Around 517,774 Jewish settlers live in settlements in the West Bank, according to a report published Tuesday by Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS).

According to the report, settlements in the West Bank were distributed into four strips, namely the eastern strip including 28 settlements, mountain strip including 31 settlements, western hills strip including 48 settlements and the greater Jerusalem strip including 37 settlements.

"The number of settlers who live in Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories increased by more than 40 times during the period of 1972 to 2009," according to the PCBS report about the Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories for the year 2009.

The report also said that the Jews in historical Palestinian area and in other Arab occupied territories increased about 2 times during the same period.

The Israeli settlement issue is one of the thorniest final- status issues in the Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations as the Palestinians call for evacuating the settlements while Israel insists they cannot be torn down.