6 7 9 3 4 5 8 22 23 Chapter Four | The 1968 Government Plan for the Renewal of the Se�lements Civilianizing the Strongholds On the 22nd of Shevat 5737 (02/10/1977) the Ka�f stronghold was civilianized and renamed Netzer Hazani, a�er Minister of Social Services (then: Relief), the late Michael Hazani, (aka 'Father of the religious se�lement movement') and one of the avid supporter of the se�lement in the region. It was the first permanent civilian se�lement in the Gaza Strip. Prime Minister Rabin said at the ceremony: "This is a great day for the State of Israel and for the se�lement; a day that symbolizes the establishment of our strong hold in the region, which since the Six Day War has become an inseparable part from the State and its security". A�er the ceremony, Rabin placed the first mezuzah on one of the houses' doors together with the late minister's son, Hazani.14 A�er Netzer Hazani, the next moshav that broke ground was Ganei Tal. It was a coopera�ve of the Hapoel HaMizrachi, which began its journey in the summer of 5737 (1977) with a nucleus of ten families who first resided in Kfar Darom. In the summer of 5738 (1978) they were joined by 17 more families at the second sta�on - Moshav Ka�f. That same year, members of the original coopera�ve moshav nucleus came to Moshav Ka�f, and joined the 27 families of the original nucleus of Moshav Ganei Tal. For a period of one year, the two nuclei resided together. In Elul of 5739 (08/30/1979) the se�lers of the Ganei Tal nucleus moved to their permanent se�lement. Next, the the Ka�f nucleus disintegrated, and most of its members dispersed in the se�lements of Gush Ka�f.15 In 5738 (1978) Moshav Morag, the southernmost se�lement of the Gush Ka�f region, was 'civilianized' and received a status of Religious Agricultural Coopera�ve belonging to the Hapoel HaMizrachi Moshavim Union.16 Gaza Coast Regional Council Concurrently, Dr. Meir Shaham, who served as Deputy Director of the Ministry of the Interior, came up with the idea to establish Municipal Councils in Judea and Samaria. He had already accumulated several con�ngency plans on that ma�er, which senior officials in the security system rejected. However, the Judea and Samaria Commander in Chief, Brigadier General Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, endorsed the idea and approved the establishment of four local councils - one of them was Gush Ka�f.17 Un�l then, the se�lements of Gush Ka�f were affiliated with the Azata Regional Council, which already struggled to keep providing all the necessary municipal services. Hence, the Secretary General of the Moshavim Union, Eliezer Avtavi, ini�ated a conversa�on with the Minister of the Interior at the �me, Dr. Yosef Burg, where he made clear that "the rela�ons between Gush Ka�f and the Azata Regional Council are very good, but out of concern for the region, the councils should be split and a separate council should be established for the Ka�f se�lements".18 Shimon Mines, a member of Kfar Maimon, who in those days helped Moshav Netzer Hazani, offered that Avtavi would appoint Reuven Rosenbla� as head of the council, given Rosenbla�'s public and municipal experience as Deputy Head of the Azata Regional Council.19 One day, regardless of Shaham's ini�a�ve, representa�ves of the six se�lements se�lements of Gaza Strip: Kfar Darom (inhabited by Gadid people), Netzer Hazani, Ka�f, Ganei Tal (whose members s�ll resided in Ka�f) and Morag (including a group of se�lers who later moved to the Shalom Region to establish Moshav 'Yevul' that was relocated there following the withdrawal from the Yamit region). On the agenda was a proposal to establish an independent regional council. Aharle Tzur, who later became head of the council, suggested Zvi Hendel, but the la�er objected given his lack of knowledge on the subject. Mines, who was present in the discussion, as a mentor of Netzer Hazani, interfered and reiterated his recommenda�on to appoint Rosenbla�.20 When Avtavi gave Rosenbla� a tour of Gush Ka�f, the se�lements' appearance was far from temp�ng anyone to chair a local council. There were only six se�lements, small and sca�ered. However, precisely the vacant dunes open to the sea s�rred Rosenbla�'s imagina�on. He saw a vast poten�al in them for the development of the region. Hendel, who met them during the tour, asked Rosenbla� to let his employees take care of his roses in Kfar Maimon, and come on a six-month mission only, just to establish the council and get it going. "And we can take it from there." Rosenbla� thought and said to Avtavi: "The answer is Yes - but only for six months",21 and on the condi�on that Handel serves next to him in a senior posi�on in the council. Hendel tried to explain that he came to the region to be a se�ler and not an official, but he also realized it was a lame excuse.22 Rosenbla� gave him a double duty: Secretary of the Council and its Treasurer. "We are a small council, you can fill both spots," he explained.23 Close to Passover 5739 (1979) the inaugura�on ceremony of the regional council was was held by order of the military governor with the par�cipa�on of the Minister of the Interior, Dr. Yosef Burg. For the first �me, the Jewish se�lement in the Gaza Strip received independent municipal status.24 At the council's first mee�ng, held on the 16th of Iyar 5739 (05/13/1979) - a fes�ve mee�ng in the presence of the Minister of the Interior, the commander of the Gaza Strip region, Brigadier General Yosef Castel, and Shaham, who came in the capacity of Ministry of Interior Coordinator of the Opera�ons in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Region - Reuven Rosenbla� was officially and unanimously appointed Head of Council.25 The first issue on the council's agenda was educa�on. The exis�ng team was joined by another posi�on of Educa�on Coordinator. Asher Ben-Harush from Netzer Hazani took office, and with him the council already had three appointees. This situa�on lasted for quite some �me. The next posi�on was a Land Surveyor. Na�ali (Tali) Landsman, member of Ganei Tal, was sent Debate with the Se�ler Movement We had an argument with the se�ler movement. They claimed that first Netzer Hazani and Ganei Tal should be inhabited by approximately 60 families, and then we will see if there is poten�al for addi�onal se�lements. We said it was nonsense. If there are only two se�lements, they will not even reach 60 families. There should be more se�lements, thus contribu�ng to the establishment of a developed municipal system. This was the line of ac�on we led. It was accepted, for lack of choice, by the administra�ons, especially a�er they saw it was successful. Reuven Rosenbla�, head of the Gaza Coast Regional Council Stabilizing the Shi�ing Sands One can say that in the beginning, it was a vast wilderness. We arrived in the area and started planning the se�lements together with the Se�lement Division. They planned an employment area, and we planned the residen�al area and public ins�tu�ons. We saw sand dunes with considerable differences in heights. We needed to level the dunes and create slopes, so that the sea would be visible from every house. The development took place in stages. For the first stage of Neve Dekalim, almost one million cubic meters of sand had to be turned. Each site needed extensive earthworks. We managed to stabilize the area and build houses. The se�lers had to stabilize the hills so that the situa�on would not return to its original state. Alexander Karp, In-Charge of Gush Ka�f in the Directorate for Rural Construc�on at the Ministry of Housing
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