Israeli Disengagement Office head, Yonatan Bassi, and Finance Ministry officials disagreed over the amount of compensation to be given to settler families slated for evacuation.
Officials at the Israeli Housing Ministry said that companies which are building settler caravans are taking advantage of the situation, and inflating prices.
A representative of the finance ministry, said Tuesday during a meeting on pullout with senior Israeli officials, that according to the framework of the disengagement plan, settler families receive an average of NIS 2 million as compensation.
Meanwhile, Bassi disagreed and said that the average package of compensation is NIS 800.000, and added that there is a rise in the number of settlers who are willing to leave independently in exchange for the compensation package.
Harel Belinda, from the Israeli finance ministry budget department, said that disengagement plan will cost Israel NIS 7 billion (US 1.6 billion), this number includes security and infrastructure related expenses.
Bassi also said that Israeli companies building the caravan units for the evacuated settlers took advantage of the situation and raised the prices in an “unreasonable way”; the unit cost is currently NIS 500.000 (about USD 190.000).
According to the Ynet Israeli news website, a source in the caravan construction department said that also foreign companies have been allowed to compete in the project.
Israeli Housing Misnitry director, Shmuel Abuay, said that construction in areas set to accommodate the evacuated settlers, such as Nitzan and Mavkiim, has progressed.
