The budget for guarding settlements around the Gaza Strip after Israeli pullout has been approved, Defense Ministry Director General Amos Yaron said Wednesday.
Yaron told officials from the Defense Ministry that he had approved a budget of NIS 210 million (about USD 50 million) to guard 46 settlements in 2005-2006.
An advance payment of NIS 70 million (about USD 17 million) has also been approved for immediate implementation of the first phase of the plan.
Head of the disengagement administration in the southern command, Colonel Yossi Turgeman, met last November with 12 representatives of kibbutzim that surround the Gaza Strip.
Turgeman outlined the type of protection they would receive, which included electronic fences and fireproof tractors for plowing fields.
In the meeting held in Nahal Oz, Turgeman said the 12 settlements closest to the strip would receive a special budget that would also special training for security guards and distribution of ceramic flak jackets.
A Defense ministry representative participating in the meeting announced that the state would also finance anti-fire protection for 20 tractors aimed at safeguarding farmers working in the fields.
Turgeman told kibbutzim heads that the border fence would become part of a system of fences and roads that would form the separation between the Gaza Strip and Israeli territory.
He added that the most advanced protective technology would be stationed there, and together with the local forces they would prevent infiltration attempts from Gaza to Israel.
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