The State of Israel is still in the midst of the war, but there is already concern that the bodies responsible for rehabilitating the communities near the Gaza Strip are not coordinating with each other as one might hope.
The Housing Ministry has already promised to provide more than a thousand caravans as soon as possible for temporary housing for the evacuees, but another government ministry warns in an internal document that this is an inferior and problematic solution – both sanitary and social, and especially not a safety solution against missile and rocket fire. Will the State of Israel repeat the same mistake as the evacuee sites from the days of the Disengagement?
According to the rehabilitation plan submitted by Minister of Construction and Housing, Yitzhak Goldknopf, to the head of the Takuma Administration, Moshe Edri, the thousand caravans will be scattered in host localities as close as possible to the previous place of residence of the evacuees, according to the following division: the evacuees of Be'eri will move to the premises, the residents of Nir Oz to Hatzerim or Lahav, the residents of Dune to Revivim, and the evacuees of Kfar Gaza will move to Dorot, Ruhama or Beit Kama. Regarding the evacuees from Nahal Oz, the location has not yet been determined. The rest of the residents will return to their communities when the fighting ends, and temporary neighborhoods will be built to replace the houses that were damaged.
Caravilla website Archive photo: Jonathan Shaul,
Safeguarding the community
The location of the caravan sites in the western Negev and/or within the council boundaries was done out of a desire to return the communities as soon as possible to their original homes. Thus, when the fighting ends, the evacuees will be able to integrate into their regular life cycle, which includes work, studies and protecting the community.
The minister notes in the document that an immediate order should be made for about 100,50 housing buildings for the five temporary sites in two permanent models of <> square meters and <> square meters. How much money will all this cost? That's still not being talked about. The purchase of the buildings, Goldknopf notes, will be done in a centralized manner by the Takuma Administration, and he emphasizes that the purchase must begin immediately.
"The ministry is aware of the position of various parties who believe that there is no need for the temporary sites at this time, out of unfounded concern regarding the use of the buildings after the communities return to their communities," the document states, "The Ministry of Construction and Housing, along with all the relevant professional bodies, headed by the Village Settlement Administration, disagree with this position and believe that it is impossible to conduct a proper and appropriate rehabilitation process without temporary sites."
Time plays a role
In another emergency meeting held in recent days, representatives of the Ministry of Finance, the Planning Administration, the Budget Department and the Ministry of Housing, together with the large construction companies, discussed the rapid construction methods and rapid rehabilitation of homes. When talking to the evacuees, they talk desperately about three years until they return to their homes, although in practice the rehabilitation can be completed in half the time. All this, of course, without getting into the issue of the need for security and achieving complete quiet along the border fence.
Why, in fact, when the construction industry in Israel in 2023 boasts the most advanced technology, does it take 32 months to build a building? The answer, as always, lies mainly in bureaucracy, and it is perhaps worth remembering that the late Ariel Sharon, as Minister of Housing, allowed the construction of buildings even in a quick 18-month process.
It is clear to everyone that the standards should be: quality, schedules and price. The examination carried out by the Planning Administration shows that according to these criteria, the use of temporary mobile structures constitutes an inferior engineering and architectural solution for housing the evacuees, compared to the other existing solutions. There are certainly other, more sophisticated construction methods that are already being carried out in Israel, and they have local factories and contractors. It is also clear that the choice of local solutions will support the Israeli economy and Blue and White products.
The government investigation reveals that with proper planning, it is possible to rebuild the Gaza envelope within a few months. The actual set up time also depends on production capacity, manpower, raw materials and delivery times. Unfortunately, the State of Israel is rich in experience in rapid construction with temporary mobile structures (caravans / caravans) and past cases have led to inferior residential environments, where health and social problems were common.
The Planning Administration concludes by noting that serious consideration must be given – in light of the voices opposing the caravan solution – whether it is indeed worthwhile to return to problematic construction methods that will not provide a solution for years.
An entire apartment as a safe room
Meanwhile, the leading construction companies are already in an accelerated process of a future tender, and not on caravans. The companies are interested in assisting in the rehabilitation of the envelope and the communities that were damaged, and in establishing new neighborhoods or in rehabilitating communities that were damaged in a period of only three and a half to four months (architectural planning, land ascent and key delivery) with high-quality construction and high standards using industrialized methods.
The method is similar to "plan and build": the companies offer to take on the projects (at all stages, including public participation, planning and execution). The Planning Administration undertook to simplify the planning and licensing processes to a minimum so that they would not constitute a barrier, and the companies defined 100 to 200 housing units for each, so that each community would be handled by a different company.
Two prototypes were presented as possible for the residential buildings. According to architect Gil Shenhav, there is a new development that was approved by the Home Front Command and received its approval - the Family Protected Space, which also includes a bathroom. These units also allow future flexibility in relatively simple interior changes.
Prototype diagram of the family protected space (courtesy of Shenhav Canaan Architects),
One of these prototypes includes the possibility of building a second floor in the future at a small investment, while the cost per square meter built (excluding neighborhood development) includes the development around the houses. The development of a prototype is currently under review with the companies, and each company will give its own price estimate (one of the companies noted that this is NIS 7000,<> per square meter).
Let's hope that the "next door" method will not characterize the entire rehabilitation process, because the last thing the evacuees need right now is a sense of unprofessionalism on the part of those who are supposed to help rebuild their homes.
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