Jewish Settlers in Gaza Sell Their Land to USAID

The American aid foundation, USAID, or US Aid for International Development, has proposed to fund about $15 million to purchase the lands of Jewish settlers in the Gaza Strip. Following the prospective of the Israeli withdrawal decision from Gaza in August, farmers living in the region who intend to sell their lands to USAID say they have no major problem except a few flaws with the organization that had earlier agreed with the Palestinians as well. If the talks continue at the same pace, an agreement will be signed next week they say.

Israeli Settlers Set to Sell Farmland to USAID
Eitan Hadari, the Gaza settler leading the negotiations, said the farmers are in talks with the U.S. Agency for International Development to sell about 1,000 acres of greenhouses for $15 million. "We are close to a deal, but it hasn't been signed yet," he said. He acknowledged that no contract has been drawn up and that some issues remain unresolved. He said the deal would cover about 250 of Gaza's roughly 300 Jewish farms. Hadari said the farmers want to sell their properties because they could not move the greenhouses to new plots of land in Israel quickly enough and believe they are not getting enough compensation from their own government. Posted by Editor at July 30, 2005 01:44 PM