JERUSALEM, Feb 13 (AFP) - An Israeli parliamentary committee on Sunday approved the second and third readings of a compensation bill for Jewish settlers who will be forced to leave their homes in the Gaza Strip, parliamentary sources said.
The bill will be put to the full parliament, or Knesset, on Tuesday with a debate on the issue to begin Wednesday, Israeli public television said.
Deputies from the parliamentary committee on law, constitution and justice voted 10-7 in favour of the bill, which constitutes an important step towards implementing Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's "disengagement plan".
Under the terms of the controversial project, all Israeli troops and Jewish settlers will be evacuated from the Gaza Strip and four isolated settlements in the northern West Bank by the end of the year.
The bill lays out compensation packages for over 8,000 settlers who will be evacuated in the coming months.
Its total budget of 900 million dollars also covers the cost of evacuating all troops who have occupied the Gaza Strip for 37 years.
The bill was approved last week by the parliamentary finance committee and will be put before the Knesset for its second and third readings. The first reading was passed by the parliament in November.
Last June, the cabinet approved the principles of Sharon's plan, but stipulated that each stage of the evacuation be subject to separate votes in the cabinet.
The four stages of the plan are likely to be put to the vote in July, public television said.
02/13/2005 20:25 GMT - AFP