Several days after IDF tanks took up positions on the ruins of the former settlement of Netzarim in the Gaza Strip, State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss on Wednesday published a report alleging that the state was severely mishandling the Gush Katif evacuees.
"Three years after the disengagement, appropriate permanent housing solutions have not been found for a majority of the families, and many of the evacuees remain unemployed," the report said. "The evacuees paid a painful price for the evacuation and continue to pay it today."
Lindenstrauss went on to warn that "the resettlement of a large part of the evacuees could last several more years."
Due to "a lack of proper logistical work," the report said, "many of the families are still forced to live in temporary sites that are not properly maintained by authorities. These living conditions harm the residents and put them at risk."
Lindenstrauss focused most of his criticism on the Disengagement Authority, saying that the government-sanctioned body had failed to prepare for the evacuation and its aftermath.
The "inherent flaw" in the authority's action was its inability to set down clear guidelines regarding the extent of the compensation, Lindenstrauss said, adding that the oversight was causing "much distress and damage to evacuees and is a burden on the state's budget.
The authorities, headed by the Disengagement Authority, continue to act with a sluggishness that does not correlate with the immense responsibility they have been saddled with, and they have yet to fulfill their duty of ensuring the rehabilitation of the evacuees."
Lindenstrauss also said that the various state bodies charged with caring for the evacuees had exhibited "insensitivity to their state. The relevant offices must cooperate and settle their differences."