Police Station Becomes Settlement Base in West Bank
Translated & summarized from Arutz Sheva by baba
Rafael Ben Basht, a co-founder of the Neve Tzuf settlement, shared his experience of establishing the settlement in the Nebi Saleh police station in 1977. The initiative is part of a project by the Ministry of Heritage to document settlement founders' stories. Initially, two groups, one religious and one secular, planned to establish separate settlements but agreed to temporarily occupy the abandoned police station together. The conditions were rudimentary, with limited space and shared facilities for the 50 families involved.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Rafael Ben Basht recounted the 1977 establishment of the Neve Tzuf settlement in the Nebi Saleh police station.
- The initiative is part of a project by the Ministry of Heritage to document settlement founders' stories.
- A religious and a secular group initially planned separate settlements but temporarily occupied the police station together.
- The 50 families faced basic living conditions in the looted police station with shared facilities.
- The settlement's founding was spurred by Menachem Begin's promise to establish new settlements.
Rafael Ben Basht, a co-founder of the Neve Tzuf settlement nucleus, recounted the establishment of the settlement in 1977, which began in the abandoned Nebi Saleh police station. His account is part of a project by the Ministry of Heritage and the Council for the Preservation of Heritage Sites in Israel to document the stories of settlement founders.
Ben Basht, who also served as deputy head of the Binyamin Regional Council, described how the plan to establish settlements gained momentum after Menachem Begin became prime minister. The initial idea was to establish ten new settlements simultaneously in the fall of 1977. However, a secular group also sought to establish a settlement in the Umm Safa forest.
To avoid potential conflicts and ensure both groups could proceed, a compromise was reached. Both the religious nucleus, destined for Neve Tzuf, and the secular nucleus agreed to temporarily settle together in the Nebi Saleh police station. The secular group would later move to its intended location. Architects within the group were tasked with surveying the police station to plan the division and utilization of its interior spaces.
Upon arrival, the conditions were extremely basic, as the station had been looted and only its shell remained. The 50 families, 25 religious and 25 secular, divided the available rooms, with larger families receiving one or two rooms. Communal facilities were also limited, with five families sharing a small kitchen area and a multi-purpose common space serving as a synagogue and club. A small grocery store was planned but took time to become operational.