A/HRC/22/63 Bank). According to the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics, over the past decade, the settler population has grown at a much higher rate than the population in Israel itself, with a yearly average growth of 5.3 per cent (excluding East Jerusalem), compared with 1.8 per cent in Israel. 29. After years of court orders, the Migron and Ulpana ―outposts‖ were evacuated in 2012. Settlers responsible for appropriating private Palestinian land without Government authorization were, however, provided after the evacuation with new homes in nearby settlements. The Government paid for the transfer of their property and the rental on the new homes. 30. The Government in office since April 2009 has contributed to the consolidation and expansion of settlements. Government spending on the settlements during 2011 was 38 per cent more than in 2010.17 On 14 November 2012, the Minister for Finance, Yuval Steinitz, stated ―we‘ve doubled the budget for Judea and Samaria [the West Bank]. We did this in a low-profile manner, because we didn't want parties either in Israel or abroad to thwart the move.‖18 IV. Implications of Israeli settlements on the rights of Palestinians 31. The mission notes that the impact of settlements on the human rights of the Palestinians is manifested in various forms and ways. These are interrelated, forming part of an overall pattern. The structure of the report is intended to reflect this reality. A. Right to self-determination 32. The mission notes that, in its resolution 67/19, the General Assembly reaffirmed ―the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and to independence in their State of Palestine on the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967‖. 33. In a report on the issue, the Secretary-General warned that (the demographic and territorial presence of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory was put at risk by the continued transfer by Israel, the occupying Power, of its population into the occupied territory, observing that Israel had transferred approximately 8 per cent of its citizens into the Occupied Palestinian Territory since the 1970s. He also recalled that the International Court of Justice concluded that the construction of the wall, coupled with the establishment of Israeli settlements, was altering the demographic composition of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and thus was severely impeding the exercise by the Palestinian people of their right to self-determination.19 34. The establishment of the settlements and the creation of dozens of enclaves have also caused the fragmentation of the West Bank. The mission heard that the establishment 16 17 18 19 8 http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/ocha%20opt%20settlements%20FactSheet%20D ecember%202012%20english.pdf. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, ―East Jerusalem: Key Humanitarian Concerns‖, Update December 2011. Available from www.ochaopt.org/documents/ocha_opt_Jerusalem_FactSheet_December_2011_english.pdf Chaim Levinson, ―Israeli government spent NIS 1.1 billion on settlements in 2011, reports show‖, Haaretz, 31 July 2012. ―Like a thief in the night‖ Haaretz editorial, 14 November 2012. A/67/375, para. 12.