The new Evacuation Administration headed by Yonatan Basi is known as SELA, a Hebrew acronym for "Aid for Gaza Strip Residents." It officially began work yesterday, with main offices located on Kanfei Nesharim St. in Givat Sha'ul, Jerusalem, and with branch offices in Hadera and the western Negev. No actual compensation payments will be made to Yesha homeowners, however, until the criteria for the payments have been legislated.
SELA consists of 10 members and will be responsible for everything relating to compensation payments to residents of the Gaza Strip and northern Samaria. A secretary answered the phone today, and said that she could answer no questions unless they were mailed in, and that no one would be there to personally answer questions until next week. "But work officially began yesterday?" she was asked, and responded, "Until next week, the work consists of telling people to mail in their questions."
Questions are in fact a major part of the job, at present. Basi reported today that lawyers have called him to ask how much money is expected to be given in compensation to the residents slated to be uprooted, and under what conditions - and then use that information when speaking to potential evacuees in an effort to have themselves hired as their counsel.
Banks, too, are attracted by the compensation payments that the government plans to pay out. An internal memorandum of Bank HaPoalim, reads as follows:
"The objective: Intensifying our activity with customers who live in the territories [Judea, Samaria and Gaza]... Emphases: The customers who [live in the territories] should be invited for a meeting with the purpose of intensifying the activity with them. Tightening our connection with these customers could help the [bank] in the future to receive the compensation monies that will come to the residents who will be uprooted from the territories. Turning to the customers must be done most cautiously, and the topic of the evacuation should not be mentioned directly, unless the customer brings it up..."
SELA consists of 10 members and will be responsible for everything relating to compensation payments to residents of the Gaza Strip and northern Samaria. A secretary answered the phone today, and said that she could answer no questions unless they were mailed in, and that no one would be there to personally answer questions until next week. "But work officially began yesterday?" she was asked, and responded, "Until next week, the work consists of telling people to mail in their questions."
Questions are in fact a major part of the job, at present. Basi reported today that lawyers have called him to ask how much money is expected to be given in compensation to the residents slated to be uprooted, and under what conditions - and then use that information when speaking to potential evacuees in an effort to have themselves hired as their counsel.
Banks, too, are attracted by the compensation payments that the government plans to pay out. An internal memorandum of Bank HaPoalim, reads as follows:
"The objective: Intensifying our activity with customers who live in the territories [Judea, Samaria and Gaza]... Emphases: The customers who [live in the territories] should be invited for a meeting with the purpose of intensifying the activity with them. Tightening our connection with these customers could help the [bank] in the future to receive the compensation monies that will come to the residents who will be uprooted from the territories. Turning to the customers must be done most cautiously, and the topic of the evacuation should not be mentioned directly, unless the customer brings it up..."