The Netzarim axis (Martyrs’ Junction) is a corridor that separates Gaza City and its north from the central region and the south of the Gaza Strip. It was named after a settlement that existed before 2005 in its place. It was called the Martyrs’ Junction due to the large number of martyrs who died there during the first days of the Al-Aqsa Intifada, including the child Muhammad al-Durrah. And ambulance driver Bassam Al-Balbisi.
the site
The Netzarim Corridor (the middle axis) is located between Gaza City and the Central Governorate. It starts from the area opposite Kibbutz “Be’eri” in the east, reaching the Mediterranean coast in the west. It is about 7 kilometers long, and was named after the former “Netzarim” settlement that was located there.
It is adjacent to the areas of Juhr al-Dik and al-Mughraqa, and Salah al-Din Street crosses it from the middle. It is bordered by the cities of al-Zahraa and al-Asra from its south-central and southwestern sides. The Zaytoun neighborhood also occupies the largest area of its northern borders, and as for the northwestern side, it is bordered by the areas of al-Sabra and Sheikh Ajlin.
The Netzarim area is almost devoid of population, as most of it is agricultural land, and there are few institutions and facilities.
Israeli control
The Netzarim Corridor is not considered new in the Gaza Strip. Rather, it was part of the Five Fingers Plan presented by former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in 1971 when he was commander of the southern region. Its aim was to facilitate security control over the Strip by dividing it into 5 settlement blocs as follows:
- The northern region: It included 3 settlements in Beit Hanoun (Netzarim, Dogit, and Eli Sinai), and is considered an extension of the Ashkelon region.
- Netzarim Corridor: The area between Gaza City and Deir al-Balah (this is the same area crossed by Route 749, which the occupation established at the beginning of 2024).
- Kissufim Corridor: The separation between Deir al-Balah and Khan Yunis. Its settlements were built on the western side only, which are clusters (north of Gush Katif, Kfar Darom), and it is the only road leading to Gush Katif.
- Sufa Pass: Located between Khan Yunis and Rafah.
- Yamit: It is a settlement adjacent to the Rafah border with Egypt before 1982, and next to it are about 15 other settlements, all of which were evacuated following the peace agreement between Egypt and Israel, which was later known as the Philadelphia Axis.
The Netzarim settlement was established in 1972 and evacuated on August 15, 2005 by order of Sharon himself. It witnessed the end of the Israeli presence in the Gaza Strip with the exit of the last Israeli soldier from the Kissufim Gate on September 12, 2005.
The economic activity of this settlement was mainly based on agriculture, and Sharon said in 2002 about it that Netzarim was like Tel Aviv.
This corridor was used to blackmail and harass Gazans, and many painful events were recorded, including cases of miscarriage and the death of patients as a result of being prevented from reaching hospitals in a timely manner despite riding in ambulances. These cars are also subjected to searches and blackmail, and the occupation deliberately prevents them from crossing until after hours of detention.
Route 749
The Israeli occupation aimed to separate the northern Gaza Strip from its south during its war on the Strip in October 2023. It created a road separating central Gaza from the southern region, extending from the eastern border to the western coast, and bulldozed large areas in the vicinity of this corridor, reaching a depth of 3 kilometers on… Its northern and southern sides, to form a fulcrum for his army.
The Israeli Channel 14 published a report on February 17, 2024, highlighting a military road called “Road 749,” and it appeared in the report that it had been planned since the beginning of the ground operation in the Gaza Strip.
The commander of the 601st Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Shimon Orkabi, said in the report, “We are working in the Netzarim Corridor area, which is a barrier between the northern Gaza Strip and the central and southern regions. This road aims to protect the region, raid areas where the enemy is present, and prevent passage to the north.”
In order to build new settlement outposts in the region, and in preparation for the process of building this road, the occupation bombed Al-Isra University due to its close proximity to it.
According to Israeli reports and some Palestinian witnesses, this road consists of three cross paths: the first is for tracked vehicles, the second is for vehicles and jeeps with rubber wheels, and the third has sites built on it for Israeli soldiers to sleep, store weapons, and interrogate Palestinian detainees.
As part of securing the focal point on this corridor, the Israeli army surrounded it with huge concrete and high earth barriers, many advanced monitoring devices, and watchtowers, in addition to round-the-clock reconnaissance flights, and artillery and fire sweeps in the morning and evening hours and in between.
The importance of the axis for the Israeli occupation
- Facilitating the return of Israeli settlement in the Gaza Strip.
- Controlling the movement of civilians north and south, and preventing the return of displaced people to the north of the Strip.
- Facilitating the advance of Israeli vehicles north or south of the Gaza Strip within minutes, as happened in the second invasion of Al-Shifa Hospital and the Nuseirat camp.
- It was used as a pressure card in the prisoner exchange file.
Milestones
- The town of Al-Mughraqa
It was established by a decision of the late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat in 1996. It is bordered by Gaza City in the north, the town of Nuseirat in the south, and Madinat al-Zahra in the southwest, and is separated by Salah al-Din Street from the village of Juhr al-Dik in the east. The percentage of agricultural land is 62.8% of its total area.
- Al-Isra University
An educational institution located in Madinat Al-Zahra, it was established through the efforts of some academics and businessmen, by decision of the Council of Ministers in 2014, and with a license from the Ministry of Education and Higher Education.
It obtained membership in the Association of Islamic Universities and the Union of Arab Universities, granting bachelor’s degrees through 6 colleges, in addition to 9 intermediate diploma programs.
- Al-Zahraa City
It was established in 1998 adjacent to the former settlement of Netzarim, by decision of Arafat, with the aim of stopping the encroachment of the settlement, which was completely adjacent to the city from the north.
It is located south of Gaza City, separated from Nuseirat by the Gaza Valley, and bordered on the east by Al-Mughraqa, while its western border is the Mediterranean coast. Its area is 4,700 dunams, with a population density estimated at about 10,000 people.
Axis of resistance operations
The Palestinian resistance has always considered the Netzarim axis a target, and it was intensifying its operations there against the Israeli occupation army, which took control of it again during the Battle of Al-Aqsa Flood. 114 mm “Rajum” missiles. Among the most prominent operations announced by the resistance are the following:
Al-Mughraqa ambush
The Al-Qassam Brigades – the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) – announced in mid-April 2024 that two Israeli forces were placed in separate mine ambushes in the Al-Mughraqa area, using explosive devices and F-16 fighter missiles that Israel fired at civilians but did not explode. As a result of this ambush, 14 Israeli soldiers and officers were killed or wounded.
In other statements, the Phalange announced its bombing of Israeli forces on the Netzarim axis, followed by the landing of Israeli helicopters in the corridor. It also announced its targeting of forces penetrating the Juhr al-Dik area.
In May 2024, the Brigades also broadcast scenes of an Israeli soldier being sniped in the Netzarim axis, south of the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood, using a 14.5 mm Ghoul rifle.
Operations before the Al-Aqsa Flood
Before its liberation, the Netzarim settlement was a target for the Palestinian resistance in the Gaza Strip. Although it was very fortified, it has been targeted several times with major operations since the second intifada in 2000. As a result, the occupation lost many soldiers and there were many calls to evacuate the settlement. Among those operations are the following:
- In September 2000, 9 Israeli soldiers were killed by an explosive device at the beginning of the Al-Aqsa Intifada.
- In 2001, the Netzarim axis witnessed the bombing of the first Merkava tank.
- On March 11, 2002, two young men from the Al-Qassam Brigades tried to enter the settlement, clashed with a military patrol on its outskirts, and were then martyred.
- On March 29, 2002, a young man from the Jerusalem Brigades attacked the settlement and killed two settlers before being killed.