ISRAEL : Settlers Intend to Triple Numbers

Jewish settlers said they planned to triple their numbers under Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Settler leaders in the Gaza Strip and Israeli-occupied areas of the West Bank said their plans included creation of settlements, although the focus would be on expanding existing communities. “There must . . . be an addition--I am not sure whether we will finish this in four years--of from 300,000 to 500,000 Jewish residents,” settler leader Pinhas Wallerstein told Israel Radio. Estimates of the current settler population in the two areas range from 108,000 to 141,000.