New Residents Account for One-Third of West Bank Settlement Growth

Akiva Eldar (Haaretz)

May 19, 2009

Figures released recently by the Central Bureau of Statistics cast doubt on government officials’ claims of housing shortages for young couples living in West Bank settlements—the central argument Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intends to present to U.S. President Barack Obama against freezing settlement construction.

Figures for 2006-07 reveal that the housing shortage in settlements stems largely from “migration” from Israel proper to communities beyond the Green Line, as well as the addition of new immigrants from abroad.

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