2008 Interior Ministry figures show increase of 10,000 settlements' residents in just one year.
By ETGAR LEFKOVITSmaaleh adumim 224.88(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski [file])
More than 280,000 Israelis live in the West Bank, Interior Ministry statistics released Sunday showed.
The 2008 figures show that the number of residents has increased by about 10,000 from a year ago.
The Israelis live in 130 settlements in the West Bank, amid an estimated 2.5 million Palestinians.
The largest West Bank settlement is Modi'in Ilit, home to 37,895 residents, surpassing Ma'ale Adumim with 34,495 people.
About 80 percent of Israeli settlers live in several major settlement blocs in the West Bank.
Prime Minster Ehud Olmert has declared a building freeze throughout the West Bank.
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