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.



Israeli Police Arrest Couple Accused of Spying for Iran

A man walks across a bridge, in front of billboards bearing the flags of the US and Israel with a message in support of US presidential candidate Donald Trump, in Tel Aviv on October 30, 2024. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP)
A man walks across a bridge, in front of billboards bearing the flags of the US and Israel with a message in support of US presidential candidate Donald Trump, in Tel Aviv on October 30, 2024. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP)
TT

Israeli Police Arrest Couple Accused of Spying for Iran

A man walks across a bridge, in front of billboards bearing the flags of the US and Israel with a message in support of US presidential candidate Donald Trump, in Tel Aviv on October 30, 2024. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP)
A man walks across a bridge, in front of billboards bearing the flags of the US and Israel with a message in support of US presidential candidate Donald Trump, in Tel Aviv on October 30, 2024. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP)

Israeli police said Thursday they have arrested a couple accused of spying on Israeli intelligence sites and collecting information on an Israeli academic on behalf of Iran.

Israeli security services say they have uncovered several Iranian spy networks in recent months. The two archenemies have waged a long-running shadow war that has burst into the open since the outbreak of the war in Gaza. They exchanged fire directly for the first time in April and then again this month.

In a statement released Thursday, the police and the Shin Bet internal security agency said that the man arrested, Rafael Guliev, from the central city of Lod, had surveilled Israel’s Mossad spy headquarters for the Iranians and collected information on an academic working at the Institute for National Security Studies, a prominent Israeli think tank. It did not identify the scholar.

The statement said Guliev was also entrusted with finding an assassin, though the statement did not make clear if he had actually done so.
Guliev’s wife, Lala, assisted in the activities, the statement said.