Settlers against a settlement is the title of the article in the Economist October 18th 2008 issue page 56.
Here is a map of those settlements:
Here is the population trends:
| Jewish population | 1948 | 1966 | 1972 | 1983 | 1993 | 2004 | 2006 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Bank (excluding Jerusalem) | 480 | 0 | 1,182 | 22,800 | 111,600 | 234,487 | 282,400 |
| Gaza Strip | 30 | 0 | 700 | 900 | 4,800 | 7,826 | 0 |
| Golan Heights | 0 | 0 | 77 | 6,800 | 12,600 | 17,265 | 18,105 |
| East Jerusalem | 2300 | 0 | 8,649 | 76,095 | 152,800 | 181,587 | 184,057 |
| Total | 2,810 | 0 | 10,608 | 106,595 | 281,800 | 441,165 | 484,562 |
See the Wikipedia article here for the details.
Now given the increase in illegal Israeli settlers to nearly half a million – one has to ask the question why are the Israelis doing to the Palestinians what they had done unto them tragically scores of times starting from the ancient Egyptian era? Has Israel presented the World a “fait accompli” that too many of its citizens are committed to ? Is this duplicity from Israel’s governement , “Yes, we are trying to achieve a just peace settlement and create a two state solution of lasting peace” while allowing settlements to grow by about 5% every year for the past 13 years? Is this a cruel and tasteless Jewish Joke on the World and Jews alike like the Bernie Madoff $50Billion Ponzi Scheme?