzmon were evicted on August 17, 2005 by the Israeli Army and Israeli Police. The trailers and other structures were destroyed and the area was later transferred to the Palestinians.