Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz has approved expansion of four West Bank settlements, the first such approval under his tenure, the Ha'aretz daily reported on Sunday.

Most of the settlements slated for expansion are located close to the pre-1967 war Green Line, areas that Olmert hopes to bring into Israel's final borders, the report said.

The expansion orders meant the enlargement of settlements' " jurisdictional area," which usually serves as a prelude to construction of new settlement neighborhoods.

Some six weeks ago, overall Israel Defense Forces West Bank commander Yair Naveh signed orders expanding by 60 dunams (5.64 hectares) the jurisdictional area of Givat Ze'ev, a northern suburb of Jerusalem located just inside the West Bank.

Following the expansion of Givat Ze'ev, Naveh also signed orders allowing expansion of Oranit, just over the Green Line near Kfar Sava, and of the Jordan Rift Valley settlement of Maskiyot, where the government plans to provide homes for settlers evacuated last summer from the Gaza enclave of Shirat Hayam.

Most recently, Naveh signed an order enlarging by 400 dunams ( 37.57 hectares) the jurisdictional area of Beitar Ilit, a Haredi settlement in the Gush Etzion area.

Before the March 28 election, Olmert vowed to unilaterally fix Israel's final borders by 2010 through the so-called convergence plan, under which Israel would withdraw from isolated settlements in the West Bank while keeping major ones.

Source: Xinhua