A/HRC/10/8/Add.2 page 8 be protected and respected and the Palestinian Authority shall work without delay to become a party to regional and international covenants and declarations that protect human rights (art. 10). According to article 18 of the Palestinian Basic Law, freedom of belief, worship and performance of religious rituals are guaranteed, provided that they do not violate public order or public morals. Moreover, Shari’a affairs and personal status matters shall be assumed by Shari’a and religious courts in accordance with law (art. 101). 20. For marriage, divorce and other personal status matters of Muslims in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the 1976 Jordanian Law of Personal Status is applied in the West Bank, whereas Gazan Muslims are governed by the 1954 Law of Family Rights issued during the Egyptian administration of the Gaza Strip. In East Jerusalem, the personal status jurisdictions of Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian authorities compete. Furthermore, recognised Christian communities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory apply their own personal status laws in their respective religious courts. IV. RESPECT FOR FREEDOM OF RELIGION OR BELIEF IN ISRAEL AND THE OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY A. Religious demography 21. According to official data from the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, the population of Israel numbered 7,111,700 inhabitants as of 31 December 2006. The population of Israel is comprised of Jews (about 75.7 per cent), Muslims (about 16.6 per cent), Christians (about 1.7 per cent Arab Christians and 0.4 per cent non-Arab Christians) and Druze (about 1.6 per cent), while about 4 per cent of the population of Israel has not been classified by religion. 22. Certain religious communities have the status of being a “recognized” religion or religious community, some of them already since Ottoman rule or the British Mandate period. The religious courts of these communities are granted jurisdiction in matters of personal status, such as marriage and divorce. The following religions and denominations have been officially recognized so far: Armenian Catholic, Armenian Orthodox, Baha’i, Chaldaic (Catholic), Druze, Evangelical Episcopal (Anglican), Jewish, Maronite, Muslim, Greek Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Latin (Roman Catholic), Syrian Catholic and Syrian Orthodox. The applications for State recognition of the Ethiopian Orthodox, the Coptic Orthodox and the United Churches Council of Israel are pending. Further religious communities, such as the Baptists, Lutherans, Quaker and Samaritans, operate in Israel without the status as “recognized” religions. 23. With regard to the population in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the 2007 census by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics indicates a total population of 3,761,646 individuals. No disaggregated official data seems to be available concerning the religious demography in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. It is estimated that about 98 per cent of Palestinian residents of the Occupied Palestinian Territory are Sunni Muslims and less than 2 per cent are Christians. Furthermore, the small Samaritan religious community counts around 700 members, half of them living on Mount Gerizim near the West Bank city of Nablus and the other half living near the Israeli city of Tel Aviv.