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Sufa (Hebrew: סופה, lit. Storm) is a kibbutz in the Hevel Shalom area of the north-western Negev and a border crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip.
[edit] The kibbutz
The kibbutz falls under the jurisdiction of Eshkol Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 241. It was founded in 1982 by former residents of Sufa, an Israeli settlement in Sinai which was evacuated as part of the Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty. Its name is derived from the severe dust storms which occurred in the original settlement. To the north of the kibbutz, where Nirim was between the years 1946-1949, lies the memorial site "Dangur", commemorating the casualties of the Egyptian attack on Nirim and a memorial for the eight fallen soldiers.[1]
[edit] The border crossing
The Sufa border crossing was open in the past to Palestinians working in Israeli farms. During the Second Intifada, the border crossing and the military base next to it were subject to several Palestinian attacks, and the crossing has been intermittently closed.[2][3] In October 2007, the crossing was closed, leaving the Kerem Shalom crossing the only point of entry. In November, despite IDF objections who said it was harder to guard than Kerem Shalom, Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai decided to reopen it.[4] It has since been used to transfer Humanitarian assistance to the Strip.[5]
In May 2008 the crossing was once again closed following a mortar attack which wounded an IDF soldier.[6] A few days later, thousands of Palestinians protested the Israeli blockade. Six people were reported wounded by the IDF in that incident.[7] On June 1, about forty Israeli farmers protested at the crossing, in a bid to stop the transportation of goods into the Strip despite the ongoing Qassam rocket barrages.[8][6]
[edit] References
- ^ (2005) Mapa's concise gazetteer of Israel, Yuval Elʻazari (ed.), Tel-Aviv: Mapa Publishing, pp. 387-388. ISBN 9657184347. (Hebrew)
- ^ United Nations. "The Gaza Strip: Access Report January 2006".. Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
- ^ Issacharoff, Avi. "Crossings used to bring aid into Gaza closed due to terror alerts", Haaretz, 2007-06-27. Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
- ^ "Vilnai Opens Sufa Crossing Despite IDF Objections", Arutz Sheva, 2007-11-15. Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
- ^ Humanitarian assistance to Gaza since Feb 27 escalation in terror. Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
- ^ a b Haaretz Service. "IDF soldier moderately wounded by Palestinian fire in south Gaza", Haaretz, 2008-06-01. Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
- ^ Waked, Ali. "Report: 6 Palestinians injured by IDF fire in Gaza", Ynetnews, 2008-05-30. Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
- ^ Atlas, Yonat. "Farmers protest at Sufa crossing against ongoing rocket barrages", Ynetnews. Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
[edit] External links
Coordinates: 31°14′14.28″N 34°20′29.04″E / 31.2373, 34.3414
