Army sources estimated earlier this week that 1,000 people had moved in to Gush Katif over the previous two weeks. The new residents are living in tent sites, people's homes, and in public buildings.
One woman who has moved in to a home in Netzer Hazani with her three children told Arutz-7, "The owners simply moved their children into one room, and we are living in another room. A third family, two parents and a child, have moved into a third bedroom - and we all get along fine. We chip in for expenses such as food and the like. Our hostess spends her time looking for equipment that can be used for the new families, and then, when enough equipment has been emptied out of a storeroom, she suggests that a family be moved in the now-empty place..."
In the beachfront community of Shirat HaYam (Song of the Sea), construction has stopped - but not for lack of demand. "We are now 25 families," says spokesperson Chana Pekar, "and all the new [11-square-meter] wood-frame structures that we just built are full. We can't build any more at present, simply because we would need a new kitchen-and-bathrooms facility, which we don't have. But I can tell you that we have a new atmosphere here in the community - because all the new young families have come with children of all ages, and there are day camps, and youths helping out everywhere, and a real community-type feeling. Just a year ago, we had to worry about having ten men for a prayer quorum - and now, the synagogue is exploding at the seams."
Pekar said that the siege in Kfar Maimon is "the government's attempt to break us first there, and then here. But we won't break neither here nor there. Buses will be leaving from Gush Katif for Kfar Maimon later this afternoon, and I'll be on one of them - and I won't show my identity card neither going nor coming."
Q. "What, have they started asking for ID cards on the way out as well?"
A. "Yes, and they're even registering every car and person who leaves. I suppose it's just another way of trying to break us and humiliate us. But they won't succeed."
Rocket bombardments continue as well. Palestinian terrorists in Gaza fired four shells at Gush Katif residents last night, hurting no one and causing no damage. Arabs also fired at an army outpost in N'vei Dekalim, with no effect.
Once they leave the "safety" of their own homes, the Gush Katif residents continue to be persecuted on their way out as well. Yesterday, a busload of Kfar Darom children returning from a day trip was detained at the Kisufim Crossing for two hours - and their driver was placed under house arrest for five days. The story began when a policewoman boarded the bus and demanded that the children identify themselves in order that they be permitted to enter. The policewoman then began an argument with the driver, after which she reported to her supervisor that he had "insulted" her.
The police ordered the driver off the bus. He later reported that though many of the policemen knew him well, and had drunk many cups of coffee in his home when he served as security officer of Kfar Darom, "all of a sudden, no one knew me any more." While the children waited in the hot sun - a correspondent on the scene helped one of the children with a drink and his air-conditioned vehicle - the questioning dragged on for two hours. The driver was finally released with an order confining him to his home for five days.
One woman who has moved in to a home in Netzer Hazani with her three children told Arutz-7, "The owners simply moved their children into one room, and we are living in another room. A third family, two parents and a child, have moved into a third bedroom - and we all get along fine. We chip in for expenses such as food and the like. Our hostess spends her time looking for equipment that can be used for the new families, and then, when enough equipment has been emptied out of a storeroom, she suggests that a family be moved in the now-empty place..."
In the beachfront community of Shirat HaYam (Song of the Sea), construction has stopped - but not for lack of demand. "We are now 25 families," says spokesperson Chana Pekar, "and all the new [11-square-meter] wood-frame structures that we just built are full. We can't build any more at present, simply because we would need a new kitchen-and-bathrooms facility, which we don't have. But I can tell you that we have a new atmosphere here in the community - because all the new young families have come with children of all ages, and there are day camps, and youths helping out everywhere, and a real community-type feeling. Just a year ago, we had to worry about having ten men for a prayer quorum - and now, the synagogue is exploding at the seams."
Pekar said that the siege in Kfar Maimon is "the government's attempt to break us first there, and then here. But we won't break neither here nor there. Buses will be leaving from Gush Katif for Kfar Maimon later this afternoon, and I'll be on one of them - and I won't show my identity card neither going nor coming."
Q. "What, have they started asking for ID cards on the way out as well?"
A. "Yes, and they're even registering every car and person who leaves. I suppose it's just another way of trying to break us and humiliate us. But they won't succeed."
Rocket bombardments continue as well. Palestinian terrorists in Gaza fired four shells at Gush Katif residents last night, hurting no one and causing no damage. Arabs also fired at an army outpost in N'vei Dekalim, with no effect.
Once they leave the "safety" of their own homes, the Gush Katif residents continue to be persecuted on their way out as well. Yesterday, a busload of Kfar Darom children returning from a day trip was detained at the Kisufim Crossing for two hours - and their driver was placed under house arrest for five days. The story began when a policewoman boarded the bus and demanded that the children identify themselves in order that they be permitted to enter. The policewoman then began an argument with the driver, after which she reported to her supervisor that he had "insulted" her.
The police ordered the driver off the bus. He later reported that though many of the policemen knew him well, and had drunk many cups of coffee in his home when he served as security officer of Kfar Darom, "all of a sudden, no one knew me any more." While the children waited in the hot sun - a correspondent on the scene helped one of the children with a drink and his air-conditioned vehicle - the questioning dragged on for two hours. The driver was finally released with an order confining him to his home for five days.