Kerem Atzmona () was an unauthorized

Israeli outpost In Israeli law, an outpost (, ''Ma'ahaz'' lit. "a handhold") is an unauthorized or illegal Israeli settlement within the West Bank, constructed without the required authorization from the Israeli government in contravention of Israeli statutes ...

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 ...

settlement bloc, located in the south-west edge 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 ...

, and evacuated as part of

Israel's unilateral disengagement plan In 2005, Israel disengaged from the Gaza Strip by dismantling all 21 Israeli settlement, Israeli settlements there. As part of this process, four Israeli settlements in the West Bank were dismantled as well. The disengagement was executed unil ...

of 2005.

History

Karem Atzmona founded on

Tu Bishvat Tu BiShvat () is a Jewish holiday occurring on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shevat. It is also called ''Rosh HaShanah La'Ilanot'' (), literally " New Year to the Trees". In contemporary Israel, the day is celebrated as an ecological awa ...

in 2001, was located adjacent to the settlement of

Bnei Atzmon Bnei Atzmon () was an Israeli settlement previously in the Sinai Peninsula, later moved to the Gaza Strip before being destroyed in 2005. History Bnei Atzmon was founded in 1979 in the Yamit region of the Sinai Peninsula as a response to t ...

. The settlement was never legally recognized by the Israeli government. The history of Kerem Atzmona starts prior to the outbreak of the

Second Intifada The Second Intifada (; ), also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada, was a major uprising by Palestinians against Israel and its Israeli-occupied territories, occupation from 2000. Starting as a civilian uprising in Jerusalem and October 2000 prot ...

. 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 Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

holiday of

Rosh Hashana Rosh Hashanah (, , ) is the New Year in Judaism. The biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah (, , ). It is the first of the High Holy Days (, , 'Days of Awe"), as specified by Leviticus 23:23–25, that occur in the late summer/early autu ...

(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 neighborhood-turned-settlement. Along with the living quarters, a

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

, a

mikveh A mikveh or mikvah (, ''mikva'ot'', ''mikvot'', or (Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazic) ''mikves'', lit., "a collection") is a bath used for ritual washing in Judaism#Full-body immersion, ritual immersion in Judaism to achieve Tumah and taharah, ...

for men, and a

children's playground A playground, playpark, or play area is a place designed to provide an environment for children that facilitates play, typically outdoors. While a playground is usually designed for children, some are designed for other age groups, or people wi ...

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.

Unilateral disengagement

The 20 families of Kerem Atzmon were evicted on August 17, 2005, 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 trailers and other structures were destroyed.

External links

Israeli Police picture gallery from day of evacuation
{{Former Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip Former Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip Populated places established in 2001