Many Israeli defense experts argue that in addition to the security costs of Israel’s military presence in the West Bank, there is an even greater cost from its civilian presence, the expanding Israeli settlement enterprise. One major study concluded that settlements — especially the many outposts deep in the West Bank — stretch out the military’s lines of defense, requiring a disproportionate investment in settlement protection. Although settlers make up only 5 percent of Israel’s population, nearly half of Israeli forces are tasked with their defense — approximately 80 percent of forces in the West Bank.