1 2 6 5 3 4 124 125 Chapter Eight | Security Three weeks later, at noon on Shabbat, the 5th of Iyar 5761 (April 28, 2001), a mortar shell landed in the Yohanan Hilberg (May God Avenge His Death) Youth Club in Netzer Hazani. The club was full of teenagers, and five 15-year-old boys were slightly injured. On the morning of Sunday, 16th of Cheshvan 5765 (10/31/2004), two mortar shells exploded near the synagogue in Kfar Darom. Wrapped in a tallit (prayer shawl) and crowned with tefillin, Dan Amiel, a local resident, went to the entrance of the synagogue to see what happened and if anyone needed assistance. At that moment a third mortar shell exploded on the marble steps of the synagogue. Dan was injured in all parts of his body and was quickly hurried to Soroka Hospital in Be'er Sheva by ambulance. On the way to the ambulance, Dr. Sodi Namir, the physician from Neve Dekalim, joined the ambulance to treat the wounded. The tefillin that were removed from him appeared intact, but further examina�on revealed that a large shard had penetrated into the head tefillin. The tefillin stopped the shrapnel from entering his head. Dan lost part of his right leg.23 In the five years since the outbreak of the terrorist war un�l the displacement of Gush Ka�f, the Council's Security Department dealt with about 15,000 security incidents that included, among other things, shoo�ngs, encounters with terrorists, rescuing civilians under fire, evacua�ng and trea�ng casual�es, rescuing soldiers who were trapped in their tanks, and rescuing soldiers from IED scenes.24 Rou�ne under terror The new security reality—mortars in se�lements and shoo�ng on the roads—introduced the residents to a new way of life, different from what they had known un�l then.25 The situa�on forced everyone to plan every step, to avoid excessive risks and also led to the isola�on of the residents. The many a�acks were reported on the media, deterred family members and friends and prevented them from visi�ng the region. Trips outside Gush Ka�f were also carefully examined - are they necessary enough to take a risk, or can one give them up? Fear and concerns began creeping into the residents' homes, although not in a dras�c and paralyzing way, especially in the prac�cal realm. In isolated se�lements like Morag, some residents ensured they traveled only in armored vehicles and wore helmets every �me.26 Some couples made sure not to travel together in the same vehicle so that if one of them was injured, the other would survive. Parents' behavior greatly influenced their children. Children of strong parents reacted posi�vely and knew how to contain and bear the difficul�es. It turns out that most of the parents were like that, and the solid proof of this was that residents did not leave the area despite the serious concerns. "There was fear, but it didn't paralyze us, we believed that what needed to happen would happen," said Hagit Yaron of Neve Dekalim.27 Despite the many difficul�es, these security threats did not stop the lives of the residents.28 The residents decided to con�nue their rou�ne as much as possible, including walking around the se�lement, bathing in the sea, visi�ng friends, and even holding family celebra�ons in Gush Ka�f, some�mes outdoors.29 The council carried on as usual and tried to keep the educa�on system intact; the community center con�nued its regular func�on and even added ac�vi�es on top of the regular and special ones, such as Independence Night in Neve Dekalim and the singalong celebra�ons in Ka�f Lake. But all events, especially those involving masses, were coordinated with the army and the Council's Security Department. Great miracles also prevailed in these events; a clear example of this was when, during one of the Independence Night celebra�ons, when the fireworks lit up the sky and loud music blared from the loudspeakers, the residents did not hear the fall of the mortar very close to them - near the gas sta�on at the entrance to Neve Dekalim.30 On the 7th of Av 5764 (07/25/2004), while thousands of people held hands in a human chain stretching from the Erez checkpoint to the Western Wall in protest against the disengagement plan, Pales�nian terrorists launched a Pales�nian-made an�-tank missile, of the 'Al-Batar' model, from Khan Yunis to the Neve Dekalim community center. Firefighters rescued soldiers from burning tanks. The first �me we had to rescue a tank I was shocked. I got a call from the council at night, and they told me that a tank hit a charge in the Netzarim area, and that its fighters had to be rescued. I took the team, we waited outside for hours. We went in with an APC. Two soldiers were outside. Two soldiers were killed, and they had to be rescued from the wreckage of the tank. We worked un�l half past five in the morning. It was dark, cold, raining. There was concern that the terrorists had kidnapped a soldier. A�er we rescued one body, we saw that there was another body under it. In another incident, a tank hit an explosive device near Kissufim. It was a more complicated incident, because there were two soldiers trapped in the tank and it took five and a half hours to get them out. Firefighters from Ashkelon came to help, but there was nothing they could do because we ac�vated three D-9 bulldozers for anchoring, two APCs and a rescue tank. This was on top of our gear. We needed much anchoring because a wrong move could kill the trapped soldiers. The soldiers were slightly wounded, so we worked slowly and confidently. Following the report of the commi�ee that inves�gated the incident, I was granted a rank. They added another firefighter into our standard personnel and a considerable amount of money to buy addi�onal equipment. My son was in a tank near there, which brought up difficult thoughts. He could have been there. While I was working - I had no thoughts, but when I le� the scene, the tears poured like water. These sights some�mes come back to me. Ezra Mordechai Miraculously, no major disaster happened, as the sports hall and the community center, which were supposed to be full of children, were empty. Six children aged seven to ten, who did not join the protest chain and were playing near the building, were injured by shrapnel. One of them, 10-year-old Roni Afriat, was moderately-to-severely injured. That day, in the a�ernoon, five more Qassam rockets were fired in the north of the Gaza Strip, and fell south of Nisanit, near the star�ng point of the 'human chain.' Miraculously there were no casual�es and no damage was done. The consequences of living under terror All these years, the residents felt that they were on a mission, and bravely stood up to all the difficul�es despite the long hours and days they went through feeling incessant stress and fear. However, there was one decree that greatly clouded public mood - being isolated. Knowing that many invitees would not a�end the family celebra�on you are planning, knowing that your family members and friends are reluctant to come over for a few hours of joy - these were difficult for the public to endure, some�mes even more than the moments of fear. 1 The monument erected at the Kissufim junc�on a�er the disengagement, inscribed with the words: "Here in the Gaza Strip, residents of Gush Ka�f and IDF soldiers lived and fought side by side for four decades" 2 Sheltered bus sta�ons in Neve Dekalim 3 Shielding the windows of Neve Dekalim Hesder Yeshiva 4 An armored council bus at the residents' service 5 A hole opened in the ceiling of a house a�er a mortar shell penetrated it 6 Renova�ng Gush Ka�f's perimeter fence
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