The first settlement in the Lakish development region, southwest of Jerusalem was opened yesterday at Otzem when the settlers, recent immigrants from remote Moroccan villages in the Atlas Mountains arrived and began working on permanent homes. The formal dedication of this first settlement in the region was delayed by the sudden death yesterday of Prof Itzhak Elazari-Volcani, one of Israel’s foremost agricultural pioneers.
Temporary dwellings were ready for the new settlers whose families average six people. A water supply had already been assured and a kindergarten school clinic and cooperative store were standing when they arrived. Another such settlement is due to be opened next Monday. Plans call for the erection of 21 such settlements and an urban center, Kfar Gat, within this year the entire project to cost some $20,000,000.
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