Neve Dekalim
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Neve Dekalim נְוֵה דְּקָלִים |
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 Neve Dekalim
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| Coordinates: 31°21′24″N 34°16′30″E / 31.35667°N 34.27500°ECoordinates: 31°21′24″N 34°16′30″E / 31.35667°N 34.27500°E | |
| Founded | 1983 |
| Population | 2,600 |
Neve Dekalim (Hebrew: נְוֵה דְּקָלִים) (lit. "Oasis of Palms") was an Israeli settlement and a community in the Gush Katif settlement bloc in the Gaza Strip. It was founded in 1983 after the Israeli withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula. Neve Dekalim served as a regional center for the Gush Katif region and was the seat of the Hof Aza Regional Council. It was located between the Khan Yunis Palestinian refugee camp and the Mediterranean Sea. Neve Dekalim was evacuated in August 2005 as part of Israel's unilateral disengagement plan. It was turned into a training camp by Hamas, which described it as a "military training camp for martyrs."
The population consisted of about 520 families (2,600 people), mainly Orthodox Jews. It was the largest Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip and a major commercial center for the region. The Gush Katif industrial zone was located in Neve Dekalim. The 10-acre Katifari Zoo housed hundreds of snakes, birds and other animals.
From the Second Intifada until its evacuation in 2005, Gaza militants fired some 6,000 mortars and Qassam rockets at Neve Dekalim. In July 2005, shortly before the disengagement plan was implemented, two people were injured by mortar fire.
The evacuation of Neve Dekalim began on August 15, as part of the Israel unilateral disengagement plan, and was completed on 18 August. The residents were given 48 hours to leave. Those who refused to evacuate barricaded themselves in the synagogue, but were forcibly removed by the Israel Defense Forces and the Israel Police.
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