BETHLEHEM, November 11, 2006 (WAFA)-Dr. Jad Ishaq Head of the Applied Researches Institute(Areej) in Bethlehem said on Saturday that the number of Jewish colonisers in the West Bank(WB) mounted to more than half million.

In a statement to WAFA, Ishaq pointed out that the Israeli statistics try to reduce the exact number to only 280,000 coloniser in an attempt to deceive the world.

Ishaq confirmed that the number of Jewish colonies in the West Bank increased to 211 colony, adding that Israeli government erected, in the past two years, new outposts as a step to be transferred into new colonies and creat facts on the ground.

He concluded that Israel daily seizes more Palestinian lands to annex them to Jewish colonies.

M.H.(14:00 P)(12:00 GMT)