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11 Tishrei 5767 - October 3, 2006 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
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NEWS
Not One Permanent House for Katif Evacuees has Begun Construction

by M Plaut and Yated Ne'eman Staff

Sela administration head Zvia Shimon told Ha'aretz this week that construction has yet to begin on a single permanent house for any of those evacuated from Gush Katif 13 months ago. However, she claimed that "much progress had been made in recent months."

Eighteen locations have been designated for communities for those uprooted from Gaza and, though some are in advanced stages of the planning and permit process, none has as of yet reached the construction stage. Although most of the former Gush Katif residents are living in caravans and caravillas (temporary manufactured housing) at various locations, or other interim housing that is intended to serve for a moderate period, progress on building permanent replacements for the communities that were destroyed has been slow.

The Gush Katif Committee sent a memo to government ministries detailing the situation of the former Gush Katif residents with regard to permanent construction at various locations.

Nitzanim, for example, is intended as a massive development and was touted by the Sela Administration set up by the government to deal with the evacuation as a broad solution since it involved hundreds of housing units in separate clusters for those who formerly lived in the agricultural settlements Gadid, Gan Or, Morag, Bedolach, Nisanit and others. Today it is making no progress towards construction. Work has not in fact begun, because what the Gush Katif Committee says is government foot-dragging and also because of a High Court of Justice petition by the Ashkelon municipality.

Two other projects in the Ashkelon area are the Golf Neighborhood and Nitzan. 150 families from northern Gush Katif signed up to live in the Golf Neighborhood before the evacuation. Despite government promises that work would commence immediately since the settlers signed an advance agreement, the state has yet to complete even the land purchase.

In Nitzan about 350 families registered for the project. The plan is to expand the existing community of Nitzan to house primarily Neveh Dekalim evacuees. It is considered at an advanced stage and infrastructure is in fact expected to be ready this December. Nonetheless, the agreement with the government has not been signed because of major problems regarding public buildings, property appraisal and more.

The situation is similar at all the other locations around the country at which developments are planned for the Gush Katif evacuees. Planning is dragging, there are disputes with existing communities, and in general no concrete agreements have been concluded. Locations include Yad Binyamin, Chofetz Chaim, Yesodot, Carmit, and others.

 

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