West Bank settlers report surge in population growth

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

West Bank settlers report surge in population growth

By JOSEF FEDERMAN
February 5, 2019

JERUSALEM (AP) — A West Bank settler group on Tuesday said the number of people living in Israeli settlements surged at a much faster rate than the overall Israeli population last year and predicted even more rapid growth thanks to the policies of the Trump administration.

Baruch Gordon, director of West Bank Jewish Population Stats, said the White House has created a much friendlier environment for the settlers, clearing the way for a surge in construction in the coming years.

“It’s just simply opened up. There’s no longer this cloud looming over it,” Gordon said.

Gordon’s project conducts an annual study of official population data obtained from the Israeli Interior Ministry. The report is sponsored by “Bet El Institutions,” a prominent settler organization that has ties to some of President Donald Trump’s closest Mideast advisers.

The latest data shows the population in Jewish settlements of the West Bank grew to 449,508 as of Jan. 1, up 3.3 percent from 435,159 people a year earlier.

-snip-

Read more: https://apnews.com/305751a5ca13491a8f6e2f8cf1b74615

[Igel]

1. Would have been nice to have peeled out

offspring from new immigrants.

They're far from the same thing, and for sure the assumption'll be that the growth is entirely from immigration.

[Scurrilous]

2. Did not see this coming.

[Mosby]

3. lol, no kidding.