JERUSLAEM, Dec. 9 (Xinhuanet) -- The compensation that is to be paid to settlers evacuated from the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank is reasonable, Israeli disengagement administration chief Yonatan Bassi said Thursday.

   At a meeting with the kibbutz industry leaders in Tel Aviv, Bassi said the compensation was intended to enable the residents to establish a new home at a similar standard in the peripheral areas.

   However, Bassi acknowledged that some of the settlers would not be able to reestablish themselves at the same level with the compensation.

   In recent weeks, some settlers have protested that the evacuation compensation paid by the government is not enough for them to pay for a new house.

   In response to the complaints about the compensation bill, the Israeli Knesset's (Parliament) Finance Committee, which is preparing the disengagement legislation for the second and third readings, decided to hold a meeting in Gaza so as to obtain a better perspective on the financial problems of the settlers.

   According to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's disengagement plan, Israel will evacuate from all 21 settlements in the Gaza Strip and four of the 120 settlements in the West Bank by the end of 2005.

   On Nov. 3, the Knesset approved the first reading of the compensation bill, which stipulates that settlers are to receive an average compensation of 300,000 dollars. Enditem