UPDATE 6 pm Thursday: Throughout the morning, Ehud Barak continued his assault on the Jewish communities of Samaria ordering IDF, Border Guard, and police personnel to demolish structures in the fledgling communities of Ramat Migron and Oz Zion. At least 7 female Jewish community members were arrested. Early this afternoon, the IDF fired at Palestinian terrorists who were planting IEDs beside the Gaza border fence. Hamas reports that 7 Palestinians were wounded. At 2:49 pm, an Israeli motorist reported that her car was “stoned” by Palestinians near Gush Etzion.
TODAY’S BLOG
Today, dear reader, we are finishing our Judea and Samaria quiz with three last questions, and a review of what we have learned.
A map of Judea and Samaria with some of the major Palestinian and Jewish cities. Map is courtesy of www.koret.com.
Question 8: We always hear a lot about Palestinian farmers in Judea and Samaria. What % of the land is arable?
A. 90%
B. 53%
C. 27%
The answer is that very little of the land is arable–only 27%. If you recall from Part 1 of the quiz that there are only 5796 sq km/2237 sq mi of total land in Judea and Samaria, this means that only 1564 sq km/604 sq mi is arable. And how is this arable land used? Only 40% is used for agriculture, and 32% is used for pasture–primarily for sheep. The remainder is used for other purposes such as housing.
So the next time you hear about Palestinian farmers tending their olive trees and crops, remember that only 625 sq km/241 sq mi are actually farmed. The perception of a pastoral agricultural “Palestine” is absurd in the extreme.
Question 9: What is the actual Palestinian population of Judea and Samaria?
A. 5.6 million people
B. 2.6 million people
C. Nobody knows exactly.
Regular readers of this blog will recall that your humble servant has previously blogged about how the Palestinian Bureau of Central Statistics (PBCS) only gives population “estimates”– so that nobody knows what the exact population actually is. And how accurate are those estimates? Several years ago, according to the World Bank, there was a 32% discrepancy between the PBCS inflated estimate of Palestinian first graders in elementary school and the actual number of Palestinian first graders who were enrolled.
This figure of around 32% population inflation has been corroborated in other areas by other demographic institutes such as the American-Israel Demographic Research Group.
The 2.6 million in answer choice B, by the way, is the official number given by the PBCS itself. If we assume a 32% inflated estimate, this would mean that there are approximately 1, 768,000 Palestinians in Judea and Samaria. But again, nobody knows for sure.
Question 10: Let’s return to Dani Dayan’s original comment that the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria are a “fait accompli” and are “irreversible”. How many Jewish communities are in Judea and Samaria?
A. 5
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B. 19
C. 130
The answer, as you can see for yourself below, is 130–a number that includes the 4 cities of Ariel, Beitar Illit, Maale Adumim, and Modi’in Illit. The idea that the 360,000 Israelis living in these communities are going to be uprooted and moved is preposterous. Dayan is right: it is high time for the world to come to grips with the reality in Judea and Samaria.
List of Jewish Communties in Judea and Samaria
Abigail, Adei Ad, Adora, Ahijah, Alei Zahav, Almog, Alon, Alon Shvut, Almon, Amona, Argaman, Ateret, Avnat, Avnei Hefetz, Barkan, Bat Ayin, Beit HaArava, Beit Hagai, Beit Horon, Beit Yatir, Bekaot, Bruchin, Carmel, Dolev, Einav, Elazar, Eli, Elon Moreh, Esh Kodesh, Eshkolot, Etz Efraim, Geva Binyamin, Gilgal, Gitit, Givat Harel, Givon HaHadasha, Gvaot, Halamish, Hamra, Har Bracha, Har Gilo, Harasha, Hashmonaim, Hemdat, Hermesh, Hinanit, Ibei HaNahal, Itamar, Kalia, Karmei Tzur, Kedar, Keida, Kfar Adumim, Kfar Eldad, Kfar Etzion, Kfar HaOranim, Kfar Tapuach, Kiryat Netafim, Kochav HaShahar, Kochav Yaakov, Livne, Maale Amos, Maale Hever, Maale Levona, Maale Mikhmas, Maale Shomron, Maon, Maskiot, Masua, Matityahu, Mehola, Mekhora, Metzad, Mevo Dotan, Mevo Horon, Mevoot Yericho, Migdal Oz, Migdalim, Migron, Mitzpe Asael, Mitzpe Dani, Mitzpe Hagit, Mitzpe Kramim, Mitzpe Shalem, Mitzpe Yeriho, Naale, Nahliel, Naomi, Negohot, Neria, Netiv Hagdud, Neve Daniel, Neve Erez, Nili, Niran, Nofei Nehemiah, Nofei Prat, Nofim, Nokdim, Ofra, Otniel, Peduel, Petzael, Pnei Kedem, Psagot, Rachelim, Reihan, Revava, Rimonim, Roi, Rosh Tzurim, Rotem, Salit, Sansana, Shaarei Tikva, Shadmot Mehola, Shaked, Shavei Shomron, Shilo, Shima, Shvut Rachel, Susia, Tal Menashe, Talmon, Tekoa, Telem, Teneh Omarim, Tomer, Tzofim, Vered Yeriho, Yafit, Yakir, Yitav, Yitzhar
So what have we learned from our sojourn through Judea and Samaria?
1. The total area of Judea and Samaria is 5796 sq km/2237 sq mi.
2. The Oslo Accords–negotiated between Israelis and Palestinians created Areas A, B, and C. The permanent status of Judea and Samaria was supposed to have been determined through “further negotiations.”
3. 98% of the Palestinians live in Areas A and B.
4. Most of the 360,000 Jewish community members in Judea and Samaria live on 2% of the land. They all live in Area C.
5. Three of the top 10 most populated cities in Judea and Samaria are Jewish.
6. The religious affiliation of Judea and Samaria is Muslim 74%, Jewish 19%, Christian 7%.
7. All roads in Judea and Samaria are paved; in areas in which attacks have taken place against Israeli motorists, cars with Palestinian license plates are prohitited.
8. Contrary to the common picture of an “agricultural Palestine”, only 27% of the land of Judea and Samaria is arable–and only 40% of that land is farmed.
9. Nobody knows what the Palestinian population of Judea and Samaria is–though the best “guess” is around 1,768,000.
10. There are 130 Jewish communities throughout Judea and Samaria which have 360,000 residents.
Hopefully this has been an edifying exercise, dear reader; tomorrow, we return to the news of the day.
A student from Malawi, who had worked with an Israeli health volunteer in his country battling AIDS, came up to us as we walked down the street in the UC-Davis Picnic Day Parade and wanted to carry the Israeli flag.