The FINANCIAL — TEL-AVIV, The number of Jewish settlers living in the West Bank has risen 2.3% since the start of the year to 304,569, Israel's Haaretz daily said on July 27, citing a military report.
The Israel Defense Forces Civil Administration report covering the first half of 2009 said the growth is mainly in religious communities, including ultra-Orthodox settlements.
Haaretz said growth rates tend to rise in the second half of the year, as families move during the summer months.
Under the internationally-agreed roadmap for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, Israel is obliged to freeze all settlement construction activity and remove unauthorized outposts built since 2001. The country has pledged to destroy at least 22 of the 121 settlements in the West Bank.
The issue of Jewish outposts has become the main obstacle to reviving peace dialogue with the Palestinians, and a sticking point in relations with the United States, Israel's main strategic ally, which has called for an end to settlement expansion.
Despite international pressure for a settlement freeze, construction of outposts continues under what Israel calls "natural growth."
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