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KKL-JNF
began buying land in the
Negev
back in the Nineteen
Thirties and has, since then, been engaging in its development for new
communities. The
Negev
currently has two
hundred and twenty communities, with some seven hundred thousand
inhabitants. KKL-JNF work
focuses on reclamation of land for expansion of existing communities and
preparation of infrastructures for establishment of new communities and
individual farms. Apart from
land reclamation, KKL-JNF also engages in the development of water
sources, aid for agricultural research and development, reclamation of
land for agriculture, plantings and development of tourist sites, all as
an important and vital part of preparing infrastructures for communities
in the
Negev
.
And,
indeed, something good has been happening in the
Negev
in recent years. After many
years of a freeze in the
Negev
settlement process, clear signs are again appearing of action on bare hill
tops within the primordial desert landscape.
First, roads are broken through from the main roads into the hills
and then areas are leveled and roads are paved between them. Electricity
lines are stretched out and then the trucks arrive carrying caravans and
prefabricated houses, which are planted in the landscape.
Within an amazingly short time, the first families are unloading
their possessions, placing their children in the local kindergarten which
has already been equipped with a outside play area – and life begins to
beat.
Behind
this momentum stands Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund, thanks
to the aid of its friends throughout the world and in cooperation with
members of the young settling movement – "Or Messimot".
Members of the movement, all former members of the IDF, are working
in a search for new ideals and from a need to give
Israel
governments a reason to put into effect the tens of their resolutions
regarding expansion of settlement in the
Negev
and in the
Galilee
.
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KKL-
JNF in The Land of The Negev