The Nitzanim Sand Dune Nature Reserve is a 21,600 dunam area within the Nitzanim Sands area between Ashdod and Ashkelon on the Southern Coastal Plain of the Israeli Mediterranean Sea coast.[1][2][3][4]
It was declared as a public area in early 1980s by the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel and designated as a nature reserve on June 2, 2005.[1]
The Reserve includes a small settlement of Nitzan located in place of the Nitzanim kibbutz, which was resettled some 3-4 km to the south.
The reserve is split in two parts by the Nahal Evtah (Evtach, Avtah) (Hebrew: נחל אבטח) wadi (Wadi el Ibtah) which leads to the Nitzanim Beach by the sea. The beach is a public area not part of the Reserve. The area south of the stream is designated for the IDF recruit training base Batar Nitzanim (Camp Yehoshua)[5] and is closed to public. The northern part is open to public all year round free of charge.[2]
In 2005, during the Israeli disengagement from Gaza there was a controversial plan to resettle some Israeli settlers from Gaza Strip to the Nitzanim Dunes area. [6]
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