Population Growth East and West of the Barrier

 

Year	East of Barrier		West of Barrier
	Population	% Increase	Population	% Increase
2007 (Sept.)	65,440	N/A	209,716	N/A
2006	62500	6.1	201,920	5.6
2005	58,900	6.0	191,270	4.9
2004	55,560	4.7	182,380	6.2
2003	53,050	5.9	172,540	5.1
2002	50,090	5.5	164,160	5.7
2001	47,500	4.3	155,240	5.6
2000	45,520	N/A	146,990	N/A

*Excluding East Jerusalem settler population
Source: Central Bureau of Statistics, List of Locals, 2000-2006; Ha’aretz, August 16, 2007.



Most Settlements Lie East of Fence, Most Settlers West

While only 48 of the 122 settlements in the West Bank are situated to the west of the separation fence route, these settlements house the vast majority of settlers, according to an analysis conducted by Ha’aretz. The analysis, which is based on Interior Ministry data, shows that 76.2 percent of all settlers--209,716 in number [excluding East Jerusalem’s settler population]--reside in the 48 settlements that will be to the west of the [separation barrier], once it is completed. Only 65,440 settlers currently reside in the 74 settlements that lie to the east of the fence route, comprising 23.8 percent of the overall settler population in the West Bank.

However, some of those settlements [east of the separation barrier] have experienced an above average growth rate in 2006. Har Bracha, near Nablus, has expanded by 9.2 percent; Beit Hagai, in the southern Hebron hills, by 9.5 percent; Talmon, in the northern Binyamin region, by 8.1 percent; and Yitzhar by 12 percent. Negohot, the only West Bank settlement which is accessible exclusively through Area A, has expanded by 20.6 percent.

 The settlement population west of the fence has increased by 11,338 between June 2006 and July 2007. The total population of the settlements east of the fence grew by 2,886 during the same period. . . .

Whereas the large, ultra Orthodox religious settlements of Modi’in Illit and Betar Illit expanded by 10 percent, the larger secular settlements expanded less dramatically: Ariel by 0.7 percent, Givat Ze’ev by 1.1 percent, and Ma’ale Adumim, Efrat, Alfei Menashe, and Karnei Shomron each grew by 4.5 percent.

The population decreased in 19 settlements and increased in 103 during the past year. In 44, natural growth was below the settlement average, which stands at 3.5 percent. According to Interior Ministry figures, the region that has seen the sharpest population decline is the Jordan Valley, which includes the settlements of Gitit, Hamra, Mehola, Na’amah, Niran, Netiv Hagdud, and Pazael. Overall, the number of settlers this year has grown from 260,645 to 275,156, which is a 5.45 percent increase, more than twice the growth rate of the Jewish population of Israel.

--Nadav Shragai, Ha’aretz, August 16, 2007