Families agree to leave Gaza
2005-02-01 14:00
Jerusalem - Thirty-eight families from two Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip have signed an agreement with the Israeli government to move back to Israel, the prime minister's office announced on Tuesday.
This is the largest single group of settlers to have signed such an agreement. Nineteen of the families come from the Elei Sinai settlement, and the remainder from Nissanit, both on the northern edge of Gaza.
The deal affects a small percentage of the 8 500 Jewish settlers in Gaza, but represents another chink in the settlers' mass resistance to an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, set for the summer.
An estimated 130 000 settlers and their supporters rallied in Jerusalem on Saturday night to protest the planned pullout.
Execution of the agreement is contingent on parliament's passage of a pending settlers' compensation law. - AP
- SAPA