Nitzanim Colony

Nitzanim is a kibbutz in the south of occupied Palestine, located between Ashkelon and Ashdod on the sand dunes of Nitzanim. It was established in 1942 on a plot of 400 acres that was purchased or taken by the "Jewish National Fund." Its foundation was based around a large building that became known as "the Castle." After 1948, the settlement expanded onto the lands of the Arab village of Hamama. The first inhabitants were new immigrants, some of them Holocaust survivors.

During the 1948 war, the Egyptian army shelled the kibbutz and captured it in the "Battle of Nitzanim." Out of 141 members, 37 were killed and many were taken prisoner. After the war, the kibbutz was relocated about 4 kilometers south of the original site, on the lands of the depopulated Palestinian village of Hamama. The original site of Nitzanim became a youth village in 1949.

After the youth village was closed in 1990, the "Nitzan" community settlement was established there. Nitzanim is also surrounded by a nature reserve. In 2019, its population was about 421 settlers.