Hershkovitz said it was important to continue aiding families who were victims of the disengagement; even though over four years have passed since the government threw the families out of their homes in order to hand over Gush Katif and northern Samaria to the Palestinian Authority, 80% of the former residents of these areas still live in temporary housing.

The government decided Sunday to continue subsidizing day care centers for children of families who were thrown out of their homes in the 2005 disengagement. The decision, which was approved by the government at the behest of Science Minister Daniel Hershkovitz (Bayit Yehudi), chairman of a ministerial committee on the treatment of former residents of Gush Katif and northern Samaria, will extend funding for the day care and after-school centers attended by children of families who were thrown out of their homes by Ariel Sharon's government in 2005.

The decision was made at a meeting where the name of the Sela agency, which was set up by the government to help families who were victims of the disengagement, was changed. The agency is now known as "Tnufa," or "momentum." Officials say that the name change will reflect a change in attitude and focus by the agency, in which the agency will try to parley the crisis faced by Israelis thrown out of their homes in Gush Katif and northern Samaria into a force for "a momentum for the future," officials said.

Hershkovitz said it was important to continue aiding families who were victims of the disengagement; even though more than four years have passed since the government threw the families out of their homes in order to hand over Gush Katif and four communities in northern Samaria to the Palestinian Authority, 80% of the former residents of these areas still live in temporary housing.

"The decision to continue subsidizing the centers is an exceptional one, designed to help the families of those who were thrown out of their homes, who are still in great need of assistance," Hershkovitz said. "The current government brings with it a change in attitude and greater momentum in dealing with the families, and I hope the government will be able to bring all the families to permanent housing within the next two years, so we will not have to make any more exceptional decisions to continue extending government aid for these families," he said.

The centers are located in communities where disengagement families currently live in temporary housing, waiting for a permanent housing solution. Families with parents who are working or studying, or who are receiving unemployment benefits, are eligible to send their children to the centers.