Dugit () was an

Israeli settlement Israeli settlements, also called Israeli colonies, are the civilian communities built by Israel throughout the Israeli-occupied territories. They are populated by Israeli citizens, almost exclusively of Israeli Jews, Jewish identity or ethni ...

located in the northern tip of the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...

closest to the shore of the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

in a mini-settlement bloc including Elei Sinai and Nisanit. While Dugit was under the

municipal A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the gov ...

authority of the Hof Aza Regional Council it was not physically in the

Gush Katif Gush Katif () was a bloc of 17 Israeli settlements in the southern Gaza Strip. In August 2005, the Israel Defense Forces removed the 8,600 Israeli residents from their homes after a decision from the Cabinet of Israel. The communities were demo ...

bloc where the bulk of the Gush Katif settlements were located.

History

The non-religious village was founded in May 1990 by a group of three families of fishermen close to the Shikma Beach with the assistance of the Amana settlement organization. These families, and others that joined later on, lived in trailers for about ten years until permanent homes were built. Another building expansion project was already in advanced planning stages.

Economy

The main source of income was from the sea:

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

, rescue services, fish ponds, tourism, fish restaurants, etc.

Unilateral Disengagement

Unlike virtually all the other settlements slated for destruction as part of the disengagement plan, whose inhabitants were forcibly evicted by the

Israeli Army The Israeli Ground Forces () are the Army, ground forces of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The commander is the GOC Army Headquarters, General Officer Commanding with the rank of major general, the ''Mazi'', subordinate to the Chief of the Gen ...

and

Israeli Police The Israel Police (; ) is the civilian police force of Israel. As with most other police forces in the world, its duties include crime fighting, traffic control, maintaining public safety, and counter-terrorism. It is under the jurisdiction o ...

, the families of Dugit chose to co-operate with the eviction orders and most had already packed and abandoned their homes before the official date.

Rebuilding attempts

Avi Farhan from Elei Sinai and a part of his family established a new group including families from Dugit and Nisanit with hope to establish a new community. The government agreed in 2006 to acclimatize this group in

Palmachim Palmachim () is a kibbutz in central Israel. Located about ten kilometers south of the Gush Dan, Tel Aviv area along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, among the sand dunes, it falls under the jurisdiction of Gan Raveh Regional Council. In it h ...

. The plan was then changed to resettle in the Givat Olga beach neighbourhood of

Hadera Hadera (, ) is a city located in the Haifa District of Israel, in the northern Sharon plain, Sharon region, approximately 45 kilometers (28 miles) from the major cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa. The city is located along 7 km (5 mi) of ...

. As of 2009, Neve Yam is attempting a rejuvenation project by attracting these families by allotting them land adjacent to the sea for permanent housing. The new project would give the evictees a housing and employment solution similar to that of their original homes. The Israel Union for Environmental Defense is struggling to prevent the project it deems is too close to the beach.

2023 Gaza war

The site of Dugit was recaptured by the IDF following the invasion of its ground forces into the Gaza Strip on October 27, 2023. Their entry into Dugit was part of a pincer move to surround Gaza City, located to the south of Dugit.

References

{{Authority control Populated places established in 1990 Former Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip 1990 establishments in the Israeli Civil Administration area