A settler family from the Gush Katif settlement Bloc
received compensation from the Israeli government in accordance with
the disengagement plan from the Gaza Strip; the family is considered
the first family in the Gaza Strip which has received compensation.
The Disengagement Department said that the family
received its compensation last week, but refused to provide any further
details.
The head of the Disengagement
Department, Yonatan Bassi, said on Thursday that dozens of settler
families had begun the process of finalizing the procedures of
evacuation.
Meanwhile, Eran Sternberg, spokesman for the Gaza
Beach Regional Council, an organization representing many of the
colonists, disregarded Bassis’ statement and said that Gaza settlers
“Give more weight to a cat’s meow than to the statements by Bassiâ€Â.
Sternberg added that “Bassi’s claim that 800 settlers families signed up for compensation payout was a flatout lieâ€Â.
Although
some families appear ready to accept compensation in order to leave the
settlements — settlements deemed illegal by international law, many
are refusing the evacuation plan. With the Gaza Beach Regional
Council and other colonial organizations refusing to recognize the
legitimacy of the Israeli government’s Disengagement Department, it
appears that the minor step of disengagement from Gaza will prove and
arduous task.
