JERUSALEM, Jan. 30 (UPI) -- A secret Israeli database recently obtained by the media indicates nearly 75 percent of Israeli settlements in the West Bank were set up illegally.
Haaretz said Friday that an analysis of the government database it obtained indicates that the majority of the settlements in the West Bank region were constructed either without or in violation of appropriate permits.
More than 30 settlements also saw construction efforts that infringed on West Bank property owned by Palestinian residents, the database shows, Haaretz said.
The database is focused on Israeli settlements in the West Bank such as Alon Shvut, Ofra and Rabbi.
The Central Bureau of Statistics estimated in 2008 that 290,000 Jews have resided in various outposts and 120 official settlements in the West Bank during the last 41 years.
A statement on the Web site for the Israeli Foreign Ministry appears to contradict the database's information, Haaretz reported.
"Israel's actions relating to the use and allocation of land under its administration are all taken with strict regard to the rules and norms of international law -- Israel does not requisition private land for the establishment of settlements," the ministry said online.
