Following the cabinet's decision at the end of last year to freeze construction in the West Bank for 10 months, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved Sunday a document outlining the compensation to be awarded to those who have suffered damage as a result of the freeze. However, the criteria according to which compensation will be awarded have yet to be determined.
The draft was prepared by a team headed by Cabinet Secretary Zvi Hauser and including experts from the Prime Minister's Office, the Finance Ministry and the Justice Ministry.
Construction halted in Ariel (Photo: Ido Erez)
The outline determines that uniform criteria for compensation will be decided upon for three main groups: Purchasers of homes, building contractors in possession of a construction permit, and, in some cases, one-off awards to local authorities.
Details of the criteria will be released soon, and the compensation package will be handled by a special committee which the cabinet decided to establish during the same sitting.
This decision does not require any legislation or additional permits, and can therefore be implemented without delay. Private bills put forward by various MKs regarding this issue are thus made redundant.
Netanyahu said Thursday that he "welcomes this just and humane decision."