Dr. Sufian Abu Zayda, a senior Fatah leader in the Gaza Strip, will help represent the families of those injured or killed in the Israel Defense Forces' November shelling of Beit Hanun in their negotiations with the Defense Ministry over compensation.

Last week, the families' attorney, Ehud Segev, transferred medical reports to the Defense Ministry, and the families have asked the Engineers Bureau in the Gaza Strip, where Beit Hanun is located, to prepare a report on the property damage, which will also be submitted to the ministry.

Abu Zayda, a former minister of prisoner affairs in the Palestinian Authority, has considerable public standing both in Palestinian society and among Israelis. This might neutralize pressure on the families to transfer of the matter to the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

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"I know that after the whole media circus around this tragedy [ends], they'll be left by themselves with their suffering," Abu Zayda told Haaretz. "Besides the political issue, which bothers everyone, these people's rights have to be protected."

The compensation will apparently be based on that proposed to the families of the 12 Arab Israelis killed during the October 2000 riots - some NIS 700,000 for each casualty, not including property damage.

Nineteen Palestinians were killed in the shelling, and dozens wounded. The IDF attributed the incident to a technical error.