Israel’s Finance Minister Avraham Shochat has decided on Wednesday to set aside NIS 20 million (approximately $6m) for special assistance to Israeli settlements affected during the current conflict, reported the Jerusalem Post.
The money will be allocated for psychological and social assistance, the paper added saying that an ad-hoc committee from the Prime Minister's office, the Treasury and the Interior Ministry will set standards for the distribution of the money.
Settlements have always been one of the main obstacles in the path of peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis.
Madrid accords’ “Land for Peace,” a condition accepted by the two parties, has constantly been violated by the building of settlements.
Palestinians fear, if Israelis continue building settlements, that time might come when they are strangers in their own land. Settlements have been target of Palestinian fire during the Intifada, and for five times at least, the Israeli authorities have evacuated settlements where gunbattles were underway.
Former US President Jimmy Carter warned this week that if Israel wants real peace, “there is no way to escape the vital choice: land or peace?”
In an article in the Washington Post, Carter wrote that it is “unlikely that real progress can be made as long as Israel insists on its settlement policy, illegal under international laws that are supported by the United States and all other nations” – Albawaba.com
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