Settlers divert West Bank spring water to Herod-named pool, sparking water-rights dispute
Israeli settlers rerouted water from a Fasayil spring to a newly christened Herod pool, prompting a COGAT probe and highlighting broader water seizures in the West Bank.
In the occupied West Bank, settlers this summer diverted water from a spring that supplies the Palestinian village of Fasayil to an ancient pool they renamed after the Roman-era ruler Herod, presenting it as a new tourist attraction. Research by Dror Etkes of the watchdog Kerem Navot shows the pool sits on privately owned land in Area C, which is under full Israeli military jurisdiction. Palestinian farmer Saad Nemer says the loss of water has ruined his fields, and COGAT confirmed the diversion occurred without authorization, promising an investigation.
The episode mirrors a broader surge in settler attacks on water infrastructure, with UN OCHA reporting roughly 160 water and sanitation sites seized or damaged in 2026, crippling farming and tourism in places like Al Auja. Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu announced plans to drain the pool for a comprehensive archaeological survey and earmarked about $1 million for its restoration, part of a larger $166 million budget for heritage projects. The move underscores a strategy of using heritage designations to cement Israeli claims, as noted by groups such as B'Tselem and Emek Shaveh, while Palestinians face mounting water shortages and loss of arable land.
Why it matters
It shows how settler actions are reshaping water access and heritage claims, deepening the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
How this story developed
- Sep 1 EU debates ban on settlement products as Israeli forces raze West Bank homes
- Sep 8 Israel closed the UK consulate in East Jerusalem and barred British MPs and officials from entering Israel.
- Sep 8 US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee suggested the Trump administration could retaliate against Britain over its new trade sanctions on illegal Israeli settlements.
- Sep 8 Canada and a dozen European countries announced coordinated bans on settlement products.
- Sep 9 UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese called the UK settlement trade ban a tentative step and urged broader sanctions.
- Sep 9 UK joined eleven other countries in imposing a ban on West Bank settlement products.
- Sep 9 The sanctions were announced immediately before the start of Rosh Hashanah.
- Sep 9 Eight Arab and Muslim states publicly praised the United Kingdom’s ban on settlement products.
- Sep 10 Israeli opposition parties offered no substantive response to the UK sanctions.
- Sep 13 US activists created a whistle‑blower hotline and warned firms could be targeted under anti‑BDS laws.
- Sep 14 British foreign secretary expected to announce a trade ban on settlement‑linked goods.
- Sep 18 The UN rights office issued a warning that the displacement of over 33,000 refugees from West Bank camps may amount to crimes against humanity.
- Sep 23 A man in his forties was seriously wounded when a vehicle rammed a police car at a checkpoint near Modi'in on the road to the West Bank.
- Sep 23 The checkpoint’s security personnel have been reinforced and an investigation launched.
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