GUSH KATIF - Movies, swimming pools, and amusement parks? Some teenagers have other plans for the summer.
Hundreds of youths will trade in these traditional summer break pastimes for a chance to live in a tent city on the beaches of Gush Katif.
At least that is what the anti-disengagement Gaza Absorption Authority is hoping.With the coming of summer vacation, Gush Katif is preparing to take in hundreds of high school and yeshiva students and set them up in tents.
At present, the settlers are putting the finishing touches on the logistics of the plan, which is meant to reinforce opponents to disengagement. Seven hundred sleeping bags have already been bought.
In addition, camouflage netting for shade has also been purchased.
Designated camp areas will have water pumped in or stored in large tanks. The Gaza Absorption Authority also plans to install a sewage pipeline.
"We are going to be here for many years, and we have no intention of polluting our waters," Gaza activist Datya Yitzhaki said.
'We have enough donations'
Settlers are also exploring ways to supply the youths with electricity and other services.
"They will be hosted in good fashion in mid-July. If the youth come sooner than that, say with the beginning of summer vacation, we'll make sure they have the proper infrastructure," Yitzhaki said.
"The tent city is a solution for the youth who will come to reinforce us. They have no problem sleeping outside in the summer. We have enough donations to buy necessary equipment and to comfortably absorb those who arrive," she said.
Meanwhile, individual settlements also intend to set tent cities of their own. Kfar Darom is almost finished the preparations for its camp.
At this point, there's no intention to set up additional tent cities, but the Gaza Absorption Authority said that they more people can be absorbed on short notice by opening up homes, inns and the Maoz Hotel, west of Neveh Dekalim.
Meanwhile, the Education Ministry is expected to invest some NIS 13.5 million (about USD 3.2 million) in summer activities for evacuated settler children, Ynet has learned.
Education Ministry gearing up
According to an Education Ministry guidebook that was drafted in preparation for the planned pullout, the ministry will spend NIS 1 million (about USD 240,000) on similar activities for settler families who would refuse to evacuate willingly and would therefore be sent to Beer Sheva, Ashkelon and Zichron Yaakov hotels.
All in all, the Education Ministry is expected to spend some NIS 30 million (about USD 7 million) during the disengagement.
Due to the small number of available classes in Israeli schools and the uncertainty regarding the registration of evacuated settler children, the ministry is planning to use ready-made transportable caravan-like structures as classes.
The Education Ministry's Southern District Head Amira Chaim said that as of September 1 (evacuated settler) students would be integrated into schools located in city's containing evacuation centers.
"We cannot be totally prepared as we do not know where the (evacuated settler) students will be transferred to," she said.
