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Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat. (Reuters Archives) del.icio.us Digg It!  new Last update - 13:41 15/10/2007 PA to hold first census in decade in hope for boost in peace talks By The Associated Press The Palestinian Authority is gearing up for its first census in a decade, hoping the results will help Palestinian negotiators make their case in future peace talks with Israel. "We hope we can use these statistics in the negotiations," said Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat. "It's not only important for the political process, but also for building the institutions of the state." Demographics play a central role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Rapid Palestinian growth would bolster Palestinian territorial demands in future peace talks, while Israelis' fear of the 'demographic threat' to the Israel's Jewish majority might make them more willing to consider a West Bank withdrawal. Advertisement Later this week, some 5,000 census-takers will fan out across the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, first to count buildings, and in December, to count people. Results are expected by February. The first Palestinian census, conducted in 1997, counted 2.89 million Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, the territories Israel captured in the 1967 Six-Day War. According to estimates by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the figure now stands at 3.9 million. Some Israeli critics have dismissed the 1997 figures and the current projections as inflated, a charge denied by Palestinian census officials, who say the counts are being conducted under international scrutiny. Palestinians have one of the highest birth rates in the world, forcing Israel to consider the possibility that Jews, despite ongoing Jewish immigration, will one day be a minority in the area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. In December 2006, Israel's population included 5.4 million Jews, 1.4 million Arabs and 310,000 others, according to Israeli government figures. Demographic concerns are often cited by those in Israel who want to withdraw from some of the lands Israel captured in 1967. It also was a key factor in former prime minister Ariel Sharon's decision to withdraw from Gaza in 2005. The census will cost $8.6 million, with the PA paying 20 percent. The rest comes from a United Nations agency, Saudi Arabia, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, the Netherlands and OPEC, census officials said. Hafedh Chkeir, an official with the UN Population Fund, said his agency trusts the work of the Palestinian census agency. He also said the UN is trying to bring in some Arab experts based in Jordan, but they have not yet received visas from Israel. On Saturday, census-takers will start affixing numbers to homes, business and other buildings. In radio and TV ads, Palestinians are being urged to cooperate and not to remove the numbers. Israeli-Palestinian peace talks have been frozen since a failed summit in 2000, but new momentum has been building. Negotiating teams from both sides are trying to draft a joint statement of principles that is to be presented to a U.S.-hosted peace conference later this fall, possibly the launching pad for new talks. The first census was conducted at a relatively quiet time, with hopes still running high that the two sides were on their way to a final peace deal. However, since then, years of bloody fighting have reshaped the area. The Palestinians now have two rival governments, one run by the Islamic militant Hamas in Gaza and the other by Western-backed moderates in the West Bank. The Hamas government said the census results are important to the Palestinians and that it will cooperate. During the last census, Israel did not permit a head count in the Arab neighborhoods of East Jerusalem, claimed by the Palestinians as a future capital. Israel said at the time that a Palestinian census there is a challenge to its sovereignty in the city. It was not clear whether Israel would permit a census in East Jerusalem this year. Israeli officials did not return repeated messages seeking comment on the matter Bookmark to del.icio.us Public discontent Teachers are replacing port workers in the public's mind as the 'serial national strikers.' Bad for academia? A Haifa professor says funding from corporations gives rise to some ethical conundrums.   1.   waste of time 04:44  |  vik 15/10/07   2.   ANOTHER FANTASY NUMBERS GAME : MAGIC REFUGEES 06:15  |  N.Umerikal 15/10/07   3.   PA`S INFLATED CENSUS MUST BE CHECKED AND DOUBLECHECKED.MANY PALS 06:44  |  VOICE of MOSHIACH))) 15/10/07   4.   What makes a nation? 07:53  |  Nico de Lange 15/10/07   5.   #3# NEITHER PALESTINE NOR PALESTINIANS ARE A NATION 08:42  |  N.Umerikal 15/10/07   6.   To Nico de Lange 09:31  |  dovale 15/10/07   7.   fertility race 09:40  |  dovale 15/10/07   8.   Nico 09:51  |  Jasmine Murphy 15/10/07   9.   New zionist slogan: Irrelevancy R Us 10:40  |  Hannah 15/10/07   10.   To our little sweet Hannaleh 11:00  |  dovale 15/10/07   11.   Census is "hope for a boost in peace talks." 15:58  |  common sense 15/10/07

Today Online J'lem sources: Rice won't impose any conditions on Israel Responses: 148 Amira Hass: Israel has turned the Gaza Strip into a zoo Responses: 119 Draft constitution ignores question of who is a Jew Responses: 33 Rabin assassin Yigal Amir asks to attend son's circumcision Responses: 58 Haaretz.com TV: Despite lobby's power, U.S. Jews are losing their bond to Israel Responses: 27 Rosner's Domain * New Guest: How to stop Hamas from spoiling the peace process? * WTR: The future of neoconservatism * Poll: Is Rice's effort brave, pathetic, realistic, dangerous? * Is it OK for Coulter to want Jews to become Christian? More Headlines 15:55 IAEA urges nations to divulge data on Syrian nuclear program 15:47 Rice says Mideast peace is a top priority for Bush administration 14:39 Olmert and Holocaust survivors' groups agree on pensions hike 14:14 Envoy urges UN to quit Quartet over lack of regard for human rights 14:12 Draft constitution ignores crucial question of who is a Jew 11:09 Opposition, coalition MKs call on PM to quit in wake of 3rd probe 13:41 PA to hold first census in decade in hope for boost in peace talks 13:22 Israeli sources confirm W. Bank residency granted to 5,000 Palestinians 14:06 Egypt denies indifference toward arms smuggling into Gaza Strip 12:57 Police want charges against attorney who slapped MK over Nazi slur 11:30 Japan requests permission to participate in Annapolis summit 11:27 PM Olmert pushing for casino in Red Sea resort town of Eilat 11:43 Women's groups: Livni not feminist enough to represent Israel at summit Previous Editions Select Day 14 oct 12 oct 11 oct 10 oct 09 oct 08 oct 07 oct 05 oct 04 oct 03 oct 02 oct 01 oct

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