The settlers are not thrilled with George Mitchell - and that is an understatement. Mitchell, who first arrived here as an envoy on behalf of the Democratic Clinton administration eight years ago, asked then that Israel freeze settlement construction, even if the building activity was intended to meet natural population growth. To a large extent, he was successful in attaining what he requested.

If Mitchell actually does visit any settlements, and examines closely the situation there, he will find that there has never been a time when so little construction activity was taking place in settlements. In many communities, the construction is insufficient to meet natural growth, and many newly married couples find that they must move to locations within the Green Line (in sovereign Israel).

Kiryat Arba, Karnei Shomron and Tekoa are all towns that provide clear examples of this, but the situation is similar in dozens of communities in around the West Bank. Demand for housing exceeds availability, and this also drives up prices.

At Elazar, which is among the most prosperous settlements in Gush Etzion, south of Jerusalem, a large apartment costs $1000 per month to rent, with a mobile home renting for $400. In Kiryat Arba, a three-bedroom apartment that was rented at $200 per month is now fetching $400 per month. In Neveh Daniel, possibly the most upscale of the Gush Etzion settlements, a house can now sell for $500,000.

The Jewish population in the West Bank is increasing at a steady 5 percent each year, a rate twice as high as in most other parts of the country. Two thirds of that growth stems from new births. Even this statistic does not give a clear picture of the true numbers because it does not take into account those who leave. Each year, approximately 10,000 settlers leave the West Bank, and most of them are young, in their 20s.

Overall there is a net intake of residents in the settlements, because of the large numbers of people arriving, mostly to the ultra-Orthodox settlements, but if there sufficient housing available for the younger generation, the figures would be even higher.

Most of the construction today in the settlements is done by the government as part of the "settlement blocs" in the vicinity of Greater Jerusalem, which includes the cities Ma'aleh Adumim and Beitar Ilit, and also in western Samaria.