Low settler response rate

GAZA STRIP - Only some 350 out of the estimated 1,700 settler families slated for evacuation in the framework of the Gaza disengagement plan have filed compensation claims with the Disengagement Authority, Authority head Yonatan Bassi said Sunday during a meeting with President Moshe Katsav. According to Bassi, a similar number of families are expected to file compensation requests during the next two weeks, still less than 50 percent of all families in Gaza. “We are holding intense negotiations with residents of three northern Gaza settlements (slated for evacuation) – Ele Sinai, Dugit and Nisanit,” he said. “Most of them will, in one way or another, re-locate willingly to the Ashkelon area.” Bassi added that more than 150 families have already expressed their willingness to move to a northern Ashkelon neighborhood that is being constructed for the north Gaza evacuees, and some 40 families have requested to move to Bat-Hadar, near Ashkelon. He added that the situation regarding the West Bank settlements slated for evacuation is similar. “The main difficulty is in Gush Katif, where 1,000 of the 1,700 settler families reside,” Bassi said. “There are talks with many groups from Gush Katif, but these talks have not developed into anything substantial. I hope most of the families leave the area willingly, and I suppose this will happen one to two weeks prior to the disengagement.” He said the Disengagement Authority is attempting to devise a plan that would facilitate the settlers’ evacuation without IDF or police intervention. The office has prepared an interim solution for settlers who have not yet decided on their post-pullout accommodations, he said. Recently, Prime Minister’s Office Director-General Ilan Cohen said there has been an increase in settler applications to the Authority since the High Court of Justice's ruling on the Evacuation-Compensation Law Could take years He predicted the rate of compensation claims would rise as the disengagement nears, but added that the Disengagement Office’s ability to provide assistance would drop, as evacuated settlers would have to present documents prooving the size of their former homes from the local councils, which would cease to exist. “No one should be surprised if two years go by before they (settlers) would receive their compensation, “ Cohen said at the time. Concerned about violence During his meeting with Bassi, Katsav addressed the issue of the increasing violence among pullout objectors. “I am concerned about the several hundred settlers who are willing to break the law,” he said. “I am concerned about elected public figures who are encouraging those settlers with slogans such as “Be killed but not evacuated,” and “Danger to the country’s existence.” Katsav also addressed the issue of the recent attempt to lynch a Palestinian youth. “The attack on the Palestinian youth and the sanctity of Islam angers me,” he said. Katsav praised the Yesha Council heads for coming out against the violent far-right activists.

Low settler response rate

Disengagement Office Head Yonatan Bassi says only 20 percent of settler families slated for evacuation have filed a request for compensation, main difficulty in Gush Katif