5 4 2 1 3 78 79 Chapter Five | The Se�lements In 5759 (1999), the Se�lement Division, the Regional Council and the se�lement movement 'The Agricultural Center' began to handle Pe'at Sadeh and Rafiah Yam specifically, to prevent them from collapsing. A special team prepared a tri-annual plan for these se�lements, which included special support and professional workshops to improve the social situa�on, offer financial advice and specific solu�ons for a large part of the popula�on with regards to their livelihoods, including in the agricultural sector, as well as financial and administra�ve support for the associa�ons' ins�tu�ons. Special effort was made in the absorp�on arena.8 For this purpose, the se�lement promoted itself via ads in the press and on Radio Darom, and even par�cipated in an apartment fair held in Be'er Sheva. These efforts generated great interest, due to the adver�sing of the a�rac�ve prices of apartments.9 However, when the Second In�fada started, on Rosh Hashanah of 5761 (September 2000), the flow of inquiries stopped and contact with those interested came to a halt.10 In Av of 5765(August 2005) 21 families lived in Pe'at Sadeh.11 On Wednesday, 5th of Av 5765 (08/10/2005), the residents of Pe'at Sadeh gathered and held a farewell ceremony from their se�lement. The ceremony was held around the monument commemora�ng Nisan Dolinger (R.I.P.), their neighbor, who was murdered three years earlier in a terrorist a�ack. The event was a�ended by the GOC of the Southern Command, Dan Harel, the Division Commander, Brigadier General Aviv Kochavi, and even a representa�ve from Prime Minister Sharon's Office, Brigadier General Uzi Keren, Assistant to the Prime Minister for Se�lement Affairs. When the ceremony was over, the residents of Pe'at Sadeh returned home, for four more days.12 On the 12th of Av 5765, they all evacuated as one, the first se�lement in the Gaza Strip to be abandoned by its residents.13 1 A view of the houses in Pe'at Sadeh 2 The amusement corner in Pe'at Sadeh 3 Private and public construc�on in the se�lement 4 Aerial photograph of Dugit 5 The first houses in Dugit Dugit A secular communal fishing village in the north of the Gaza Strip, which belonged to the 'Amana' Se�lement Movement Dugit was a fishing village in the Northern part of the Gaza Strip, near Elei Sinai. The ini�al nucleus numbered three families who decided to throw their lot with that of the sea. The ini�ator was Romeo Goldhamer, a seafarer, who worked on fishing boats off the coast of Israel. Goldhamer established a se�lement nucleus for the establishment of a fishing village, called the "Tribe" nucleus, which joined the Moshavim Movement, and began "badgering" state authori�es. The original idea was to se�le on the Palmachim beach, in Nahal Rubin, but the request was rejected due to the IDF's opposi�on. The reason: Palmahim Beach has been used for skydiving training for many years. Furthermore, there is an Air Force base there, and a nearby se�lement may interfere with its ac�vi�es. When the Gaza Coast Regional Council and the Se�lement Department of the World Zionist Organiza�on heard about this, they approached the fishermen with a proposal: "Why not replace the sands of Rishon Le Tsiyon with the wonderful sands of northern Gaza? There is no shortage of fish in Gaza either! The nucleus members agreed. The Gaza Coast Regional Council published a map, which was marked with "Dugit - a fishing village in planning. " The name of the se�lement reflected its special character - a�er all, Dugit is a small [fishing] boat. The first proposal was to se�le very close to Gaza, near the Sha� refugee camp. The nucleus objected to that. Proximity to Sha� deterred them. Their se�ler movement, the Moshavim Movement, did not help them either, out of lack of enthusiasm for establishing their own se�lement in the Gaza Strip. Disheartened by the Moshavim Movement, they turned to Amana. The Secretary General of 'Amana' at the �me, Uri Ariel, convinced them to join this movement as a se�lement nucleus. The nucleus crystallized slowly. In Iyar of 5750 (May 1990), further to con�nuous efforts and pressures, the Shamir government granted its permission to break ground. It was shortly a�er the dissolu�on of the Unity Government, when Yitzhak Rabin, who opposed the establishment of Dugit, was no longer Minister of Defense. Within a few days, they leveled the area, completed construc�ng infrastructure and connec�ng the se�lement to water, sewage and electricity, constructed the water tower and the fence.
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