$300,000 for Israeli settlers who agree to quit Gaza Strip

Israel plans to pay an average of $300,000 (£164,500) per family in compensation to settlers who leave the Gaza Strip, government officials said yesterday.

Israel plans to pay an average of $300,000 (£164,500) per family in compensation to settlers who leave the Gaza Strip, government officials said yesterday.

The cash advances would be handed over swiftly to those who go voluntarily and could be available by August. The draft proposal has been put forward by a government committee working out the details of a Gaza pull-out plan, which Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's cabinet has approved in principle.

Payouts made before a cabinet vote, planned for March 2005, on whether to begin removing settlements, could force a showdown between Mr Sharon and hardliners in his coalition, bringing it closer to collapse, political analysts said.

Eran Sternberg, a spokesman for the Gaza settlers, said most had signed a declaration refusing to leave or to negotiate payouts. Government officials estimated the average payout per household at $300,000, enough for a one-family house or a large apartment in many parts of Israel.

Settlers will have until September 1, 2005 to move out before the army remove them by force. Those evicted by soldiers would get less compensation or none at all. The military would then quit Gaza by October 1, 2005.