Sufa, Israel
{{Short description|Kibbutz in southern Israel}}
{{Infobox Kibbutz
| name = Sufa
| hebname = {{Script/Hebrew| סוּפָה }}
| arname = {{Script/Arabic| صوفا }}
| image = אירוע עפיפונים בקיבוץ 2020.jpg
| foundation = 1982
| founded_by = Evacuated settlers
| district = south
| council = Eshkol
| affiliation = Kibbutz Movement
| popyear = {{Israel populations|Year}}
| population = {{Israel populations|Sufa}}
| population_footnotes = {{Israel populations|reference}}
| pushpin_map = Israel northwest negev#Israel
| pushpin_mapsize = 250
| coordinates = {{coord|31|14|14|N|34|20|29|E|display=inline,title}}
| website = [http://www.sufa.org/html/ www.sufa.org]
}}
Sufa ({{langx|he|סוּפָה||Storm}}) is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located in the Hevel Shalom area of the north-western Negev desert, it falls under the jurisdiction of Eshkol Regional Council. In {{Israel populations|Year}} it had a population of {{Israel populations|Sufa}}.{{Israel populations|reference}}
A border crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip named after the kibbutz was located nearby, but was closed permanently by Israel in 2008.{{Cite web |date=2022-07-03 |title=Entrance of goods to Gaza via Kerem Shalom |url=https://gisha.org/en/entrance-of-goods-to-gaza-from-israel/ |access-date=2023-01-07 |website=Gisha |language=en}}
Kibbutz
File:111152 kibbutz sufa general appearance PikiWiki Israel.jpg
The kibbutz was founded in 1982 by former residents of Sufa, an Israeli settlement in Sinai which was evacuated as part of the Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty. Its name is derived from the severe dust storms which occurred in the original settlement. To the north of the kibbutz, where Nirim was between the years 1946–1949, lies the memorial site "Dangur", commemorating the casualties of the Egyptian attack on Nirim and a memorial for the eight fallen soldiers.{{Cite book
|publisher = Mapa Publishing
|isbn = 965-7184-34-7
|pages = 387–388
|editor=Yuval Elʻazari
|title = Mapa's concise gazetteer of Israel
|location = Tel-Aviv
|year = 2005
|language=he}}
Sufa was one of the Israeli villages briefly under Hamas control at the start of the Gaza war,{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2023/oct/07/hamas-launches-attack-on-israel-with-5000-rockets-live?page=with:block-652121a48f0880e74add7755&filterKeyEvents=false#liveblog-navigation|title=Seven communities under Hamas control: report|website=The Guardian|date=7 October 2023}} with three residents killed.{{cite web|url=https://news.walla.co.il/item/3615926|title=שישה תושבים מול עשרות מחבלים: גיבורי הקרב בקיבוץ סופה משחזרים|website=Walla|date=13 October 2023}} A women's tank platoon of the Caracal Battalion was crucial for recapturing the kibbutz.{{cite web|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/female-idf-tank-crews-ran-down-dozens-of-hamas-terrorists-on-october-7/|title=Female IDF tank crews ran down dozens of Hamas terrorists on October 7|website=The Times of Israel|date=26 November 2023}}
Border crossing
The Sufa border crossing was used by Palestinians working on Israeli farms. During the Second Intifada (2000–2005), the border crossing and the military base next to it were subject to several Palestinian attacks, and the crossing was intermittently closed.{{Cite conference
|last=United Nations
|title=The Gaza Strip: Access Report January 2006
|accessdate=2008-06-05
|url=http://www.ochaopt.org/documents/ochaSR_GazaAccess_Jan06.pdf
|url-status=dead
|website=Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091013101321/http://www.ochaopt.org/documents/ochaSR_GazaAccess_Jan06.pdf
|archive-date=2009-10-13
|last = Issacharoff
|first = Avi
|title = Crossings used to bring aid into Gaza closed due to terror alerts
|work = Haaretz
|accessdate = 2008-06-05
|date = 2007-06-27
|url = http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/875674.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080109090036/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/875674.html |archive-date=Jan 9, 2008
}} In October 2007, the crossing was closed, leaving the Kerem Shalom crossing as the only point of entry. In November, despite IDF objections saying it was harder to guard than Kerem Shalom, Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai decided to reopen the crossing.{{Cite news
|title = Vilnai Opens Sufa Crossing Despite IDF Objections
|work = Arutz Sheva
|access-date = April 29, 2019
|date = 2007-11-15
|url = http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/136534
}} It was then used to transfer humanitarian assistance to the Strip.{{Cite web
|title = Humanitarian assistance to Gaza since Feb 27 escalation in terror
|work = Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs
|accessdate = 2008-06-05
|url = http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Government/Communiques/2008/Humanitarian+assistance+transferred+to+Gaza+4-Mar-2008.htm
}}
In May 2008 the crossing was once again closed following a mortar attack which wounded an IDF soldier.{{Cite news
|last = Haaretz Service
|title = IDF soldier moderately wounded by Palestinian fire in south Gaza
|work = Haaretz
|accessdate = 2008-06-05
|date = 2008-06-01
|url = http://news.haaretz.co.il/hasen/spages/989000.html
}}{{Dead link|date=June 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=no }} A few days later, thousands of Palestinians protested the Israeli blockade. Six people were reported wounded by the IDF in that incident.{{Cite news
|last = Waked
|first = Ali
|title = Report: 6 Palestinians injured by IDF fire in Gaza
|work = Ynetnews
|accessdate = 2008-06-05
|date = 2008-05-30
|url = http://www.ynet.co.il/english/articles/0,7340,L-3549890,00.html
}} On 1 June about forty Israeli farmers protested at the crossing, in a bid to stop the transportation of goods into the Strip despite the ongoing Qassam rocket barrages.{{cite news
|last = Atlas
|first = Yonat
|title = Farmers protest at Sufa crossing against ongoing rocket barrages
|work = Ynetnews
|accessdate = 2008-06-05
|url = http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3550296,00.html
}} As a result, the Sufa border crossing was permanently closed in 2008.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20080628170609/http://www.sufa.org/html/ Official website] {{in lang|he}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20140811042309/http://eng.negev-net.org.il/HTMLs/article.aspx?C2004=12752 Sufa] Negev Information Center
{{Eshkol Regional Council}}
{{Israel border crossings}}
{{Former Israeli settlements in the Sinai}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Populated places established in 1982
Category:Israel–Gaza Strip border crossings