Neve Dekalin, Gush Katif (July 2005)
Neve Dekalin, Gush Katif (July 2005)Nati Shohat/Flash 90

Farmers expelled from Gush Katif can demand additional compensation above that which they already received from the State, according to a precedent-setting ruling of the Jerusalem District Court.

Up until now, farmers have received compensation in accordance with the value of agricultural facilities at the time of the eviction of Gush Katif in 2005, but the district court judges ruled that the State must compensate the farmers according to the current value of the properties.

Judges Nava Ben-Or, Ram Winograd, and Arnon Darel instructed to “perform the calculations required by our ruling...within a short period of time.”

Yisrael Hayom reported that that the petition was submitted by Assaf and Adi Asis, a father and son, for agricultural facilities they were forced to abandon when they were evicted from their homes.

Attorney Elon Essar, representing the plaintiffs, told the paper that “we’re talking about a precedent-setting ruling that clarifies yet again to the State that the way it is compensating the evictees of Gush Katif is faulty and lacking.”

“It is troubling that in 2017, 12 years after the Disengagement from Gush Katif, courts are forced to continue to dictate the proper way to award this compensation. Even more troubling is that, by all appearances, unless the Minister of Agriculture deals with the issue directly, Gush Katif evictees will have to drag themselves into court before the special committee for many years to come,” he said, adding, “we hope that the State will take these things to heart and finish dealing with unresolved requests as soon as possible, instead of maintaining a system that costs the taxpayer tens of millions.”

The 2005 Disengagement from Gush Katif in Gaza was a unilateral move spearheaded by then-prime minister Ariel Sharon, in which 10,000 Israelis were uprooted from thriving communities and homes they had lived in for decades. Instead of this move achieveing peace - or at least quiet - with Gaza, Israel was subjected to thousands of rockets and shells launched at civilians after Hamas gained control of the area. Israel invaded Gaza three times since 2005 to try to end the bombardments.