Tzvia Shimon, head of the SELA Disengagement Authority, announced today that she is stepping down in August, at the end of three years in the position. Shimon said she had followed the plight of the Jews of Gaza and northern Samaria since their expulsion in 2005, in her current capacity and before that as general manager of the Prime Minister's Office, and would continue to do so, pledging to help as much as she could.
She called the victimsof expulsion a strong population which went through an experience that was "not simple", and added that she got a lot of satisfaction out of seeing the community of Nitzanim take shape as the permanent home of the some of the evictees.
According to the SELA office, Shimon operated on the basis of preserving the communities that were uprooted, adding that there was a drive to prepare 2,400 properties in 24 spots around the country for building homes for the evictees. The authority said it signed agreements with 87 percent of the exiles.