By HERB KEINON
The government approved a plan Sunday to turn over Kibbutz Shomriya in the eastern Lachish region to some 60 families who were evacuated from Gush Katif, most of them from Atzmona.
The government signed an agreement with the 13 families living at the kibbutz, which has been in difficult straits for some time, regarding their relocating with government compensation to nearby Kibbutz Dvir, and moving the group from Gush Katif to Shomriya. According to the plan, the entire kibbutz - the homes, public buildings, fields and dairy farm - will be turned over to the families from Atzmona. The kibbutz homes will serve as temporary housing until permanent homes are built on kibbutz lands.
Disengagement Authority head Yonatan Bassi told the cabinet that Shomriya is one example of the permanent housing solutions the government has found for all Gush Katif evacuees, with the exception of those from Kfar Darom. He provided the cabinet with a booklet detailing the 25 communities where the Gush Katif and northern Samaria evacuees will be housed.
Regarding temporary housing solutions, Bassi said that 190 families still remained in various hotels, but that by the end of January no one would still be living in the hotels.