Construction of new buildings in the Israeli settlement of Na’ale. Photo: Flash 90.

JNS.org – There were 2,630 building starts for new homes in the West Bank last year, a 40 percent increase from 1,884 in 2015, the Israeli financial news outlet Globes reported.

The peak for settlement construction in, however, occurred in 2013, with 2,874 building starts. In 2016, building starts in the West Banl accounted for 5 percent of all buildings starts in Israel. Approximately 420,000 Jews currently reside in the West Bank, accounting for 4.8 percent of Israel’s total population.

The largest cities in the West Bank are Modi’in Illit (65,000 residents), Beitar Illit (50,000), Maaleh Adumim (38,000) and Ariel (19,000).

The Globes report follows the recent release of a new study tracking Jewish population growth in Israel. The study indicates that the number of Jews living in the West Bank has increased 23 percent during the past five years. According to the study’s organizers, the population figures eliminate the possibility of effectively implementing a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.