Gaza, ALRAY - 1,218 new immigrants arrived in the 1948 occupied Palestinian lands in January 2014, compared to 1,141 a year earlier, according to data collected by the (Israel)'s Central Bureau of Statistics.

'israelhayom.com' reported that January 2014 saw a 6.7 percent rise in the number of new immigrants to (Israel) compared to the same month in 2013, data from the Central Bureau of Statistics shows.

A total of 1,218 immigrants arrived in Israel in January 2014, compared to 1,141 a year previously, it added.

According to the CBS statistics, the January 2014 numbers indicate an immigration rate of 20,500 for 2014, compared to 19,200 in 2013 and 18,900 in 2012.

The Israeli media outlet said if the trend continues, immigration to (Israel) could top 20,000 by end of the year.

Jewish immigration to Palestine originally started in 1898, when the First Zionist Congress convened with planning to an annual two hundreds of settlers to Palestine.

Israel has been long working to preserve a Jewish demographic majority in Palestine. That was though laws encouraging immigration (Aliyah) to Palestine like law of return and through ethnic cleansing.

In May 1948, the Jews in Palestine numbered 649,600 people. Fast-forward to 1971, the number reached 2,662,000 Jews. In 1985, there were 3,517,200 Jews, while in 200, the Jewish population reached 5,025,010.

In 1948, Zionist militias and terrorist gangs forced out around 750,000 Palestinians, 80% of whom were driven to the West Bank and Gaza Strip, while the remaining fled to neighboring countries such as Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Iraq.