The number of new structures in the Jewish settlements and outposts in the West Bank increased by 69 percent in 2008, said an Israeli watchdog in a report released Wednesday.

A total of 1,518 structures were built up in the Palestinian territory during the year as compared to 898 in 2007, noted Peace Now, a left-wing group monitoring Israel's settlement activities.

Among the new structures, 1,257 were located in settlements, and the other 261 in outposts, sites the Israeli government does not authorize and vows to evacuate, found the report, noting that the two figures were 800 and 98 in 2007.

A structure may be a single-family home, such as a villa or a caravan, and may also be an apartment building comprising a number of housing units, said the report.

Using a different system that counts housing units, the Central Bureau of Statistics also noted an increase in 2008. The first three quarters saw 1,647 new units constructed, while a total of 1, 389 were recorded in 2007, showed its statistics.

Meanwhile, the settler population in the West Bank grew from 270,000 in 2007 to 285,000 by the end of 2008, found the Peace Now group, which noted late last year that population growth in settlements was faster than the national average.

The growth came despite Israel's pledge to freeze settlement expansion in the West Bank, which marks one of the key issues in the sluggish Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Palestinian officials have said that continued settlement expansion has made it difficult for the Palestinians to establish a viable state.

Making the peace picture even darker, the front-runner in Israel 's upcoming general election, Benjamin Netanyahu, leader of the hawkish Likud Party, said recently that if elected prime minister again, he would let Jewish settlements expand in the West Bank.

The Peace Now report was published hours before U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell, arrives in Israel for visits to the Jewish state and the Palestinian territory, in a bid to revive the stalled Middle East peace process.

(Xinhua News Agency January 28, 2009)