Israeli settlers turn seized Palestinian land to tourist attraction using stolen water
Matan Golan and Nir Hasson report in Haaretz on 15 June 2026:
Despite military officials’ objections, Israeli settlers diverted water used by Palestinian farmers, seized an archaeological site in the West Bank’s Jordan Valley and filled an ancient pool to turn it into a tourist attraction, backed by members of the Israeli government.
Around two weeks ago, young settlers from the Jordan Valley area began arriving at an ancient pool near the settlement of Petza’el. They carried out cleaning and informal renovation work at the site and diverted water, likely from infrastructure serving the nearby Palestinian village of Fasayil, to refill the pool.
Once filled, the site was turned into an informal tourist attraction, with hundreds of visitors arriving over the weekend. In settlers’ WhatsApp groups, volunteers were urged to come, work at the site and remain there overnight. Mass prayers began to be held near the pool.
All activity at the pool was carried out without authorization from the staff officer for Archaeology in Israel’s Civil Administration – Israel’s governing body in the West Bank – who is responsible for archaeological sites in the West Bank. Organizers later thanked Heritage Minister Amichay Eliyahu for his assistance.
Despite this, the effort continued to expand and was framed by organizers as a grassroots environmental and recreational initiative. Organizers portrayed the takeover as a campaign to “restore” the site and maintain water flow, calling for a sustained presence to prevent what they described as “theft of water from nature.”
In one message circulated in a settlers’ group, organizers wrote: “Understand that we have a golden opportunity, by being present all hours of the day, especially from early morning, to keep the water in this amazing pool and bring about the rehabilitation of the entire area.”
“We have a gem here in the heart of the Jordan Valley that almost all parties, especially council head David Elhayani and Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu, want to rehabilitate and develop, as well as the entire area. Everyone who can should come to hike, visit, and especially camp near the pool starting tomorrow morning,” it wrote.
The settlers refer to the site as “Herod’s Pool.” The Petza’el area does contain a water system dating back to the Herodian period, and it is mentioned in the writings of the first-century historian Josephus Flavius. However, according to archaeologist Alon Arad of the organization Emek Shaveh, it is more likely that the pool now being used is not Herodian but rather a later-period water storage installation.
Because the site has never been fully excavated, its precise dating remains uncertain. It is, however, a declared archaeological site where any work requires a permit from the staff officer for archaeology. Experts also warned that flooding the structure could damage potential archaeological findings.
Arad said the fact that organizers publicly thanked the Heritage Minister reflected a serious institutional failure. “It is inconceivable that a minister who has been echoing for four years the settlers’ false campaign about the institutionalized destruction of heritage sites by Palestinians – a campaign used as the basis for attempts to establish a new heritage authority in the territories – is now leading the institutionalized destruction of a site that has never been investigated, to create an attraction for his settler friends, since it is clear that these attractions have no audience in Israel except among settlers,” he added.
The Jordan Valley Regional Council said in response that the council “is not involved in filling the pool in Fasayil. These are all private initiatives. Petza’el Pool is not within the jurisdiction of the Jordan Valley Regional Council.”
The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) issued a statement in response to Haaretz’s request for comment, saying that according to the existing arrangements in the area, the waters of the Fasael Pool were diverted for agricultural use in the surrounding areas.
“Recently, a report was received about damage to the regulated water infrastructure in the area and its connection to Herod’s Pool, without authorization or coordination with the area’s authorities,” it added. “Following this, professional bodies are working to assess the situation and regulate the water flow in accordance with the law and the binding agreements.”
The Palestinian landowner told Haaretz in an interview that settlers arrived on his agricultural land about a year ago and cut irrigation pipes.
“We have springs on land we have owned for many years, and we use them for agricultural irrigation,” he said, adding that he holds formal ownership and title deeds. “There is also an ancient Roman pool on our land.”
He said that about two weeks ago, settlers destroyed a water pipeline and diverted the flow to fill the pool. “Now we have no water,” he said. “They diverted the water, they are swimming in the pool, they put up Israeli flags and opened a tourist site for settlers, and they do not allow anyone to approach the area or repair anything.”
He added that the Civil Administration recognizes his ownership of the land, and that the Coordination and Liaison Office confirmed this as recently as last week. “They said we could go fix the pipe tomorrow morning, but I know that if I fix it tomorrow, they will cut it the day after tomorrow, so we are suffering from this situation now. These settlers are dangerous.”
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