The Jewish National Fund completed recently the reclamation of land for the new settlement of Mitzpeh Shalem, by the Dead Sea. Mitzpeh Shalem was settled several years ago on a mountain ridge overlooking the Dead Sea as a military (nabal) settlement. It will now become a regular civilian settlement, at a different location, closer to the Dead Sea.
The site of the new settlement is bisected by small valleys and river beds. The JNF had to remove some 68,000 cubic metres of land to alter it for use. The natural land in the area is very salty. Therefore, the JNF coated the land allocated for agriculture with fertile erosion land, transported from nearby riverbeds. The JNF has already reclaimed some 50 acres of land, on which it planted palm trees which already bear fruit.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.