Zikim Colony

Zikim is one of the prominent settlements in the Gaza envelope area, located on the northern border of the Gaza Strip. It includes military bases overlooking the coast, such as the Nahal Brigade and the Maglan Unit.

It is considered one of the most heavily fortified bases due to its hosting of an oil refinery and a power station that supplies electricity to the Israeli occupation. According to 2021 statistics, it is inhabited by 894 settlers.

The Zikim settlement was established on the lands of the depopulated Canaanite village of Hirbya in 1949-1950. The village is located 4 km from the sea and 5 km from Gaza. It is bordered by the depopulated villages of Al-Khisas, Al-Jura, Barbera, Beit Jirja, Deir Sunayd, and Beit Lahia to the north of the Gaza Strip.

The residents of Hirbya owned 23,000 dunams of land, and in 1948 the village had approximately 2,500 inhabitants living in 300 houses and owning 150 olive groves. After being expelled from the village by Zionist militias, most of the residents became refugees residing primarily in the Shati refugee camp.

Today, only the village mosque remains, which has been converted into a warehouse, along with the old Al-Alami family house, built by the Jerusalemite Al-Alami family about a century ago. The house was surrounded by cactus, chamomile, and broom plants, and its adjacent lands were cultivated with wheat, avocado, and other crops. The house was recently restored by Zionist settlers, who established the Keremya Kibbutz there, populated by settlers brought from France and Tunisia.

Additionally, the settlement of Bad Malahi was established on Hirbya’s lands in 1943 and expanded to occupy more of the village’s territory. It is noteworthy that during the October 7 war, Palestinian resistance fighters managed to infiltrate Zikim, control it for several hours, and engage in intense clashes there.

Sources:
Due to the scarcity of Arabic sources, Hebrew sources were used: the settlement’s official Hebrew website and the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics.
Information on the village was obtained from the Palestine Remembered website.