Netzarim () 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 ...

in 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 ...

about 5 kilometers southwest of

Gaza City Gaza City, also called Gaza, is a city in the Gaza Strip, Palestine, and the capital of the Gaza Governorate. Located on the Mediterranean coast, southwest of Jerusalem, it was home to Port of Gaza, Palestine's only port. With a population of ...

. It was established in 1972. In August 2005, the inhabitants of Netzarim were evicted by the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

(IDF) 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 ...

History

It was initially established in 1972 as a

military base A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. A military base always provides accommodations for ...

on the outskirts of

. It began as a

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin , or or ), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. The origins of secularity can be traced to the Bible itself. The concept was fleshed out through Christian hi ...

Nahal (Young Pioneer) outpost of the Hashomer Hatzair movement; in 1984 it became an orthodox

kibbutz A kibbutz ( / , ; : kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1910, was Degania Alef, Degania. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economi ...

. A few years later, the residents decided to change from a kibbutz to a village. It was often referred to in the media as a stronghold for Religious Zionism. Its activities included a

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree '' Mangifera indica''. It originated from the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South and Southeast As ...

plantation and

vineyard A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...

, hothouse cultivated yams and cherry tomatoes, and a prestigious

etrog Etrog (, plural: ; Ashkenazi Hebrew: , plural: ) is the yellow citron (''Citrus medica'') used by Jews during the weeklong holiday of Sukkot as one of the four species. Together with the ''lulav'', ''hadass'', and ''Aravah (Sukkot), aravah'', th ...

plantation. The settlement had day care centers, kindergartens, a primary school, a kollel, a

Yeshiva A yeshiva (; ; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are studied in parallel. The stu ...

, 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 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 was due to its isolated location and intensifying Palestinian attacks on traffic using the only route in during the al-Aqsa Intifada. During the last several years of its existence, transportation to and from Netzarim was permitted only with armed military escorts.

Eviction

The residents of Netzarim were the last Israelis to be evicted on 22 August 2005, by the IDF during

from the

ordered by the government of Ariel Sharon. Their eviction marked the end of the Israeli presence in the Gaza Strip since the end of the 1967

Six-Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states, primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...

. The strong religiosity of its residents was exhibited 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 was later destroyed by Palestinians, after the Israeli army abandoned the village in September 2005. After the eviction, the residents, who had prided themselves in not cooperating with any government agency involved in the eviction, were welcomed in the dormitories of the College of Judea and Samaria by the school administration, students, volunteers and residents of Ariel and the surrounding

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

settlements. Before the beginning of the academic year, the former residents of Netzarim decided to split up into two groups. One group moved to the temporary government

refugee camp A refugee camp is a temporary Human settlement, settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Refugee camps usually accommodate displaced people who have fled their home country, but camps are also made for in ...

of Yevul near the

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

ian border. The other group decided to stay in Ariel. After Israeli troops left Netzarim on 12 September 2005, crowds of Palestinians pushed past police cordons, scavenging door frames and toilets. Some in the crowd tied the flags of

Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...

and Palestinian Islamic Jihad around their necks as capes. Celebrating crowds set fire to the synagogue in Netzarim, similar to what was reported in Morag.

Later events

2008-2009 Gaza War

The IDF took possession of the former Netzarim site again during Operation Cast Lead and entered with 150

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; ...

s and other military vehicles on 4 January 2009. The reoccupation of Netzarim effectively separated

from southern Gaza Strip, weakening

' control of the region. On the early morning of 12 January, troops stationed at Netzarim began their northward push into Gaza City's Sheikh Ijlin neighborhood. When a ceasefire was declared by Israel on 17 January, the IDF gradually evacuated the site.

2023–present Gaza war

The IDF launched an invasion of the Gaza Strip on 27 October 2023, as a response to the Hamas-led 7 October attacks on Israel. On 30 October 2023, IDF troops were confirmed to have entered the site of the former Netzarim settlement with infantry and tanks. In late 2023, the IDF established a military road running across the Gaza Strip, intended to serve as a buffer zone separating Gaza City from the rest of the territory. It was named Netzarim Corridor as it includes the site of the former settlement.Celine Alkhaldi, Allegra Goodwin and Richard Allen Greene
Israeli road splitting Gaza in two has reached the Mediterranean coast, satellite imagery shows
'' CNN'' 8 March 2024 After a ceasefire agreement with Hamas came into effect on 19 January 2025, the IDF withdrew from the Netzarim Corridor on 27 January.

References

{{Authority control Populated places established in 1972 Former Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip Religious Israeli settlements Nahal settlements