Introduction

In 1947 the United Nations General Assembly passed Resolution 181 calling for the partition of British-ruled Palestine Mandate, in which 56.47% of the country would become a Jewish state and 43.53% an Arab state. However, at the time only 7% of the land was owned by Jews comprising one-third of the country. The Palestinian rejection of this plan led to the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, which caused two-thirds of Palestinians to be displaced. Israel subsequently conquered 78% of the country. Since 1967 Israel has occupied the remaining Palestinian lands (West Bank and Gaza), establishing and significantly expanding settlements both in area and population through political, organizational and economic support. The Israeli government's policy since then has aimed to break up the remaining Palestinian populations, isolating them and maintaining a military and civilian presence in the territories in order to make it difficult for Israel to surrender land and prevent the possibility of a Palestinian state. Israel continues to control water, natural and infrastructural resources in the territories. Today Palestinians are negotiating for less than 22% of historical Palestine.

Settler Population and Number of Settlements

According to a 2004 Foundation for Middle East Peace report, the total settler population in the West Bank and Gaza (including east Jerusalem) is 416,800. There are 224,224 settlers in the West Bank, 185,000 in east Jerusalem and 7,576 in Gaza. The Palestinian population in the Occupied Territories totals 3.8 million: 2.4 in the West Bank and Jerusalem and 1.4 million in Gaza.

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