Shirat HaYam ( he, שִׁירַת הַיָּם, lit. ''Song of the Sea'') was an

Israeli settlement Israeli settlements, or Israeli colonies, are civilian communities inhabited by Israeli citizens, overwhelmingly of Jewish ethnicity, built on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. The international community considers Israeli se ...

established in 2001 on the shores of the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

west of

Neve Dekalim Neve Dekalim ( he, 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 ...

in the

Gush Katif Gush Katif ( he, גוש קטיף, , Harvest Bloc) was a bloc of 17 Israeli settlements in the southern Gaza strip. In August 2005, the Israeli army forcibly removed the 8,600 residents of Gush Katif from their homes after a decision from the Ca ...

settlement bloc in the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...

until 2005.

Population

About fifteen families lived in trailers or abandoned houses that reportedly had been Egyptian Army officer's barracks from the period when

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

occupied the Gaza Strip.

Evacuation

On 14 August 2005, immediately prior to the execution of the disengagement plan evacuation, , an Israeli military

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

residing in Shirat HaYam, proclaimed independence as "The Independent Jewish Authority in Gaza Beach." He called himself ''The Temporary Chairman'' "until the election of the 2,500 citizens" in his new country. He followed through with his claim by sending an appeal for recognition to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

and the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

. Four days later, when the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...

and

Israeli Police The Israel Police ( he, משטרת ישראל, ''Mišteret Yisra'el''; ar, شرطة إسرائيل, ''Shurtat Isrāʼīl'') is the civilian police force of Israel. As with most other police forces in the world, its duties include crime fightin ...

came to evacuate Shirat Hayam, he defended this self-proclaimed country alone with an

M-16 The M16 rifle (officially designated Rifle, Caliber 5.56 mm, M16) is a family of military rifles adapted from the ArmaLite AR-15 rifle for the United States military. The original M16 rifle was a 5.56×45mm automatic rifle with a 20-roun ...

after ascending the roof of his home. The event ended peacefully after a few hours, and the settlement was successfully evacuated. While the standard policy adapted by the

Israeli government The Cabinet of Israel (officially: he, ממשלת ישראל ''Memshelet Yisrael'') exercises executive authority in the State of Israel. It consists of ministers who are chosen and led by the prime minister. The composition of the governmen ...

was to destroy all residential property prior to the retreat from Gush Katif, the cement structures in this settlement were not touched until several weeks later. The evicted residents of the village chose to remain together as a group and move to Maskiot in the Jordan River valley to build an agricultural settlement. Since the Maskiot site, a former military base, was not ready for settlement, the group moved to adjacent

Hemdat Hemdat ( he, חֶמְדָּת) is a community Israeli settlement in the West Bank located near the Palestinian hamlet of Khirbet Makhoul,Reuters and Gili Cohen'European diplomats: Israeli army manhandled us, seized Palestinian aid,'at Haaretz, ...

References

Former Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip Populated places established in 2001 Micronations Villages depopulated during the Arab–Israeli conflict {{Israel-geo-stub