Israel's population is growing at a dizzying rate. Is it up for the challenge?

SS :: By 2065 Israel is slated to be the second-most crowded nation on earth. Can it continue to grow like Nigeria while maintaining a standard of living like the Netherlands? Reading Overshoot by William R. Catton a question popped in my head. “Can illegal Israeli settlements be due to overpopulation?” As Catton writes in his book, technological advancement yield population growth which in return demands more innovation and resources. Although the overshoot has little to do with Israeli-Palestinian conflict it does have indirect link to it. So I googled and stumbled on this article. “It is estimated that by 2065, Israel will be grow to 20 million humans. Making it the most dense area among 180 countries.” I guess this scenario is perfect to monitor to see what happens to local society when natural resources are depleted, nature zones are changed to residential areas and there is more humans in limited area than what the limited area can sustain. A lab grown experiment we all can observe and see the direct impact. “The current housing crisis, which, given the tremendous need for more construction, will evidently continue, is just one of the consequences of Israel’s high population density. Other aspects are the overcrowded classrooms, the exceedingly long waits for emergency care, the overflow of patients in hospitals, the perpetual traffic jams, court proceedings that are delayed for months and years and, of course, the jam-packed crowds at nature sites on weekends and holidays. With an additional 1.5 million housing units, which would naturally eat up a major chunk of the country’s open spaces while transforming Israeli cities into clusters of high-rises, undeveloped nature areas here will become an endangered resource.” Possible scenarios:: 1. Either Israel population growth stagnates due to degrading lifestyle 2. Explodes and reaches 20 million by 2065 and thus unable to sustain the lavish lifestyle 3. Major civil unrest and escalated conflict with the Palestinians.