Neve Dekalim
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Neve Dekalim (; Hebrew: נוה דקלים) was an Israeli settlement in the Gush Katif settlement bloc in the Gaza Strip. It was founded in 1983 after the Israeli withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula, on sand dunes that were previously uninhabited. The village 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 Palestinian city of Khan Yunis and the Mediterranean Sea.
The population consisted of about 520 families (2,600 people), mainly Orthodox Jews. It was the largest Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip and served as the commercial center for the primarily agricultural settlements surrounding it, particularly the residents of the Gush Katif bloc. Located in the town were a large range of educational institutions including: day care centers, kindergartens, the regional elementary school, an ulpena (religious dormitory high school for girls), a hesder yeshiva, a yeshiva for advanced studies, a women's college, a community center, a research center for the study of the Sinai region, a youth center and a pensioners club. There were eight synagogues, the regional library, two medical clinics, a strip mall including fast food restaurants as well as a supermarket and a small zoo. The industrial area housed a variety of factories engaged in carpentry, metal work, printing, mechanics, juice production and a brand new cookie factory.
The evacuation of Neve Dekalim began on August 15, 2005 by the Israeli Army and the Israeli Police, as part of the Israel unilateral disengagement plan, and was completed on 18 August.[1] The homes were bulldozed, though the infrastructures were left intact to aid the future Arab development of the area.
The Palestinian Al-Aqsa University opened a campus on the site. [2]
