Agricultural Development in the West Bank (ص 41)
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- Agricultural Development in the West Bank (ص 41)
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Lenogeaphy,
The West Hank population is primarily that part of the Palestinian
Arabs who have continued to dwell in their homeland following the
establishment of the State of Israel. Ethnically, they are fairly
homogeneous, originating from Semitic Arab tribes, mostly from
northern Arabia. In this section we will try to assess changes in
population growth, ascertain basic demographic characteristics, and
evaluate their impact on economic development and technological change.
Population growth
The West Bank population has undergone dramatic changes since it
was first disrupted in 1948. Table (II-13) presents a summary of
those changes as assessed from several sources.
Tab) Il - 13
Major shifts in the size of West Bank population
1948 Prior to War 475,400"
1948 Post War 750,000)
1952 Two years after annexation to Jordan 742,000"
1961 First population census 805, 450°
1967 Prior to the June War 843,000"
1967 Post occupation (IDF Census) 664, 4944
1980 End of year 820, 600°
Sources:
1, Jamil Hilal, op cit, p 18, 81.
2. Housing Census of 1952, (Amman: Department of Statistics,
(1953) Table No 1.
3. First Population Census of Jordan, 1961, (Amman: Department
of Statistics, 1962).
4. Census of Population 1967, (op cit, Vol 1, p X. This figure
includes the population of East Jerusalem estimated at 65,857.
5. Administered Territories Statistics Quarterly, Vol XI, No 1,
1981, op cit, p 1. Includes 117,000 for East Jerusalem.
* The real size of the West Bank population might be well higher than
the figures quoted by the Central Bureau of Statistics. A recent
article in Davar (March 20, 1980) quotes a secret report by the
Ministry of Interior which estimates the population in the West
Bank and Gaza Strip at 300,000 higher than CBS estimates.
7%
The original size of the West Bank indigenous population before
the 1948 war is estimated at 475,400, which amounted to 36 percent
of total Arab population in Palestine (1.33 million). But
considerable changes took place during the course of the war
which broke out following the termination of the British Mandate
on June 15, 1948. A major objective of the invading Israeli
forces was the seizure of the maximum land area while trying every
possible means to evacuate their local Arab residents. By the end
of the military hostilities in 1949, around 625,000 Palestinians
were refugees’, amounting to 47% of all Arabs in Palestine. Only
156,000 (around 12% of Palestine's Arabs) continued to stay in
the newly established State of Israel.
The exodus of Palestinian refugees caused major shifts in the size
of population in the remaining West Bank and the Hashemite Kingdom
ef Jordan. In less than two years the West Bank population
increased by 65% and that of Jordan by 29%.
Population shifts continued at a marked pace during the fifties
and the sixties and they were primarily motivated by depressed
economic activity and a low standard of living. This resulted
in a vigorous wave of emigration of the emerging Gulf states which
were in great need of the skilled Palestinian labour force.
Furthermore, many West Bankers opted to migrate to the East Bank
in response to what was considered to be the biased economic
Policy of Jordan.
As a result of several push and pull factors, emigration proceeded
at a pronounced pace all through the Jordanian rule and it included
residents from all strata, refugees and non-refugees, urban and - تاريخ
- ١٩٨٢
- المنشئ
- Hisham Masoud Awartani
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