By Ryan Jones
Dec 02, 2005
The Jewish population growth rate in Judea and Samaria far outstrips that in the rest of Israel and in most of the industrialized world.
According to official government figures released Thursday, the Jewish population in Israel's biblical heartland grew by an amazing 4.3 percent during 2005. The Jewish population in Judea and Samaria is expected to reach 243,000 by the end of this calendar year.
That growth rate is more than double Israel's national average of 1.7 percent.
It is also far surpasses the estimated 2005 growth rates in most industrialized nations, such as the United States, which is expected to see a 0.92 percent increase this year.
Despite this evidence, leftist political movements and media in Israel continue to assert that a large portion of the Jews living in Judea and Samaria are prepared to voluntarily evacuate.
They say most are concerned about being left outside Israel's security fence, which is increasingly seen as the final border Prime Minister Ariel Sharon intends to draw should he win a third term.
The numbers, meanwhile, tell a different story.
Many Israelis still see Judea and Samaria as an inseparable part of their God-given homeland, and, according to a recent poll, are loathe to part with any of that territory even in the framework of a peace agreement with the Arab world.