Israel Mulls Compensation For West Bank Jews

By The Media Line Staff

The Israeli government plans to discuss giving compensation to Jewish residents of the West Bank who could be evacuated from their homes as part of a future deal with the Palestinians. The plan for voluntary relocation and compensation of Jewish communities in the West Bank is being coordinated by Israeli Vice Prime Minister Haim Ramon. An Israeli government statement said the controversial issue would be "discussed but not voted upon at this stage."

If an evacuation-compensation law were passed in the government it would need to be approved by the Israeli parliament, the Knesset. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert intends to hear comments on the initiative, the statement said, and continued treatment of the issue would proceed accordingly.

Ramon said he believed a quarter of the Jewish residents in the West Bank would be prepared to leave voluntarily if they were given appropriate compensation, according to Israel Radio. The residents would either move to Jewish blocs that remain under Israeli rule after a future agreement with the Palestinians, or they would move to pre-1967 Israel.

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said she thought this idea would only be applicable after the borders between Israel and a future Palestinian state were defined. Members of the right-wing Likud party are critical of the evacuation-compensation notion, and say it would be an unwise unilateral move on Israel's part. The status of Jewish communities erected in areas that Israel captured in 1967 is one of the major issues that Israeli and Palestinian negotiators are tackling in order to reach a final agreement.

Jewish towns are located throughout the West Bank in areas that Palestinians want to see as part of a future Palestinian state. The Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem estimates there are about 460,000 Jews living in communities in the West Bank and in eastern Jerusalem.

The U.S. administration wants to see a deal hammered out between the Israelis and the Palestinians before the end of U.S. President George W. Bush's term in January. However, observers are pessimistic that the conflict will be resolved and the Palestinians will be on a fast track to statehood, especially as Olmert is resigning as head of the ruling party in Israel and neither the Israeli or Palestinian leaders enjoys widespread popular support.

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