The creation of the buffer zone following a massive terrorist attack in October, required to government to evacuate residents living along Egypt's border with the Gaza Strip and to compensate them for lost land The governor of North Sinai, General Sayed Harhour, said that the government paid LE234 million in compensation to families in the 595 homes impacted by creation of the buffer zone along Rafah's border line. General Harhour explained to Ahram Online that total compensation expenditures will reach as much as LE500 million after they compensate the remaining 837 homes affected by the first phase of the buffer zone's construction. "The second phase that will begin soon along 500 more metres includes even more homes," he confirmed. The government compensated property owners at a rate of LE100 per metre of open land and LE700-1,200 per per metre of land lost as a result of the destruction of homes. LE900 in emergency aid for each evacuated residential unit were also provided. A state of emergency was declared in the border governorate of North Sinai in late October, following a massive militant attack in the North Sinai town of Sheikh Zuweid where more than 30 army personnel were killed and a few dozens injured. The attack was later claimed by Ansar Beit El-Maqdis, a group which pledged loyalty to the Islamic State in early November. The October attack led the armed forces to announce the two-phased creation of a buffer zone, along 1,500 metres of the Egypt's border with the Gaza Strip. http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/118768.aspx
