Ashalim ( Hebrew : אֲשָׁלִים ) is a small community settlement in southern Israel . Located in the Negev desert about 35 km south of Be'er Sheva and on the eastern side of Nahal Besor , the largest stream in the Negev, it falls under the jurisdiction of the Ramat HaNegev Regional Council . In 2022 its population was 652. Nearby settlements include Ezuz and Nitzana .
4-405: The original village of Ashalim was one of three nahal settlements founded between Mashabei Sadeh and Nitzana in 1956. The name itself means Tamarixes , a genus of shrubs and small trees. The new Ashalim was founded as moshav shitufi in 1979 after moving from Bir Asluj Hill close to Golda Park, a nearby artificial lake. Today Ashalim functions as a community settlement. In 2003 Kfar Adiel,
8-996: A village for students of the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev , was founded near Ashalim by the Ayalim Association, whose objective is to establish settlements for students and small entrepreneurs in the Negev and the Galilee . Ashalim is one of a number of development sites for solar power in Israel . In 2008 construction began on three solar power plants near the settlement; two thermal and one photovoltaic . The 121MW Ashalim Power Station began producing power in 2018. Nahal settlements Nahal settlements ( Hebrew : היאחזות נח"ל Heahzut Nahal ) were Israeli settlements established by Israeli soldiers of Nahal in both Israel and
12-654: The Israeli-occupied territories . Supporting the growth and expansion of Israeli Jews was once the main focus of Nahal troops of the Israel Defense Forces and was primarily carried out through the Garin program. The goal of Nahal settlement was to provide a base of operations and resources for Israeli troops along the border. This method of encouraging settlement was particularly effective in regions of Israel that were less desirable for human inhabitation (mainly
16-723: The Negev , the Galilee , and the Aravah ) between 1948 and 1967. After the 1967 Arab–Israeli War , Nahal settlements were established in the newly Israeli-occupied territories (the Jordanian-annexed West Bank and the Egyptian-occupied Gaza Strip , and the Syrian Golan Heights and the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula ) in pursuit of similar goals. The first such settlement was Nahal Oz , located in
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