Mazuz: No money for Gush Katif farmers
Ynetnews exclusive: Attorney general vetoes two compenstation options for Gaza settlers; Gush Katif farmers will get smaller fields in Negev and Galilee instead; Justice Ministry says it will consider other options
GUSH KATIF - The government promised settlers in Gush Katif they would be compensated for their agricultural lands, but Attorney General Manny Mazuz has thrown a monkey wrench into the plan.
The governement had planned to offer Gush Katif farmers several options for compensation, including land swaps, and opportunities to purchase land inside the Green Line to re-establish their greenhouses and fields.
Now, Mazuz has frustrated the farmers’ hope of minimizing their economic losses by holding up a government decision to give the settlers money for their fields.
According to Mazuz, the Disengagement and Compensation Law only allows for swaps between for agricultural land in the Negev and Galilee.
The Justice Ministry told Ynetnews the attorney general’s decision did not reflect opposition in principal to a plan for financial compensation. The ministry will explore alterative compensation packages in line with the law.
However, the idea of land trades is not a done deal either.
Farmers still in the dark
The Israel Lands Authority was supposed to have provided the Disengagement Authority with a list of available properties nine days ago, but the list has not yet made its way to the farmers slated for evacuation.
Nor has the Disengagement Authority formed a list of Gush Katif farmers interested in the idea.
The compensation package vetoed by Mazuz had been accepted by the government on May 8. The package offered the settlers two options: Either work plots within the Green Line or buy a stake in the land with government support.
Yossi Yishai, the director-general of the Agricultural Ministry, told Ynetnews the only option currently available would be a swap between Gush Katif fields and property in the Galilee or Negev.
Nevertheless, Yishai said, “Despite the decision of the attorney general, we are ready to begin the process.”
“The prime minister talks about disengagement now, but practically speaking, no one is giving the farmers an immediate solution should they want to move their businesses,” said Yosef Tzarfati, head of the Gush Katif Agricultural Committee.
“Less than three months away from the deadline, and we have no lands to offer them, no worthwhile compensation, and no way to move greenhouses and packing houses within the Green Line,” he said.
-- Tal Rosner contributed to this report
