Families of Christian Lebanese militia now living in Israel to be given 550,000 shekels in housing grants.

On Sunday, the Israeli government voted to back a proposal to provide cash grants to veterans of the South Lebanon Army living in Israel.

The SLA, a Christian militia which had been allied with Israel since the 1982 invasion of Lebanon, collapsed in the spring of 2000, when Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon.

Some four hundred SLA veterans fled to Israel, along with their families, fearing retribution for their cooperation with Israel over the previous 18 years.

"The proposal was submitted out of deep appreciation for the shoulder-to-shoulder work of the South Lebanon Army veterans alongside soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces, and given their recent economic distress, particularly in regard to housing," the IDF said in a statement Sunday afternoon, backing the decision.

Source: INN