Israeli settlers have diverted water from a natural spring in the Palestinian village of Fasayil to fill a pool near the Petzael settlement . This move has exacerbated water shortages for local farmers and is part of a larger trend of claiming West Bank land via heritage sites.
The diversion of Fasayil's water to the Petzael pool
Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank have escalated efforts to seize natural springs, most recently diverting water from a spring serving the village of Fasayil. According to the report, this water was used to fill an ancient pool near the Petzael settlement, which settlers have rebranded as a tourist attraction named after Herod, the Roman-appointed king of Judea.
The impact on the ground is immediate and severe. Palestinian farmer Saad Nemer from Fasayil reports that his fields have dried up due to the water cutoff, despite holding family documents that prove land ownership. While the land is located in Area C—an area under full Israeli military control—it was determined to be privately owned by Dror Etkes of the settlement watchdog group Kerem Navot.
The Israeli military body COGAT, which oversees civil issues in the West Bank, has acknowledged that the water was diverted without authorization. However, the lack of immediate restoration has left the community in a precarious position, further straining the relationship between Palestinian residents and the Israeli military administration.
Amichai Eliyahu's $166 million heritage investment
The appropriation of the pool near Petzael is not an isolated incident but part of a funded state strategy. Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu has earmarked approximately $1 million to rehabilitate the site, which he envisions turning into a "Garden of Eden." As reported by the source,this is part of a larger allocation of at least $166 million intended for excavations and infrastructure at over 100 sites that Eliyahu claims are linked to Jewish heritage in the West Bank.
The Israeli rights group B’Tselem suggests that these heritage designations are used to elevate Israel’s historical and religious ties to the region, effectively serving as a tool for land control. this strategy allows the state to justify the presence of settlements and the displacement of Palestinian communities under the guise of archaeological preservation.
The 80% aquifer split and Jordan Valley control
The conflict in Fasayil reflects a systemic disparity in resource allocation that has existed since the 1967 occupation. While interim peace accords in the 1990s recognized Palestinian water rights, the resulting system preserved a distribution where roughly 80% of the water from the main aquifer is allocated for Israeli use, leaving 2.8 million Palestinians to face chronic shortages.
The Jordan Valley is the primary flashpoint for this struggle, as Palestinians view the fertile strip as the essential "breadbasket" for a future state, while Israelis view it as a critical eastern security border. The British government has recently heightened the diplomatic stakes, accusing Israel of turning a blind eye to "ethnic cleansing" perpetrated by settler terrorists in parts of the West Bank.
The unverified link between the Petzael pool and King Herod
A significant gap remains between the political claims and the archaeological evidence regarding the pool near Petzael. Alon Arad, director of the Israeli group Emek Shaveh , argues that naming the site after Herod is a branding exercise to claim Jewish history. he notes that archaeologists have never actually studied the site, meaning its construction date remains unknown.
While nearby ruins do date back to the first century B.C.E., the specific pool used by settlers has not been verified. Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu stated that the pool will be drained for a full survey by administration archaeologists in early October, but until then, the site's historical significance remains a claim rather than a proven fact.
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