The Knesset Finance Committee voted today to allocate nearly 39 million shekels ($8.6 million) for the temporary purchase of a high-rise building in Ashkelon for the homeless families. The vote represented another upswing of the wild see-saw of Kfar Darom fortunes in the past weeks.
In mid-August, they were abruptly thrown out of their homes in Gush Katif, suddenly finding themselves in a Be'er Sheva hotel with no future prospects. By the end of August, it appeared that the idealistic families - accustomed to living in an outdoors, rural setting - were headed for a 19-story high-rise in Ashkelon. "Our goal is to be with the people, to remain in the center, to be able to have an influence," one resident said at the time.
Suddenly, at the beginning of this week, Attorney General Menachem Mazuz announced that he viewed the government's purchase of the building as flawed and inadvisable. With this, it appeared that the people of Kfar Darom were back to square one. Today, however, the Knesset Finance Committee disregarded Mazuz's recommendation, and voted by a 4-1 margin to approve the allocation of the money.
The lone committee member who voted against - disengagement opponent MK Michael Ratzon of the Likud - explained to Arutz-7 today that the terms of the purchase are not satisfactory. "With all my sympathy for the people of Kfar Darom," he said, "they should also have looked for a solution for themselves."
The terms of the deal are such that the government will purchase the building from the contractor for $8.6 million, and will then have the option of selling it back two years from now for somewhere in the range of $6 million.
Another committee member, MK Benny Elon, explained his 'yea' vote:
"Our job is to approve or reject funding for projects that the government wishes to carry out. We approved it in this case, based on the Committee's legal counsel approval, and with the caveat that the government review the terms of the sale.
"These pioneering citizens have been treated unfairly by being so callously thrown out onto the street, when all they want to do is to start a new community when they can. We want a solution for them, and if this is the solution that the government came up with, then we'll approve it...
"It is unfortunate that the various arms of the government cannot get their act together - the Disengagement Authority of Yonatan Bassi, the Attorney General, the Housing Ministry, etc."
Rabbi Ophir Cohen of Kfar Darom, who is running the town's secretariat-in-exile, said today, "We are assuming, based on today's vote by the Knesset Finance Committee, that the sale will go through and that we will soon be able to move in. If there are any problems, we assume that the Prime Minister's Office, which has shown its brutal effectiveness in accomplishing its goals in certain other areas of late, will make sure to have this done as well."
In mid-August, they were abruptly thrown out of their homes in Gush Katif, suddenly finding themselves in a Be'er Sheva hotel with no future prospects. By the end of August, it appeared that the idealistic families - accustomed to living in an outdoors, rural setting - were headed for a 19-story high-rise in Ashkelon. "Our goal is to be with the people, to remain in the center, to be able to have an influence," one resident said at the time.
Suddenly, at the beginning of this week, Attorney General Menachem Mazuz announced that he viewed the government's purchase of the building as flawed and inadvisable. With this, it appeared that the people of Kfar Darom were back to square one. Today, however, the Knesset Finance Committee disregarded Mazuz's recommendation, and voted by a 4-1 margin to approve the allocation of the money.
The lone committee member who voted against - disengagement opponent MK Michael Ratzon of the Likud - explained to Arutz-7 today that the terms of the purchase are not satisfactory. "With all my sympathy for the people of Kfar Darom," he said, "they should also have looked for a solution for themselves."
The terms of the deal are such that the government will purchase the building from the contractor for $8.6 million, and will then have the option of selling it back two years from now for somewhere in the range of $6 million.
Another committee member, MK Benny Elon, explained his 'yea' vote:
"Our job is to approve or reject funding for projects that the government wishes to carry out. We approved it in this case, based on the Committee's legal counsel approval, and with the caveat that the government review the terms of the sale.
"These pioneering citizens have been treated unfairly by being so callously thrown out onto the street, when all they want to do is to start a new community when they can. We want a solution for them, and if this is the solution that the government came up with, then we'll approve it...
"It is unfortunate that the various arms of the government cannot get their act together - the Disengagement Authority of Yonatan Bassi, the Attorney General, the Housing Ministry, etc."
Rabbi Ophir Cohen of Kfar Darom, who is running the town's secretariat-in-exile, said today, "We are assuming, based on today's vote by the Knesset Finance Committee, that the sale will go through and that we will soon be able to move in. If there are any problems, we assume that the Prime Minister's Office, which has shown its brutal effectiveness in accomplishing its goals in certain other areas of late, will make sure to have this done as well."