שיקום הטראומה | כפר עזה

The border settlements in the State of Israel stand on the front lines of security confrontations. The spatial planning in Israel's early years positioned these border settlements as sovereign territorial instruments and a defensive array. Settling the conflict line was perceived by the Zionist ethos as a heroic act. This approach turns the residents into a "human shield," constantly exposed to risks and suffering from perpetual insecurity. The perception of settling the conflict line collapsed last year, with the crumbling of security for residents, affecting hundreds of thousands either harmed or forced to leave their homes. Kibbutz Kfar Aza is located on the conflict border with the Gaza Strip just two kilometers from the border. This location exposes the settlement to a routine of security threats and made it one of the central focuses damaged in the October 7th events, which left a deep and painful imprint on both the community and the physical space. The planning responds to Kibbutz Kfar Aza as a conflict border settlement, addressing the October 7th events in the Kfar Aza area and proposing a planning approach based on trauma rehabilitation concepts. Within this framework, a system was developed that reexamines the spatial perception of the kibbutz on various scales, while discussing the traditional planning perception of the kibbutzim and particularly the conflict line settlements. The project proposes a spatial, social, and human confrontation with the trauma of October 7th in the kibbutz community and the surrounding area, with reference to principles of rehabilitation, protection, and community strengthening.