Jewish settlers in the administered territories say their numbers are growing, but the dovish Peace Now movement maintains the settlers will always remain a tiny fraction of the population there.
Both sides cite statistics to back up conflicting claims over the effect the intifada is having on the demographic balance in areas beyond the pre-1967 lines.
Jewish settlement leaders point with pride to a virtual doubling in their numbers since the start of the intifada exactly five years ago Wednesday.
But officials of Peace Now cite statistics showing the settlers are still – – and will remain — a negligible percentage of the overall population in the territories.
Observers connected with neither movement, like demographer Meron Benvenisti, say both sides are guilty of tendentiousness, though both make points that deserve serious consideration.
Peace Now, in a report based on official government statistics, predicts the Palestinian population of the West Bank and Gaza Strip will top 2 million in 1993.
The report cites a continuing high birthrate and a recent upswing in immigration into the areas, apparently in the aftermath of the 1991 Persian Gulf War.
According to the report, the present population of the territories includes 1.7 million Palestinians and 109,000 Jews, or 94 percent as against 6 percent.
The only area where Jewish settlement may have brought about a change in demography is the hilly region south of Hebron, which was always sparsely populated by Palestinians. Other than that, says the report, there is no specific area of the West Bank or Gaza Strip where the Jews come anywhere near to outnumbering the Palestinians.
The report counts 144 settlements in areas beyond the pre-1967 borders. In 107 of them, the Jewish population is less than 500 souls; in 27, the Jewish settlers number less than 100.
A settlement umbrella group, on the other hand, says 115,000 Jews were living in he territories at the beginning of 1992, rising to 126,000 today.
The Council of Jewish Local Authorities in the territories maintains that the rise in the number of Jews living in the areas over the past five years is evidence that the Arab uprising has failed in one of its primary goals.
The settlement council claims its figures on Jewish demography are more current than those of Peace Now.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
