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NEWS
Jewish Population in Judea, Samaria and Gaza Up 12,000 in
One Year
by G. Kleiman
The Jewish population of Judea, Samaria and Gaza increased by
12,306 over the past year (July 2003 through June 2004)
according to Interior Ministry figures. About a third of the
increase is due to chareidi births in Modi'in Illit and
Beitar that are counted as settlements.
This 5.32 percent growth rate closely resembles the growth
rate during the previous four years, but continues to fall
short of the average 8 percent growth rate before the
intifada. Two-thirds of the increase, some 8,100 Jews,
resulted from a high rate of natural increase (an average of
3.5 percent annually) and only one-third resulted from the
4,206 Jews who moved to these regions.
The majority of the increase (51.3 percent of the 8,100
births) stems from a substantial population increase in three
chareidi town. The population of Beitar Illit rose by 2,409
residents (11.2 percent), the population of Modi'in Illit
rose by 3,431 residents (15.5 percent) and the population of
Kochav Yaakov (Tel Tzion) rose by 473 residents (12.5
percent).
Municipal towns in the Territories, where the population is
predominantly secular, saw much lower growth rates. The
population of Maaleh Adumim (29,571), the largest town in
Judea, Samaria and Gaza, grew 5.1 percent while the
population of Ariel (17,484) rose by only 0.5 percent. The
population of Kiryat Arba (6,040) also remained static with a
0.5 percent growth rate while Givat Zeev (10,979) saw a
growth rate of only 0.3 percent.
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