GUSH KATIF - Despite the Gaza Absorption Authority’s claim of a housing shortage in Gush Katif, Ynet has learned there are more than 100 available houses in the area.
Anti-pullout activists say they intend to construct “tent cities” for “thousands of protesters” they expect to stream to Gush Katif, starting Friday.
But there are some 40 empty houses in the Peat Sadeh settlement alone, south of Deve Dekalim, another 35 homes available in Bedolah, and 30 available in Bnei Atsmon. The available homes could house up to 1000 people.
The homes were built in the 1980s, at a cost of millions of shekels, but have been left abandoned since then. Many are missing doors, kitchen cabinets and glass panels. Other residents have used the homes for storage, and neighborhood children use the front yards for soccer and other games.
Abandonment in every corner
The settlements themselves are preventing people from moving into the homes.
At Peat Hasadeh, whose residents are expected to leave without a fight and move as a group to Moshav Mavkiin, south of Ashkelon, settlement officials rejected a request by 40 anti-disengagement activists to move into the homes, on grounds the protesters were never approved by the settlement committee.
“We won’t have any riff-raff here,” some residents told Ynet.
At Bdolah, a former settlement secretary fought with Absorption Authority officials to prevent activists from moving into the homes. And in Bnei Atmon, local rabbinic authorities refused to allow 30 homes to be occupied, on grounds the homes may not be strong enough to withstand a mortar attack.
Yitzhaki: misunderstanding
Gaza Absorption Authority leader Aryeh Yitzhaki said the homes have not been hidden from the public, and rejected claims that “all of a sudden” activists “discovered” the empty homes.
“You don’t understand,” he said. “When we said there was no vacancy left in Gush Kaftf,
we meant homes in communities willing to have us fix up the houses and bring families to live in them.
“Because we can’t use these houses, we will set up tent cities in Kfar Darom and Kfar Yam But if they give us permission, we’ll bring 105 families to move into the empty houses.”
