Settler numbers rise at almost 3 times nat’l average

By TOVAH LAZAROFF 
10/29/2010 04:14

Central Bureau of Statistics figures show West Bank Jewish population at 303,900 in June 2010, up 7,200 in six months.

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  The growth of the settler population slowed slightly in the first five months of 2010, but the numbers still rose at almost three times the national average, according to Central Bureau of Statistics data released this week. This despite the government’s efforts to dramatically curb construction in settlements.

Based on the figures for January 1- June 1, the CBS projected a 4.8 percent rise in the settlers’ numbers for 2010 as a whole, down slightly from 5.3% in 2009. The projected rise for 2009 was similarly down to 4.9% when measured in September of that year, but the rate had risen by the year’s end.

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The nationwide population rose by 1.8% in each of the two years.

The new CBS figures are the first official population data to be published since the 10-moratorium on new construction went into force in November 2009, and the first to provide a picture of the impact it had on the number of people who live in or chose to move to West Bank settlements.

Read the rest of the story on: The Jerusalem Post