The Israeli Occupation’s Minister of Interior, Elit Shaked, signed a decision to expand the settlement of Hareesh, located near the town of Wadi Aara, in the heart of the Palestinian triangle, in the occupied Palestinian interior in 48.

The decision approved the confiscation of 3,000 dunums to be added to the settlement at the expense of the townland, after it was approved to confiscate 50 dunums.

The President of the Aara Council, Mahid Younis, said that such expansion transform settlers into permanent residents with official buildings and that the resolution also undermined previous agreements governing the expansion of the area, warning that the resolution strengthened settlements at the expense of Palestinian towns and villages and thus stifled the Palestinian presence in the occupied Palestinian interior.