‘Israeli’ Settler Population Exceeds Half A Million in Occupied West Bank

By Staff, Agencies

According to the latest figures, the population of ‘Israeli’ settlers in the occupied West Bank has surpassed half a million as the far-right cabinet is poised to build more settler units.

The settler population grew to 502,991 as of January 1, according to a report by a pro-settler group named West Bank Jewish Population Stats, noting that the population has increased more than 2.5% in 12 months and nearly 16% over the last five years.

The figures come as the far-right ‘Israeli’ cabinet has put expanding settlements top on its agenda despite the outcry of the international community and Palestinian people.

The report, meanwhile, does not include occupied east al-Quds in which more than 200,000 settlers have been stationed by the regime.

More than three million Palestinians live in the West Bank and east al-Quds which have been occupied by the Zionist regime since the 1967 war.

“I think that in the coming years of this government, there will be more building than there has been in the last 20 years of governments,” AP quoted Baruch Gordon, director of the group and a resident of the Beit El settlement, as saying.

Much of the international community regards the ‘Israeli’ settler units in the occupied lands as illegal.

All ‘Israeli’ settlements are illegal under international law. The UN Security Council has condemned the Zionist regime’s settlement activities in the occupied territories in several resolutions.