Knesset Passes Historic Pullout Bill
(IFM) Marking a turning point in the history of the nation, the
Knesset approved the Disengagement Implementation Law by a wide
majority on Wednesday, empowering the government to pay NIS 3.8
billion to 9,000 settlers from the Gaza Strip and northern West
Bank, and to begin their evacuation in five months, The Jerusalem
Post reported. The law was approved in a 59-40 vote with five
abstentions. MKs from the Likud, Labor, Shinui, Yahad, and the
United Arab List supported the law. The National Religious Party,
National Union, Shas and 17 Likud MKs, including Knesset Speaker
Reuven Rivlin and coalition chair Gideon Sa’ar, voted against.
Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon got another boost when the Knesset expressed resounding
opposition to a referendum on the disengagement.
The Knesset
voted in 1982 to evacuate the Sinai settlements, but the vote
Wednesday cedes settlements in areas that are considered to be
part of the Land of Israel. The four isolated northern West Bank
settlements are Ganim, Kadim, Homesh, and Sa-Nur.