RAMALLAH: The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) said on Sunday that the number of Jewish settlers in the Palestinian territories has exceeded half a million by the end of 2008.
PCBS said in a statistical report — titled the Israeli Settlements in the Palestinian Territory for the year 2008 — that the number of occupiers in the West Bank reached 500,670 settlers by the end of 2008.
According to PCBS, most of them live in Jerusalem Governorate (261,885); 198,458 of them in the areas in Jerusalem that Israel annexed after the June 1967 War; then Ramallah & Al-Biereh Governorate (87,059), then Bethlehem Governorate (54,111), then Salfit Governorate (30,824). And the minimum number of occupiers (1,328) is in Tubas Governorate.
The report contains statistical data about population, social, economic and geographic indicators of the Israeli settlements.
The report shows the number of occupiers who live in Israeli settlements in the West Bank increased by more than 40 times during the period 1972-2008.
“In comparison, the Jews in historical Palestine area and in other Arab Occupied Territories increased around two times during the same period.”
According to 2008 data, the number of occupation sites in the West Bank totaled 440, of which 144 are settlements, 96 outposts inside the settlement boundaries, 109 outposts outside the settlement boundaries, 43 occupation sites are classified as other, and 48 were military bases.
