Thursday, August 18, 2005
The Simple Solution?
All those tear jerking pictures from Gaza. The settlers, knowing they would have to leave, forced soldiers to carry them out of their homes. Of course, they knew that the soldiers wouldn't hurt them, and that they'd get great press in the process.(I'm not saying it's easy to leave your home, but the drama wouldn't change that.) Regardless of how you feel about my prior suggestion, how about this food for thought, based on this CNN article.
"Settlers who chose to remain after the deadline -- which was Monday, although they were given a 48-hour grace period -- stand to lose up to a third of their compensation package, which ranges from $250,000 to $500,000 per family."
So they stay after the deadline, cost millions to physically drag out (and nearly incite a civil war), and yet they're still being paid?! Why not force them to forgo all the relocation assistance if they don't leave voluntarily? Whether or not it would actually encourage them to pack up on their own, it would certainly at least partially compensate the government for the cost of dragging them out. It all seems quite silly. Maybe I'm missing something.
"Settlers who chose to remain after the deadline -- which was Monday, although they were given a 48-hour grace period -- stand to lose up to a third of their compensation package, which ranges from $250,000 to $500,000 per family."
So they stay after the deadline, cost millions to physically drag out (and nearly incite a civil war), and yet they're still being paid?! Why not force them to forgo all the relocation assistance if they don't leave voluntarily? Whether or not it would actually encourage them to pack up on their own, it would certainly at least partially compensate the government for the cost of dragging them out. It all seems quite silly. Maybe I'm missing something.
# posted by Josh : Thursday, August 18, 2005
Comments:
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I don't know the relevant eminent domain laws in Israel but I don't to see why the government can fail to compensate people for their land if they refuse to leave. If some of the residents in Kelo v. New London had refused to leave and had to be forcibly removed, I doubt the government would be allowed to deduct from the compensation.
Josh, The settlers are merely standing up for a cause they feel passionate about. Not to mention they understand the arab problem will only get worse after the disengagement.
"Israel has never been in such a state of retreat and weakness as it is today following more than four years of the intifada. Hamas's heroic attacks exposed the weakness and volatility of the impotent Zionist security establishment. The withdrawal marks the end of the Zionist dream and is a sign of the moral and psychological decline of the Jewish state. We believe that the resistance is the only way to pressure the Jews." - Ahmed al-Bahar (top hamas figure in Gaza)
"the withdrawal is due to the Palestinian resistance operations. … and we will continue our resistance." - Sami Abu Zuhri (A hamas spokesman)
"Today Gaza, tomorrow Jerusalem." - about 10,000 Palestinian Arabs dancing, singing and chanting at a mass rally in Gaza City August 4th.
"We will move our cells to the West Bank" ... "The withdrawal will not be complete without the West Bank and Jerusalem." - Jamal Abu Samhadaneh (commander of Gaza's Popular Resistance Committees)
"Our march will stop only in Jerusalem." - Ahmed Qurei (The Palestinian Authority)
"Israel has never been in such a state of retreat and weakness as it is today following more than four years of the intifada. Hamas's heroic attacks exposed the weakness and volatility of the impotent Zionist security establishment. The withdrawal marks the end of the Zionist dream and is a sign of the moral and psychological decline of the Jewish state. We believe that the resistance is the only way to pressure the Jews." - Ahmed al-Bahar (top hamas figure in Gaza)
"the withdrawal is due to the Palestinian resistance operations. … and we will continue our resistance." - Sami Abu Zuhri (A hamas spokesman)
"Today Gaza, tomorrow Jerusalem." - about 10,000 Palestinian Arabs dancing, singing and chanting at a mass rally in Gaza City August 4th.
"We will move our cells to the West Bank" ... "The withdrawal will not be complete without the West Bank and Jerusalem." - Jamal Abu Samhadaneh (commander of Gaza's Popular Resistance Committees)
"Our march will stop only in Jerusalem." - Ahmed Qurei (The Palestinian Authority)
Jewspeak - My intention wasn't to comment on which side is right. Just to point out that one side is paying the other to give it a headache.
Nephtuli - You make a few assumptions. First, that the Israeli government was employing Eminent Domain. Given the delicate status of the land in question, it's very possibl that there are others powers to invoke. Second, You are assuming that the settlers owned the land. In Israel, as far as I know, the government owns all land. The government could therefore evict people without a due process. Third, based on my estimate the fair market value of the settlers land would fall between $10,000 and $75,000 for the tiny spaces they occupy in the middle of nowhere. I think the government could decrease the compensation to that amount.
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Nephtuli - You make a few assumptions. First, that the Israeli government was employing Eminent Domain. Given the delicate status of the land in question, it's very possibl that there are others powers to invoke. Second, You are assuming that the settlers owned the land. In Israel, as far as I know, the government owns all land. The government could therefore evict people without a due process. Third, based on my estimate the fair market value of the settlers land would fall between $10,000 and $75,000 for the tiny spaces they occupy in the middle of nowhere. I think the government could decrease the compensation to that amount.
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