Over 1,400 former Gush Katif families are living in 26 temporary sites, and, for most of them, permanent homes are still a far-off dream.

A report issued by the Gush Katif Residents Committee this month tells the sad, though slowly improving, story:

Out of 1,667 families expelled from Gush Katif in August 2005 by the Ariel Sharon government, 1,405 are living together in 26 temporary sites. Not one permanent home has begun to be built.

In order to turn a temporary site into a permanent one, a contract must be signed between the government, the residents, and the permanent community already there or the owners. Out of 26 sites, only six such agreements have been signed.

Preparation for the necessary infrastructures has begun for a third of the families—those living in Nitzan (north of Ashkelon), Bat Hadar (just southeast of Ashkelon), and the Halutza Sands (Yated and Yevul, due south of southern Gaza along the Israel-Egypt border).

"The reasons for the lack of a contract," the report explains, "differ from place to place—but the bottom-line fact that the State is not finding solutions causes great difficulties, and leads to a great lack of confidence, directly influencing other areas of life."

"It is now clear that the caravan sites will be home for the uprooted residents for at least five years," says the report.

The problems encountered by the government and the residents in their attempt to rebuild their communities are so complex, varied, and time-consuming that they increasingly put the lie to the government’s 2005 promise of "a [housing] solution for every resident."

For example, Nitzanim, north of Ashkelon, is now home to 460 families, virtually all of them from five former Gush Katif communities. An agreement to turn the area into a full-fledged town in the framework of the government’s flagship project to resettle ex-Gush Katif residents has been signed, but its implementation has been held up by several issues, chiefly that the land was only recently purchased by the government.

The government has also reneged on promises to grant the area preferred status.

No solution has yet been found for a packing plant to serve the residents’ agricultural industries, or for an agreed-upon price for land for those expelled Jews who are now coming of age.

This group of displaced Jews, for whom the expulsion was physically, emotionally, and spiritually debilitating, has become known as the "next generation." The full ramifications of the expulsion on these young people, who were approaching the age of military service when they were thrown from their homes, schools, and communities, has yet to be detailed.

Other would-be communities are waiting for the government to undertake actions such as ordering the Defense Ministry to free up areas currently used for firing ranges, purchasing the promised land, arranging for the budgeting of infrastructure connections, access roads, and more.

Unemployment was almost unknown in Gush Katif, yet now, 20 months after the expulsion, joblessness stands at 37 percent.

Before the expulsion, the great majority of residents were employed in agriculture, industry, education, and local services, and contributed significantly to the Israeli economy. Of 2,200 who were employed when they lived in Gush Katif, about 400, all of them 50 years of age and over, have essentially given up looking for work.

These 400 were not taken into account when the Employment Bureau recently announced that 75 percent of Gush Katif’s employees had returned to the work pool.

Eligibility for unemployment payments and adjustment funds has long expired. Self-employed workers were never eligible for these funds, and most of them have had no income for the past 18 months.

Some 80 non-agricultural businesses have returned to operation, out of 180, but many of them are in dire straits.

The State decided on a one-time grant to small business owners, but over 85 percent of those from Gush Katif are not eligible.

Some 30 percent of the families from Gush Katif ran 400 agricultural businesses, raising tomatoes, celery, flowers, and other crops. Only 33 of these businesses have received land to resume operations.

The upcoming shemittah year, when many religious farmers do not work the land, will mean many Gush Katif refugees will have undergone four consecutive unproductive years, beginning in 2004, when the "Disengagement" was announced, through 2008.

The displaced families face hardships and psychological pressures caused by financial difficulties, forced unemployment, an uncertain future, loss of community and friends, tight living quarters, bureaucracy, and the like.

The financial compensation provided by the government for new housing is being used by some of the displaced families for day-to-day living. Only 30 percent of the families have received the full amount, but almost all have received partial compensation.

Some 500 families are aided by welfare organizations. Recent reports indicate that an increasing number of the displaced families are receiving help from government-provided psychological services.

Efforts to implement the Evacuation/Compensation Law have shown its many injustices and unfair restrictions. MKs Uri Ariel (National Union) and Avigdor Yitzchaki (Kadima) are leading a drive in the Knesset to legislate changes and improvements to the existing law. It appears that there is a willingness in the Prime Minister’s Bureau to go along with most of the proposed changes.

"The situation is wretched, and the State has failed tremendously," said the report, noting that, despite the state’s failures, residents of the former communities of Gush Katif are continuing "to work and accomplish"

The report argues that once they receive the necessary tools, and the state can show progress on establishing their permanent communities and improvements in the Evacuation/Compensation Law, "they will once again be an asset to Israel—active, productive and giving."

This assessment, according to the report, is in no small measure due to the way the residents of the former Gush Katif communities feel and care for each other.

"The communities of Gush Katif are a paradigm of mutual responsibility and concern for the collective. Most of the expellees have remained in the communal framework, hoping to perpetuate their values, ideals, and vision that existed in Gush Katif. Their support for each other is something to be admired," said the report.

According to the report, this has led the community to stand by all its members, especially those who have been considered "ineligible" for whatever reasons by the government.

Even though most of the communities are still in temporary sites, there have been efforts to maintain a rich communal life.

"The communal strength has greatly enabled them to struggle with the various difficulties—but there are no guarantees. The continuing uncertainty seeps through, and makes every aspect of life more difficult," said the report.

According to the report, the rehabilitation of the displaced Jews from Gush Katif is largely dependent on whether or not the Israeli government grants them a national-priority status, which would include smoothing over the many bureaucratic tangles that must be faced before they can be properly resettled.

"The government must make a comprehensive change in its approach to these problems in order to bring an end to this sad chapter as quickly as possible and ease the difficulties of this sector that has suffered greatly," said the report.