Israeli settlers have been making increasing efforts to seize natural springs in the occupied West Bank, crucial lifelines for Palestinian communities who rely on the water sources for tourism and irrigation purposes.
In one instance over summer, water from a natural spring feeding the Palestinian village of Fasayil was illegally siphoned off to an ancient pool nearby – with the pool declared a new tourist attraction named after Herod, the Roman-appointed king of Judea.
A Palestinian farmer from Fasayil named Saad Nemer said the water being cut off had devastated his fields, while COGAT, an Israeli military body charged with overseeing civil issues in the West Bank, acknowledged that the water was diverted “without authorisation.” It has said it would investigate the matter.
It is unclear when the site was built. Other ruins in the area date to the first century BCE during Herod’s reign, excavations conducted by the archaeology unit of Israel’s Civil Administration suggest.
According to Israeli rights group B’Tselem, the push to take over and claim heritage sites is part of a broader effort to “elevate the historical, cultural, and religious ties of the State of Israel and the Jewish people to the West Bank.”
Amihai Eliyahu, Israel’s far-right Heritage Minister, told the Associated Press that the pool is to be drained in early October to allow the administration’s archaeologists to complete a full survey.
He also praised whoever originally diverted the water and announced that around $1 million could be set aside to rehabilitate the site.
“We’ll turn this place into the Garden of Eden,” he said during a visit to the pool.
Palestinians have faced water shortages and restrictions in the West Bank since Israel took control in 1967, with increasing attacks by settlers bringing further problems.
Settlers have damaged, destroyed or seized approximately 160 water and sanitation structures in Palestinian communities in 2026, according to a recent report from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
The report said that attackers were also increasingly targeting shared water infrastructure and have disrupted supply to all or large parts of several communities.
The West Bank
Earlier this month, 12 countries announced new trade sanctions on Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank amid what they called a “rapidly deteriorating” situation marked by increasing settler attacks on Palestinians.
Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden joined the UK and France in confirming plans to introduce restrictions on trade with settlements, according to a joint statement from the countries’ foreign ministers.
“The Government of Israel’s actions in the West Bank are undermining the possibility of a two-State solution,” the statement reads, adding that there have been “unprecedented levels of settler violence and settlement expansion.”
“Together, we are resolute: the two-state solution must be protected, and we will take action in pursuit of a just and lasting peace,” it continued.
The West Bank has seen a surge in violence since the start of the war in Gaza, which broke out following the Hamas militant group’s attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023.
According to a report from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, there were around 737,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, as of October 2024.
Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal under international law.
Additional sources • AP