Netzarim (settlement)
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The
Israeli settlement of
Netzarim was originally established in 1972 as a non-religious "Hashomer Hatzair"
Nachal (Young Pioneer) outpost and morphed into a religious
kibbutz in
1984 (the residents decided to change from a kibbutz to a village a few years later). The sixty family village included about 150 adults and 350 children and was often referred to in the media as a stronghold for religious
ideology. The main branches of agriculture were: a mango plantation, a vineyard, hothouse yams and cherry tomatoes, and a prestigious
etrog plantation. The settlement also boasted day care centers, kindergartens, a primary school, a
kollel and the Jews of Gaza Heritage Institute, which documented Jewish settlement in Gaza over the generations. The development of educational institutions independent from the
Gush Katif bloc was due to its isolated location and frequent
Palestinian terror attacks on civilians using the only route connecting the village to 'mainland' Israel. During the last several years of its existence, transportation to and from Netzarim was permitted only with armed military escorts.
The first attack of the second intifada happened there on September 27, 2000.
The settlement was the last to be evacuated on August 22, 2005 by the Israel Defense Forces during the withdrawal of the Gaza Strip ordered by the government of Ariel Sharon. Its evacuation marked the end of the 38-year-long Israeli presence on the Gaza Strip since the end of the Six-Day War. The strong ideology and belief of its residents in God was exhibited until the very end by seedlings being planted in the greenhouses, cement being laid for a new home that very morning, and a large prayer session in the main synagogue that would later be destroyed by Palestinians after the Israeli army finally withdrew from the village on September 12, 2005.
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