Israel approves compensation for settlers leaving Gaza
The compensation bill, passed by a vote of 13-6, is an important part of Sharon’s “unilateral disengagement” plan, which calls for a complete withdrawal from Gaza and pullout from four West Bank settlements next year.
On Tuesday, Sharon faces a bigger test, when parliament is to vote for the first time on the entire withdrawal plan. Sharon is expected to win that vote as well, but he hopes to win by a large margin to weaken his opponents.
In the West Bank, a car exploded next to an Israeli army jeep in Nablus, damaging the vehicle.
No injuries were reported. The blast shook much of the West Bank’s largest city. No group claimed responsibility for the explosion.
Also, an Israeli aircraft launched two missiles at a group of Palestinian militants gathered outside a house in the southern Gaza Strip, killing two militants and wounding five other people, including four bystanders, Palestinian security officials said.
An Israeli military source said the strike was aimed at a group of gunmen who appeared to be preparing to attack a Jewish settlement or Israeli military target.
Sharon’s disengagement plan has bitterly divided the ruling Likud Party. Five Likud ministers voted against the compensation bill yesterday, and nearly half of the party’s 40 lawmakers are expected to oppose Sharon on Tuesday.
That has forced Sharon to rely on moderate opposition parties to push forward with the plan, a situation that makes Sharon uncomfortable, his aides say.
Sharon says his plan is necessary to boost Israel’s security after four years of fighting with the Palestinians. He also says it will enable Israel to hold on to large blocs of settlements in the West Bank, where most Jewish settlers live.
Jewish settlers, and their hard-line allies in the government, accuse Sharon of caving in to Palestinian violence and fear the withdrawal is only the first step of a larger pullback from the West Bank.
Sunday’s vote endorsed guidelines for compensating the more than 8,000 settlers who are slated to be forced from their homes next year.
