Nisanit () was the largest

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 ...

in the northern tip of 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.. ...

in a mini-settlement bloc including Elei Sinai and

Dugit Dugit ( he, דּוּגִית, lit. dinghy) was an Israeli settlement located in the northern tip of the Gaza Strip closest to the shore of the Mediterranean Sea in a mini-settlement bloc including Elei Sinai and Nisanit. While Dugit was under ...

. While Nisanit was under the

municipal A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

authority of the

Hof Aza Regional Council The Hof Aza Regional Council ( he, מועצה אזורית חוף עזה, "Gaza Coast Regional Council") was a regional council of Israel until 2005 when its residents were evicted from their homes and the area was liquidated as part of Israel's ...

it was not physically 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 ...

bloc where the bulk of the 'Gush Katif' settlements were located.

History

The village was established as a

Nahal Nahal ( he, נח"ל) (acronym of ''Noar Halutzi Lohem'', lit. Fighting Pioneer Youth) is a program that combines military service with mostly social welfare and informal education projects such as youth movement activities, as well as training ...

military outpost in 1980 and demilitarized when turned over for civilian residential purposes in 1984 to 15 pioneer families. In 1993, its status was changed to 'urban community'. Nisanit also served as a satellite municipal branch of the regional council for the three northern Gaza Strip settlements. The name of the town is the Hebrew translation of the hawksbeard flower which is widespread in the area's sand dunes in spring. Nisanit, which numbered about 300 families (around 900 people), was one of the few 'mixed' Gush Katif settlements with

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

and non-religious Jews living together.

Unilateral disengagement

Nisanit's residents were evicted on 21 August 2005 by

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

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 ...

personnel as part of the unilateral disengagement plan. The houses were destroyed and the area was abandoned.

Drive to rebuild

On July 26, 2007, some 500 activists, including former residents, attempted to return to the ruins as a beginning to rebuilding the community. Police attempted to stop the march before it reached the Gaza border but did not succeed though several arrests were made. Organizers vowed to continue plans for a future return to Nisanit.

References

{{Former Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip Populated places established in 1984 Former Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip Nahal settlements Villages depopulated during the Arab–Israeli conflict 1993 establishments in the Palestinian territories 2005 disestablishments in the Palestinian territories