70% believe more withdrawals to come

Poll: 25% of settlers east of fence want to evacuate if given compensation.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
settlement 88 (photo credit: )
settlement 88
(photo credit: )
Several months after Israel pulled out of the Gaza Strip and northern Samaria, a new poll revealed that about a quarter of settlers living east of the security fence said they would be willing to leave their West Bank settlement in the near future in return for compensation. The poll, commissioned by the One House movement - established to assist residents of 38 settlements on the wrong side of the fence and want to evacuate - also found that about 70% of the Israeli population expects further withdrawals from the West Bank. According to the poll, 35% of the settlers and 74% of the general public support drafting a new 'evacuation-compensation' law that would enable those who wish to move out of their settlement do so, in return for providing them with an alternative housing solution within the Green Line. The new 'compensation-evacuation' bill will be submitted to the Knesset this week by MKs Avshalom Vilan (Meretz) and Colette Avital (Labor), who are leading figures in the movement. "Since the successful implementation of the disengagement plan, a new dynamic has been created by which settlers in Judea and Samaria came to realize that they would be next in line to be evacuated," Vilan said. According to the Meretz lawmaker, "Many are feeling more distressed since the fence has left tens of thousands of families outside the future territory of the State of Israel, exposed to Palestinian terrorism and unable to sell their property for the sum that would enable them to buy alternative property." MK Avital said, "Hundreds of families have already turned to the movement asking us to help them evacuate in return for compensation. The government chooses to ignore these calls but eventually, it would have no choice but to find a solution." The poll was conducted by TNS Teleseker among 500 respondents who live in West Bank communities that are excluded from the fence, and among 500 Israeli nationwide.