Israel Moves to Formalize 'Herod's Pool' on Palestinian Land in West Bank

Israel has launched a development and preservation project around an ancient open-air reservoir in the occupied West Bank, a site that was filled this summer after settlers allegedly diverted water away from a nearby Palestinian village. Rather than returning the water to the residents of Fasayil, near Jericho, Israeli authorities are moving to formalize the site that has come to be known as "Herod's Pool," named for the first-century BC Jewish king.

The announcement was made on Sunday by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right settler who has long advocated for expanding Israeli control over West Bank land. Smotrich said the "development and preservation" of Herod's Pool had begun, framing it as part of a broader effort to strengthen Israel's hold on and preserve historical sites. In a social media post accompanied by an image of workers and wheelbarrows at the location, he declared that "the Settlement Revolution continues."

The project follows a pledge Smotrich made in June to allocate more than three million shekels, equivalent to almost one million dollars, toward developing the site. According to the source material, that land is privately owned by a Palestinian farmer, raising questions about the legal basis for the Israeli initiative in international law, which treats the West Bank as occupied territory where the occupying power is barred from permanently altering land use or transferring its own population.

The reservoir in question sits in the Palestinian village of Fasayil, adjacent to a natural spring. The name "Herod's Pool" was given to it by Israeli settlers, invoking Herod the Great, though archaeologists have not determined when the pool was actually constructed. Alon Arad, executive director of Emek Shaveh, an Israeli NGO that defends cultural heritage rights and monitors the political use of archaeology, told Reuters that the origins of the pool remain unclear. He noted that in many cases, archaeology is used to create a feeling that the West Bank is exclusively Jewish, illustrating how historical claims can be deployed to justify contemporary territorial control.

Water diversion lies at the center of the dispute. According to the source, the pool was filled after settlers illegally redirected water from the Palestinian village over the summer. This diversion is described as part of Israel's broader monopolization of water resources in the occupied West Bank's fertile Jordan Valley, a pattern that has been documented by human rights groups for years. Palestinians argue that targeting their water sources is a component of a wider plan to seize the resources of the occupied West Bank and force them off their land.

The land beneath the reservoir belongs to Palestinian farmer Saad Nemer and his family. Nemer says his grandfather purchased the property more than a century ago, and Israeli-issued documentation and older title records reviewed by Reuters support the family's ownership claim. Nemer has said that settlers repeatedly redirected water from his farm to the pool, stealing his irrigation pipeline. Over time, he explained, the theft left his farmland scorched and his greenhouses empty. He also said settlers threatened him and beat one of his employees.

The Israeli military body that administers the occupied West Bank, known as COGAT, has acknowledged that the water was diverted without authorization and said it would investigate. That acknowledgement came even as Smotrich and other Israeli politicians publicly celebrated the pool. Nemer told The New York Times that COGAT informed him his water would be restored, but it returned for only a single day before being cut off again. He now fears approaching the reservoir to reconnect his pipeline because of the threat of settler violence.

The case highlights a recurring controversy in the West Bank: the use of archaeological heritage as a justification for Israeli development on Palestinian land. Israeli politicians and settlers have also sought greater Israeli control over "Solomon's Pools," three ancient reservoirs in the Bethlehem governorate that Palestinians have used for generations. The name Herod features prominently in Israeli heritage projects across the occupied West Bank, which Israel refers to as "Judea and Samaria" in an effort to separate the territory from its Palestinian population.

The timing of the announcement is notable. It comes amid heightened international scrutiny of settler violence in the occupied West Bank, with rights groups and news outlets documenting incidents that displace Palestinian farmers and herders. Smotrich's public celebration of the project, despite COGAT's acknowledgment of unauthorized water diversion, underscores the political protection that settlement enterprises often receive within Israel's governing coalition, where far-right parties hold significant influence over West Bank policy.

For Palestinians, the development of Herod's Pool represents more than a single reservoir or a local water dispute. It is seen as the latest in a series of land seizures carried out in the name of archaeological preservation, a process that erodes the agricultural base of Palestinian communities and makes their daily lives more precarious. The loss of irrigation water can destroy a farming family's livelihood within a single season, pushing them toward displacement and making way for further Israeli expansion.

The broader legal context remains contested. Most of the international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, a position Israel disputes. The establishment of a formal development project around a reservoir on privately owned Palestinian land could further complicate any future negotiations over the territory, since facts on the ground, including roads, water infrastructure, and heritage sites, create irreversible changes that narrow the space for a negotiated outcome.

Emek Shaveh's Arad warned against the political use of archaeology to create a sense of exclusive Jewish belonging in the West Bank. That concern is echoed by heritage experts who say that the region's layered history, encompassing Jewish, Christian, and Muslim periods, is often reduced to a single narrative when it serves contemporary political goals. The naming of the pool after Herod, whose historical connection to the specific site has not been established, exemplifies how labels can outpace evidence.

The dispute over Herod's Pool also reflects a wider struggle over water in the Jordan Valley, one of the most fertile areas of the West Bank. Control over springs and irrigation networks has long been a flashpoint between Palestinian farmers and Israeli settlers, with Palestinian communities often lacking the permits and infrastructure needed to maintain reliable access. When water is redirected, the consequences ripple through local agriculture, food security, and the stability of villages that depend on farming.

As Smotrich frames the project as part of a "settlement revolution," the practical outcome for Fasayil residents remains uncertain. Nemer has yet to regain consistent access to the water that once irrigated his land, and the development around the pool signals that Israeli authorities intend to keep the site as it is. For observers, the case crystallizes a central question in the occupied West Bank: whether archaeology and heritage will be used to preserve shared history or to entrench control over land and water at the expense of Palestinian communities.