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Palestinian collaborators to be granted permanent residency
Cabinet to decide on fate of 31 Dahaniya families in next week's meeting; expected to grant financial aid, find permanent place of residence in six months
The cabinet is scheduled to decide Sunday on the request made by families of Palestinian collaborators from the Gaza Strip village of Dahaniya for permanent residency in Israel.
The cabinet is also expected to award each family a NIS 45,000 (some $11,200) grant with an additional NIS 9,000 ($2200) for each child under the age of 18, and find them a permanent place of residence within six months.
In August 2005, the village of Dahaniya – near the Palestinian city of Rafah – was evacuated and later leveled. The families of 31 Palestinian collaborators were brought to Israel, where the coordinator of government activities in the Palestinian territories was supposed to see to their needs.
In the two years since, the families have petitioned to the High Court so that their situation may be included under the Disengagement Law's criteria.
In the Attorney General's government brief on the matter, which was forwarded to all cabinet members, attorney Ahaz Ben-Ari explained that the matter is more a question of politics than a question of law.
Renewing these families' residency permits every year and offering collaborators lands and monetary compensation he stated, may not withstand the High Court's scrutiny in the long run.
