Free Republic

Yesha Population Keeps Growing The Jewish population of Judea, Samaria and Gaza has grown in the past two years - the years of the Oslo War - by 12%. Not including the areas officially annexed to the capital city of Jerusalem, the Yesha settlement enterprise now numbers some 220,000 pioneers. The largest town is Maaleh Adumim, with close to 27,000 inhabitants, followed by Beitar Illit and Ariel. Some 30 babies are born in Beitar Illit every week, and 50 new classes were opened there this school-year. The Binyamin Regional Council gained 620 new families this past summer.