Israel approves compensation for evicted Gaza settlers
Israel’s parliament moved to give generous compensation packages to 8,800 Jewish settlers in the Gaza Strip and West Bank for leaving their homes, in a boost for prime minister Ariel Sharon’s fight to withdraw from Gaza after nearly 40 years of occupation.
The compensation bill sailed comfortably through the Knesset yesterday in a preliminary vote with the help of the opposition Labour Party, but the 64-44 vote reflected the deep division within Sharon’s own camp and the fierce opposition of the politically-influential settler movement.
