Word: netzarim
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Dates: during 1994-1994
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There is not much to Netzarim, the Jewish settlement in the heart of the Gaza Strip. Amid a neat grid of white cottages, a few patches of grass struggle against the native sand. There is a cluster of trailer homes, some chicken yards, hothouses for lettuce, and a patch of mango trees. Netzarim is a tiny community of just 32 families -- 180 people -- but it is the cause of great commotion. As the most vulnerable of the Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip, Netzarim and the Israeli army contingent that guards it have become favorite targets for Palestinian militants. Over...
Unlike Gush Khatif, a block of Jewish communities at the southern fringe of the Gaza Strip, home to most of the 4,000 Israeli settlers in the zone, Netzarim is in an area of dense Arab population on the outskirts of Gaza City. Down the road sits the Palestinian village of al-Mograka, whose residents chafe at the restrictions that Netzarim's presence imposes on them. "People will never accept the settlement here," says Nasr Azzam, who runs the local general store. "It is a strange body and a symbol of the occupation...
Residents of al-Mograka were among an estimated 2,000 Palestinians who overran the Israeli army position guarding Netzarim on Nov. 19, forcing the soldiers to retreat temporarily while the mob raised the Hamas flag over the outpost. The incident prompted the military to fortify the position and strengthen the troop force there. Still, the soldiers remain edgy. "The situation is normal -- that is, dangerous," says one of the troopers...
...atmosphere is tense inside Netzarim as well. Since Palestinian self-rule began last May, the settlers have been sending their children to school in Gush Khatif in a bulletproof bus. To avoid Arab villages, the vehicle chooses a route that adds an hour to what would be a 30-min. trip. On occasion the driver takes the direct route, but then the bus carries only armed male adults -- to assert the settlers' right, under the self-rule agreements, to travel the road. Netzarim's inhabitants do not complain much, however. "I don't live where it's comfortable," says teacher...
...leaders of Israel's settlement movement are preparing for a fight over Netzarim, and have called for "active resistance," as yet undefined, to any effort to uproot the hamlet. Given Rabin's position, the campaign may be , premature -- but not by much. "Anybody with brains in his head knows that when it comes to the final status," says Dromi, "some settlements will have to go." Netzarim will probably lead the list...