Israel’s Population Reaches 9.5 Mln

Religious people make up 35 percent of the population (AFP)
Religious people make up 35 percent of the population (AFP)
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Israel’s Population Reaches 9.5 Mln

Religious people make up 35 percent of the population (AFP)
Religious people make up 35 percent of the population (AFP)

Ahead of the Jewish New Year, Israel’s population stands at 9.593 million residents, the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) said in data released on Tuesday.

Up to 45 percent of the population are secular, 35 percent are religious, and 19 percent are traditional.

In 1948, when Israel was established, the population of Israel numbered 806,000 people, among them 154,000 Arabs (19 percent) who are known as “48 Palestinians”.

The Bureau observed around 355,000 Arabs who don’t hold the Israeli nationality but they are Palestinians in the occupied East Jerusalem (333,000), and Syrians in the occupied Golan (25,000).

Based on the data, 73.9 percent live in main cities while the rest in settlements.

The population increased by 187,000 (2 percent) last year. The past year also saw the arrival of around 60,000 new immigrants to Israel.

Around 74 percent of Israelis live in cities, 15 percent live in villages of local councils, 10 percent in regional councils, and five percent in “unacknowledged” regions.

The Bureau revealed that 67 percent are satisfied with their economic condition, while 12 percent complained of poverty.

Up to 65 percent of Israelis live in houses owned by them, knowing that the prices of houses hiked by 13 percent in the past year. The rest live in leased apartments and pay around $1,200 per month.

Israelis are identified as 45 percent secular, 19 percent traditional, 14 percent traditional-religious, 11 percent religious and 10.5 percent Haredi.

Throughout the past year, 185,000 babies were born in Israel. Meanwhile, marriages reached 40,000 and divorces 15,000.

Average life expectancy for Israeli men is 80.5 years compared to 84.6 years for women.



Russia Says It Cannot Accept US Proposals on Ukraine ‘In Current Form’

 A view shows ruins of buildings in the abandoned town of Marinka (Maryinka), which was destroyed in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in the Donetsk region, a Russian-controlled area of Ukraine, April 1, 2025. (Reuters)
A view shows ruins of buildings in the abandoned town of Marinka (Maryinka), which was destroyed in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in the Donetsk region, a Russian-controlled area of Ukraine, April 1, 2025. (Reuters)
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Russia Says It Cannot Accept US Proposals on Ukraine ‘In Current Form’

 A view shows ruins of buildings in the abandoned town of Marinka (Maryinka), which was destroyed in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in the Donetsk region, a Russian-controlled area of Ukraine, April 1, 2025. (Reuters)
A view shows ruins of buildings in the abandoned town of Marinka (Maryinka), which was destroyed in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in the Donetsk region, a Russian-controlled area of Ukraine, April 1, 2025. (Reuters)

Russia cannot accept US proposals to end the war in Ukraine in their current form because they do not address problems Moscow regards as having caused the conflict, a senior Russian diplomat said, suggesting US-Russia talks on the subject had stalled.

The comments by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov suggest Moscow and Washington have so far been unable to bridge differences which President Vladimir Putin raised more than two weeks ago when he said US proposals needed reworking.

They come as US President Donald Trump appears to be growing increasingly impatient with what he has suggested might be foot-dragging over a wider deal by Moscow.

Trump in recent days has said he is "pissed off" with Putin and has spoken of imposing sanctions on countries that buy Russian oil if he feels Moscow is blocking a deal.

Ryabkov, a specialist in US-Russia relations, said Moscow was not yet able to move forward with a deal however.

"We take the models and solutions proposed by the Americans very seriously, but we can't accept it all in its current form," Ryabkov was quoted by state media as telling the Russian magazine "International Affairs" in an interview released on Tuesday.

"As far as we can see, there is no place in them today for our main demand, namely to solve the problems related to the root causes of this conflict. It is completely absent, and that must be overcome."

Putin has said he wants Ukraine to drop its ambitions to join NATO, Russia to control the entirety of four Ukrainian regions it has claimed as its own, and the size of the Ukrainian army to be limited. Kyiv says those demands are tantamount to demanding its capitulation.

'VERY COMPLEX'

Asked about Trump's latest remarks about wanting Putin to do a deal on Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters earlier on Tuesday that Moscow was "continuing our contacts with the American side".

"The subject is very complex. The substance that we are discussing, related to the Ukrainian settlement, is very complex. This requires a lot of extra effort."

Russia also said on Tuesday it was fully complying with a US-brokered moratorium on attacking Ukraine's energy facilities.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told state TV that Defense Minister Andrei Belousov had briefed Putin on alleged Ukrainian violations during a meeting of Russia's Security Council on Tuesday. Russia passed a list of the violations to US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Lavrov said.

Before the weekend, Trump had taken a more conciliatory stance towards Russia that has unnerved the United States' European allies as he tries to broker an end to the conflict in Ukraine, now in its fourth year.

But in recent days, and amid lobbying by Europeans such as Finland's president urging him to hold Russia to account, he has adopted a tougher tone.