The population of Jewish settlements in the West Bank has grown this year by more than the 9,000 settlers evacuated under a plan to cede some occupied land, an Israeli government official said on Friday.
Thousands of Israelis have streamed into larger West Bank settlements since the start of the year, increasing the number of Jews living on occupied land to 246,000, said the Interior Ministry official, who declined to be identified.
The official said that even after factoring in Israel's evacuation of 21 settlements in Gaza and four in the West Bank this week, the overall number now living in the occupied West Bank has grown by about 10,000 Jews. "When you factor in the removal of settlers and take into account about 10,000 newcomers, mainly ultra-Orthodox Jews, you arrive at a figure of about 246,000 settlers. This is correct as of June 2005," the official said.
Under Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's pullout plan, Israel removed 9,000 settlers from all of the Gaza Strip and the northern West Bank, territories occupied 38 years ago where Palestinians want a state.
The Israeli official was unable to say how many of the 10,000 new residents were children born this year to families already living in settlements. The Interior Ministry oversees Israeli population statistics.
The official said most of the newcomers were ultra-Orthodox Jews seeking affordable housing while many others had moved to Maale Adumim.