Israeli Supreme Court Appoints Committee to Probe Situation of Gaza Expellees

Israel's Supreme Court has appointed a committee to investigate the compensation and assistance (or lack thereof) given by the Israeli government to those expelled from Gaza as part of the Disengagement. The Committee will be headed by a former Supreme Court judge, Eliyahu Matza.

According to a July report, 81% of those expelled still lacked permenant housing, while a more recent January 2009 report states that 95% of those who requested to be resettled with other expellees do not have permanant housing.

The July report also said that 37% of those expelled describe their economic situation as bad or very bad, with many forced to use the compensation for their homes, which would have been used for new homes, for day to day living instead. 17% percent of those expelled did not have jobs, 2.7 times higher than the rest of the country.