The families will also be accompanied by some 60 high school girls from Kiryat Arba, who have spent the last few weeks strengthening and helping the residents and families in various ways.
Gan-Or is located just south of Gadid and N'vei Dekalim. The girls and families plan to remain in the main synagogue, with their belongings, until the expulsion forces arrive. The new residents have boarded up the synagogue doors, except for one.
"Everyone has brought in their mattresses, and all their belongings," said Sherri L., who has been in Gan-Or with her family of ten for about two weeks. "It's like camp. The entire storeroom of food has been brought here, and it looks like it can last us for a week. There are large kitchen burners, and an entire kitchen."
What are their plans for the coming days? "We're getting set up now," she said, "but in the end, if the miracle we're waiting for doesn't happen, everyone will have to decide on his own how to leave. We are expecting the army forces to come in, possibly tomorrow, and it is impossible to know how the situation will develop. It's really terribly sad; I finally broke down crying this morning..."
Out of 65 families that originally lived in Gan-Or, approximately half have already left, and several more plan to leave today. Another 11 veteran families, plus some 15 young yeshiva couples that have moved in over the past two years, remain and do not plan to leave unless forced out.
Mrs. Yehudit Amitai, a veteran resident of Gan-Or who celebrated her latest grandchild's brit milah [ritual circumcision] two months ago in Gush Katif, spoke with Arutz-7 this afternoon. "We’re here and we're not leaving," she said, "unless of course the worst happens and we are forced out. But meanwhile we're not packing."
Asked what would happen to her property and belongings in case the worst does in fact happen, she said, "It has been decided that the army will pack up our stuff." Does she trust the army? "Not exactly, but that's the situation. Anything that doesn't get packed, well, Hashem will take care of us."
Mrs. Amitai was happy to say that the yeshiva in Kerem B'Yavneh had stepped in where the government had failed them. "We don't have a permanent solution, but the yeshiva in Yavneh has invited the remaining families of Gan-Or to spend the next few weeks," she said, "until a permanent solution is hopefully found. This includes room and board - a very generous and thoughtful offer on their part."
Asked if Gan-Or families plan to live in a tent-city protest site until the government finds them a solution, Mrs. Amitai said, "No, Gan-Or has not organized for such a scenario. The people in N'vei Dekalim are planning to do that, because they want to stay together and this will require a very large area, but the details haven't been finalized. Maybe we'll join them; we'll see."
In Kfar Darom, not one family has packed up to leave.
In Kfar Yam, the small seaside community just to the north of Shirat HaYam, the water has been turned off. The Land of Israel legal forum has petitioned the Supreme Court against this move, saying it's not legal and is dangerous.
In the northern Gaza community of Elei Sinai, some 50 families are deciding what to do. They were prepared to leave under duress, but when they realized that the government had no solutions for them to continue together as a community, they turned back and now refuse to leave.
Gan-Or is located just south of Gadid and N'vei Dekalim. The girls and families plan to remain in the main synagogue, with their belongings, until the expulsion forces arrive. The new residents have boarded up the synagogue doors, except for one.
"Everyone has brought in their mattresses, and all their belongings," said Sherri L., who has been in Gan-Or with her family of ten for about two weeks. "It's like camp. The entire storeroom of food has been brought here, and it looks like it can last us for a week. There are large kitchen burners, and an entire kitchen."
What are their plans for the coming days? "We're getting set up now," she said, "but in the end, if the miracle we're waiting for doesn't happen, everyone will have to decide on his own how to leave. We are expecting the army forces to come in, possibly tomorrow, and it is impossible to know how the situation will develop. It's really terribly sad; I finally broke down crying this morning..."
Out of 65 families that originally lived in Gan-Or, approximately half have already left, and several more plan to leave today. Another 11 veteran families, plus some 15 young yeshiva couples that have moved in over the past two years, remain and do not plan to leave unless forced out.
Mrs. Yehudit Amitai, a veteran resident of Gan-Or who celebrated her latest grandchild's brit milah [ritual circumcision] two months ago in Gush Katif, spoke with Arutz-7 this afternoon. "We’re here and we're not leaving," she said, "unless of course the worst happens and we are forced out. But meanwhile we're not packing."
Asked what would happen to her property and belongings in case the worst does in fact happen, she said, "It has been decided that the army will pack up our stuff." Does she trust the army? "Not exactly, but that's the situation. Anything that doesn't get packed, well, Hashem will take care of us."
Mrs. Amitai was happy to say that the yeshiva in Kerem B'Yavneh had stepped in where the government had failed them. "We don't have a permanent solution, but the yeshiva in Yavneh has invited the remaining families of Gan-Or to spend the next few weeks," she said, "until a permanent solution is hopefully found. This includes room and board - a very generous and thoughtful offer on their part."
Asked if Gan-Or families plan to live in a tent-city protest site until the government finds them a solution, Mrs. Amitai said, "No, Gan-Or has not organized for such a scenario. The people in N'vei Dekalim are planning to do that, because they want to stay together and this will require a very large area, but the details haven't been finalized. Maybe we'll join them; we'll see."
In Kfar Darom, not one family has packed up to leave.
In Kfar Yam, the small seaside community just to the north of Shirat HaYam, the water has been turned off. The Land of Israel legal forum has petitioned the Supreme Court against this move, saying it's not legal and is dangerous.
In the northern Gaza community of Elei Sinai, some 50 families are deciding what to do. They were prepared to leave under duress, but when they realized that the government had no solutions for them to continue together as a community, they turned back and now refuse to leave.