Olmert: There will be need to evacuate settlers

Talks over evacuation bill postponed; right wing offers to out-bid evacuation-compensation plan.

By HERB KEINON, TOVAH LAZAROFF
settlers fence 224.88 (photo credit: AP)
settlers fence 224.88
(photo credit: AP)
In light of the serious nature of the negotiations with the Palestinians, there is a need to begin discussions about evacuating some of the settlers from isolated areas of Judea and Samaria, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Sunday. He spoke at the start of the cabinet meeting in which Vice Premier Haim Ramon was scheduled to brief the ministers on statistics, including financial numbers, regarding a proposal that would allow for the voluntary evacuation of settlers who live outside of the security barrier. While the controversial "evacuation compensation law" was not discussed at the cabinet meeting, as was planned, due to lack of time, Olmert made clear in his opening remarks that such a discussion would be necessary because of diplomatic negotiations with the Palestinians that were in advanced stages. The discussion was pushed back a week, as the cabinet instead concentrated on Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann's proposal for Supreme Court reform. Speaking briefly about the "evacuation compensation law," Olmert said "this important legislation" was "at the center" of diplomatic issues being discussed. "At a time when serious, continuous diplomatic negotiations are taking place, and it is clear to everyone that it is likely at some stage to come together and there will be a need to make a decision that will include the evacuation of residents from the places where they live, it is worthwhile for us to begin thinking about the significance [of this decision] and look at the different issues," he said. The government has been accused over the last three years, since the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, of causing unnecessary suffering to a large number of people due to its failure to prepare alternative living arrangements for those evacuated, Olmert said. "I imagine that now some people will say that it is too early [to begin talking about this]," he said. "[But] I think it is good to start thinking about these issues, and see how we properly prepare for them." Peace Now said it doubted the government's sincerity, since the same day Olmert spoke of needing to evacuate some settlers, the Israel Lands Administration published a tender for 32 housing units in Betar Illit, which is located in Judea, just over the Green Line. The group used the tenders to attack the government, even though the evacuation-compensation legislation that is set to go before the cabinet next week does not address the issue of the settlement blocs and is meant instead of target the 74 isolated communities located outside the security barrier. The legislation is based on a proposal initially put forward in 2005 by MKs Colette Avital (Labor) and Avshalom Vilan (Meretz) through an organization they formed called One House. It suggested that the government offer $150,000-$300,000 to families outside the fence who were wiling to relocate to areas within the pre-1967 border. Their homes would then be boarded up so that they could not be used by new settlers. There is some speculation among politicians and the media that Ramon has adapted the proposal so that settlers could also opt to move to communities within the settlement blocs that Israel was likely to retain during a final-status solution. In response to the change, Vilan said what ultimately mattered was not which plan the government chose, but that the bill be used to advance the cause of a viable two-state solution. Otherwise, he warned, the alternative is one state in which Israel would lose its identity as a Jewish nation. Settlers said they viewed the evacuation-compensation plan as dangerous to the nation's security; some offered their own initiative in its place. On Sunday, settler Yossi Fuchs announced a new grassroots initiative to out-bid the government's evacuation-compensation bill by giving those of their neighbors who want to voluntarily evacuate a higher price for their homes than what would be provided under the bill. The program, called "Buy A Home In Yesha," was initiated half-a-year ago by Fuchs, who is also an attorney and belongs to the group The Legal Forum for the Land of Israel. He said there were many donors and investors who would want to purchase the homes as an investment and then rent them out to families who want to live there. Vilan dismissed the plan as untenable. He said unless Fuchs had a couple of billionaires in his pocket, there was little chance that they could match the kind of funds that would be needed to out-bid the government. Fuchs said Vilan's figures of how many people would be willing to leave was exaggerated, and funding was not as big a problem as Vilan was making it out to be.