This article was originally published by the IMEMC and is republished with permission.

Several Arab institutions and parties in Israel started preparations to counter a new Israeli plan that aims at annexing thousands of dunams from Arab villages in the Galilee in order to expand the district of the Maali Yousef regional council in the Western Galilee.

The plan includes grabbing lands that belong to several Arab villages, such as Kisra, Al Bqei'a, Kufur Samee', and Yanouh, which are all known for their green landscape and fertile agricultural lands. The project was approved by the Israeli Interior Ministry.

Several Israeli media outlets revealed important information regarding the project which will annex 2500 dunams from Kisra village, 300 dunams from Yanouh, and more blocs of land which belong to residents of Al Bqei'a, these lands are estimated to be thousands of dunams.

Arab committees in the area expressed their rejection of this project and expressed deep concerns since the areas in question are nearly 20% of the reserve lands of the Arab villages' local council which will bar them from implementing vital projects in the future in addition to barring them from any future construction there, especially for residency purposes.

The Popular Committee for Land Defense held several meetings in Yanouh and Al Bqei'a and decided to carry out legal measures in order to counter these plans.