![]() | This article needs to be updated.(April 2024) |
Camp Ariel Sharon (Hebrew : מחנה אריאל שרון, Mahane Ariel Sharon), also called the City of Training Bases (Hebrew : עיר הבה"דים, Ir HaBahadim), is a complex of military bases being built in southern Israel, belonging to the Israel Defense Forces and named after the former Major General and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. It is a NIS 50 billion project. [1]
Upon completion, it will be the largest military base in the country, with the ability to house over 10,000 recruits in training. The base is located near Yeruham and next to the Negev Junction of roads 40 and 224.
The base will serve as an umbrella training facility, housing training bases 6, 7, 10, 11, 13, 20 and other training bases, including noncombat recruit training bases. It will cover a built-up area of 230 dunams (230,000 m2)
The Planning Directorate of the Israel Defense Forces in 2002 formulated the project as part of a multi-year plan. The cornerstone was laid on December 1, 2003, and the Israeli cabinet approved the project in April 2007.
The headquarters of the base was inaugurated in November 2014. The Adjutant Corps School will move into the base in February 2015, followed by the Military Police School.[ needs update ] [2]
The View to the Negev concern, which comprises Minrav, Binat and Electra, is building the project and will maintain it for 25 years, at a cost of NIS 12 billion, under a private-public partnership. [3] [4]
The architect Ofer Kolker designed the base overall. Participating architectural firms include Zarhi Architects, Bar Hana Architects and the architect Shlomo Gendler. [5]
The complex is planned to consist of 120 buildings. This includes 31 residential buildings, a dining room and kitchen, a conference hall, a commercial center, 12 schools, 12 technical workshops and logistics centers, 11 electrical substations, and some synagogues. [6]
The City of Training Bases will be largely closed to private vehicles. A bike share program is being considered for the permanent staff of the base to get around. The base itself will be served by a transportation hub that will replace the existing hub in Camp Natan (Beersheba), and later by a railway line. [5]
The planning was made around the Sekher Stream which passes through the base. A hill was created from the excess earth dug up during construction. Thousands of trees and over 100,000 plants will be planted throughout the base. According to landscape architect Izzy Blanc, The base will largely resemble an urban park. The water used to water the plants will be reclaimed water. [5]
Each building on the campus will have an energy usage meter, and planners hope this will encourage conservation among soldiers. [5]
The City of Training Bases will house the following military bases:
The hill made from the excess earth will contain a monument to the late Israeli general and prime minister Ariel Sharon. [5]
Below is a list of commanders for the base:
Name | Tenure | Source |
---|---|---|
Danny Moshayov | 2014–2016 | [2] |
Avi Motola | 2016– |
The base, one of the biggest in Israel, is expected to create many jobs in the remote area where it is being built, especially in Yeruham.
Ariel Sharon was an Israeli general and politician who served as the 11th prime minister of Israel from March 2001 until April 2006.
Arad is a city in the Southern District of Israel. It is located on the border of the Negev and the Judean Deserts, 25 kilometres west of the Dead Sea and 45 kilometres east of Beersheba. The city is home to a diverse population of 28,170, including Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews, both secular and religious, Bedouins and Black Hebrews, as well as new immigrants.
Yeruham is a town in the Southern District of Israel, in the Negev desert. It covers 38,584 dunams, and had a population of 11,170 in 2022. It is named after the Biblical Jeroham.
Amram Mitzna is an Israeli politician and former general in the IDF. He is a former mayor of Haifa (1993–2003) and Yeruham (2005–2010) and led the Labor Party from 2002 to 2003. In 2012 he joined Hatnuah.
Kfar Yona is a city in the Sharon subdistrict in the Central District of Israel. It is located between the cities Netanya and Tulkarm, about 8 km east of Netanya in the central junction between Highway 6 and Highway 4. The village was established in 1932 by Maurice Fischer and was declared a local council in the year 1940. Following developments in the fields of construction, industry and, education, the local council received city status in February 11th 2014. In 2024 the city has a jurisdiction of 11,550 dunams and a population of 29,953.
Zvi Hecker was a Polish-born Israeli architect. His work is known for its emphasis on geometry and asymmetry.
Be'er Ya'akov is a city in central Israel, near Ness Ziona and Rishon Lezion. The town has an area of 8,580 dunams (~8.6 km²), and had a population of 31,325 in 2022.
The Military Police Corps of the Israel Defense Forces (Hebrew: חֵיל הַמִּשְׁטָרָה הַצְּבָאִית, Chayal HaMishtara HaTzva'it, commonly called "Mem Tzadik" or "Mem Tzadi", is the Israeli military police and provost. The military police serves the Manpower Directorate during peacetime, and the Technological and Logistics Directorate during war.
Tironut is the Hebrew term for the recruit training of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
Tzrifin is an area in Gush Dan in central Israel, located on the eastern side of Rishon LeZion and including parts of Be'er Ya'akov. The area proper is defined as an 'area without jurisdiction' between the two cities.
Bahad is a military training base in the Israel Defense Forces. Each Bahad deals with a certain field, such as law enforcement or logistics. Generally, each Bahad belongs to a certain corps and conducts all courses required by the corps in question. Some training bases also train the new recruits of the corps.
The Israeli Technology and Maintenance Corps is a combat-support corps in the IDF GOC Army Headquarters. Before the Israeli Technological and Logistics Directorate was dismantled, it fell under its jurisdiction. The corps is responsible for the development and maintenance of war materiel, combat-support materials, and other systems.
The Israeli Education and Youth Corps is the IDF Manpower Directorate corps responsible for the education of soldiers and commanders in Israel's military. It is designed to instruct and develop national values among the troops.
The Israeli Logistics Corps is a support corps in the IDF Technological and Logistics Directorate, which centralizes the logistical activity in the IDF, including the transporting of supplies, shipments of fuel, construction, and transport. Its training base, Bahad 6, is located in Tzrifin and is intended to be moved to the Training Base City in the Negev, whose construction is expected to be complete by 2009. As of July 2023, the Chief Logistics Officer is Brigadier-General Ronen Cohen.
Bahad 4, commonly known as Batar Zikim is a training base (Bahad) belonging to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
Soroka University Medical Center, a part of the Clalit Health Services Group, is the general hospital of Beersheba, Israel, it serves as the central hospital of the region and provides medical services to approximately one million residents of the South, from Kiryat Gat and Ashkelon to Eilat. Soroka has 1,173 hospital beds, and is spread over 291 dunams in the center of Beer-Sheva.
Ramat HaNegev Regional Council is a regional council in the Negev desert in Israel. With around 8,000 residents spread across 20 villages, the council is geographically the largest in Israel, covering more than 20% of Israel's landmass. The council's headquarters are located on Highway 40 between Mashabei Sadeh and Tlalim.
Bror Hayil is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located near Sderot, it falls under the jurisdiction of Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council. In 2022 it had a population of 1,063.
Bahad 16 is a training base (bahad) belonging to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) under the command of the Home Front Command Search and Rescue (SAR) unit. Because it is the only SAR training base, Bahad 16 is synonymous with the SAR unit itself. Since 2021 it is located at the Rehavam Camp, Ramla, which is also the headquarters of the Home Front Command. Previously it was located within the disestablished Tzrifin base.
Aharon Haliva is an Israeli Major general (Aluf) who currently commands the IDF's Military Intelligence Directorate.