General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Ben Affleck vs. Bill Maher on Islam: Bill's right. [View all]Douglas Carpenter
(20,226 posts)in the West Bank and East Jerusalem making a viable Palestinian state all but impossible - while cutting off the Gaza from the rest of the world without even sea access.
We all know that without the removal of the vast majority of settlements - a contiguous and viable Palestinian state is a physical impossibility - There is not a shred of evidence that the State of Israel ever viewed " the peace process" as anything other than scam to buy time while making a Palestinians state impossible. And they have succeeded.
There are 534,224 settlers in the West Bank including East Jerusalem as of 2010**. According to B'tselem: The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights, " the built-up area of the settlements in the West Bank covers 1.7 percent of the West Bank, the settlements control 41.9 percent of the entire West Bank" .*
**http://www.fmep.org/settlement_info/settlement-info-and-tables/stats-data/comprehensive-settlement-population-1972-2006
http://www.btselem.org/English/Maps/Index.asp
full PDF map:
http://www.btselem.org/Download/Settlements_Map_Eng.pdf
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/728a69d4-12b1-11dc-a475-000b5df10621,Authorised=false.html?_i_location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F0%2F728a69d4-12b1-11dc-a475-000b5df10621.html%3Fnclick_check%3D1&_i_referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.democraticunderground.com%2Fdiscuss%2Fdu#axzz2ZoDLB6il
there is no Palestinian state, even though the Israelis speak of one. Instead, he said, there will be a settler state and a Palestinian built-up area, divided into three sectors, cut by fingers of Israeli settlement and connected only by narrow roads."
Israel has never slowed down its relentless settlement expansion - EVER!
Comprehensive Settlement Population 1972-2008
filed under: general-stats, stats
Year West Bank Gaza Strip East Jerusalem Golan Heights Total
1972 1,182 700 8,649 77 10,608
1983 22,800 900 76,095 6,800 106,595
1985 44,100 1,900 103,900* 8,700 158,700
1989 69,800 3,000 117,100 10,000 199,900
1990 78,600 3,300 135,000 10,600 227,500
1991 90,300 3,800 137,300 11,600 243,000
1992 101,100 4,300 141,000 12,000 258,400
1993 111,600 4,800 152,800 12,600 281,800
1995 133,200 5,300 157,300 13,400 309,200
1996 142,700 5,600 160,400 13,800 322,500
1997 154,400 5,700 161,416 14,300 335,816
1998 163,300 6,100 165,967 14,900 350,267
1999 177,411 6,337 170,123 15,313 369,184
2000 192,976 6,678 172,250 15,955 387,859
2002 214,722 7,277 175,617 16,503 414,119
2003 224,669 7,556 178,601 16,791 427,617
2004 234,487 7,826 181,587 17,265 441,828
2005 258,988 0 184,057 17,793 460,838
2006 268,400 0 186,857 18,105
473,362
2007 276,462 0 189,708 18,692 484,862
2008 295,380 0 n/a 19,083 n/a
2009 299,440 0 191,960 19,248 510,648
2010 314,132 0 198,629 19,797 534,224
*1986 data
Source: Central Bureau of Statistics, Statistical Abstract of Israel, 1992-2008 and List of Localities, the Populations, and Symbols, 1995-2008. Statistical Yearbook of Jerusalem, Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies, 1991-2010.
http://www.fmep.org/settlement_info/settlement-info-and-tables/stats-data/comprehensive-settlement-population-1972-2006