Compensation plan approved for uprooted Gaza settlers
The Israeli Cabinet today approved legislation to pay compensation to settlers uprooted by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s Gaza withdrawal plan.
The 13-6 vote gave Sharon another boost as he pushes forward with the contentious plan. He faces an important battle on Tuesday, when the parliament will vote on the withdrawal.
The legislation approved today includes guidelines for compensating settlers forced from their homes and penalties for settlers who resist evacuation orders. Sharon hopes to carry out the withdrawals next summer.
“The law will ease life as much as possible for the settlers who will be evacuated,” Sharon told the ministers ahead of the vote. “I’m sure that even those who are opposed to disengagement will not want to make life difficult for the settlers.”
The plan has bitterly divided his government, and four of the six dissenting votes were cast by ministers from Sharon’s Likud Party.
Sharon says his plan, which also includes a withdrawal from four West Bank settlements, will boost Israel’s security after four years of fighting with the Palestinians.
Jewish settlers, and their hard-line allies in the government, accuse Sharon of caving in to Palestinian violence and fear the withdrawal is only the first step of a larger pullback from the West Bank.
Sharon’s government could still fall on other issues, including the budget, before implementation is meant to go forward.
