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Reporters, pundits, activists. Before you echo the notion that Palestinians are being "corralled into small, crowded enclaves", which is in vogue in some circles, here are some facts that you won't find in @btselem's new position paper. Read and decide for yourself.

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Starting with the West Bank, specifically Area C from which allegedly Palestinians are being systematically pushed into the enclaves of Areas A and B, and replaced by Jewish settlers. If so, we should've seen the demographic balance in Area C shift in the Jews' favor. Has it? /2

Well, there's no evidence for that, certainly none in the paper. Latest UN estimate is ~ 300k Palestinians in Area C in 2013, probably >3 times their number in 1995 when the area was delineated. Jewish population growth in the same area & period was slower or similar at 2.6%./3

While good population stats for Area C are unavailable, there are construction surveys based on aerial photos. Do they support Btselem's claim? Quite the contrary. At least one shows that in recent yrs the total Palestinian residential area expanded more than the Jewish one./4


The same analysis by @RegavimIsrael found that the number of Palestinian structures in Area C increased by 28,600 during 2009-2019, nearly doubling in one decade, far more than the 18,600 built in Jewish settlements in that period, according to official statistics. /5