Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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July 27, 2009

Report: Israeli Settlers in West Bank Top 300,000
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=2599157:A6F02AD83191E1603225B2C764A97073D937473925D9872C&
 
Haaretz, based on government reports, says 304,569 settlers living in
the Palestinian territory 
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz says the number of Jewish settlers in the
West Bank has topped 300,000.Jewish settlers and Ultra Orthodox Jewish
men pray to support the settlements in the West Bank (File)In a report
Monday, Haaretz said as of June 30, there were 304,569 settlers living
in the Palestinian territory, an increase of 2.3 percent since January.
The paper said the figures came from an Israeli government report. The
settlement issue is one of the main obstacles in the stalled
Israeli-Palestinian peace process. The administration of U.S. President
Barack Obama has repeatedly called on Israel to halt all settlement
activity as part of efforts to revive the peace process. Three top U.S.
officials, U.S. special envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell,
Defense Secretary Robert Gates and National Security Advisor James
Jones, are holding talks in Israel this week and are pushing for a
settlement freeze. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has so far
refused the demand, creating tensions with Washington. Some information
for this report was provided by AFP and AP. 


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