Karnei Shomron, West Bank — West Bank settlers whose communities lie outside Israel's separation barrier are asking the government to buy their houses so they can move back to Israel.
The settlers say the barrier, coupled with Israel's withdrawal from 21 settlements in the Gaza Strip and four in the West Bank, signals the death knell for their communities, too. They would rather leave now than spend years living in fear and uncertainty.
"I know that in one or two years, there will be a knock on the door and they will say they are taking me out in withdrawal No. 2 or 3," settler Benny Raz said Sunday. "I don't want to wait."
Raz and other settlers have formed the "One Home" movement to seek government compensation for their homes.
Settlers like Raz are raising an issue that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has carefully avoided so far in pushing his plan of "disengagement" from the Palestinians - what will happen to some 80,000 Israelis in dozens of communities on what has become the "Palestinian" side of the barrier.
The Palestinians suspect the route of the barrier is meant to demarcate Israel's future border, even if the Israeli government portrays it as a temporary security measure to keep out Palestinian bombers and gunmen.
Sharon has said there would be no more unilateral withdrawals after Israel pulls out of Gaza and the northern West Bank. However, government officials have acknowledged privately that some settlements outside the barrier eventually may be taken down if they become indefensible.
Raz said he desperately wants to move, but he is an economic hostage. The 51-year-old minibus driver bought his house in Karnei Shomron for $100,000 five years ago, just months before the start of the second Palestinian uprising, or intefadeh. Now, he would be lucky to get $40,000 for it because everybody believes his community is doomed, he said.
"I have to stay here," he said. "I have no way to leave."
The One Home settlers say the government must help them out since it lured them into the settlements with economic incentives, and is now signaling that it wants them to leave.
"You helped me come here, now you have to help me leave," Raz said of the government.
Sharon spokesman Raanan Gissin said Sunday that Israel remains committed to protecting the settlers outside the fence and sees no reason to compensate them.
"The question of what kind of economic incentives the government would give them, I'm sure that would be raised if and when any of those settlements will have to be removed. But that's not the issue, it's not on the agenda right now, so I don't see any reason to complain," he said.
Comments
LJWorld.com doesn’t necessarily condone the comments here, nor does it review every post. Read our full policy. Also, read about banned accounts and harassing comments.