Wednesday, August 17, 2011

How To Fool You With Figures

At a site called IRIN, this article caught my eye:


Each year, hundreds of Palestinians in Area C have their homes demolished by the Israeli authorities because they are unable to obtain permits for their buildings, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Area C covers 60 percent of the West Bank with a Palestinian population of about 150,000.

...Palestinian construction is normally permitted only within the boundaries of a plan approved by the Israeli Civil Administration, which covers less than 1 percent of Area C, much of which is already built-up, according to OCHA. Many Palestinians living in Area C are left with no choice other than to build without a permit.

Israel says authorities have only demolished illegal structures, and that Jewish and Palestinian residents in Area C are subject to the same restrictions.

But what about the Arabs who live in Araes A and B?  They don't count in the greater picture?

IRIN describes itself as "the humanitarian news and analysis service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the United Nations or its Member States" and thus: "Integrated Regional Information Networks – has its head office in Nairobi, Kenya, with regional desks in Nairobi, Johannesburg, Dakar, Dubai and Bangkok, covering some 70 countries. The bureaus are supported by a network of local correspondents, an increasing rarity in mainstream newsgathering today...IRIN was launched in 1995, in response to the gap in humanitarian reporting exposed by the Rwandan genocide and its aftermath. It is an editorially independent, non-profit project of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), funded entirely by voluntary contributions from governments and other institutions."

Therefore, they should know, and they do, that

Areas A and B make up roughly 38 percent of the West Bank: Area A includes the major Palestinian cities, and is under Palestinian civil and security authority. Area B comprises most Palestinian rural communities, and civil authority is under the Palestinian Authority, while security responsibilities are shared by both the Israeli and Palestinian authorities. Approximately 62 percent of the area of the West Bank is in Area C,

If my reading comprehension is in order, the above means that there is a difference between land mass and population. Since they note that Area C has less than 10% of the total population since Area C is 150,000 and the total Arab population of Judea & Samaria (WB) is 2,385,615That makes 6.3%.
Now you get the whole picture?

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