With the ongoing dispute between Jerusalem and the White House regarding construction in Yehuda and Shomron to accommodate �natural growth�, the Defense Ministry reports that number amounts to 2.6% of the settlement population in the past six months � which in numbers translates to 7,664 residents, the daily Yisrael HaYom reports.

According to yearend figures provided by the IDF�s Civil Administration, there were 297,745 residents in Yehuda and Shomron, which includes the so-called unauthorized which the Civil Administration reports amount to 407 residents. (Yechiel Spira � YWN Israel)