Israel has announced the commencement of development work on a site in the occupied West Bank known as “Herod’s Pool,” an ancient reservoir located in the Palestinian village of Fasayil near Jericho. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich declared the project underway in June, pledging over three million shekels toward its development. The pool sits on privately owned Palestinian land and contains water that was diverted from a local Palestinian farmer over the summer without authorization.
The reservoir, named after Herod the Great, a first-century BC Jewish king, has become part of Israel’s broader strategy to assert control over archaeological sites in the West Bank. However, archaeologists have not definitively established when the pool was originally constructed. Critics argue that the naming and development of such sites represent an attempt to create a narrative of exclusive Jewish heritage in the occupied territory. Archaeological rights groups contend that heritage projects are increasingly being leveraged to extend Israeli control over Palestinian land.
The land belongs to Palestinian farmer Saad Nemer and his family, who claim ownership dating back more than a century, a claim supported by Israeli documentation and historical title records. Nemer reports that settlers have repeatedly redirected water from his property to fill the pool, and that the unauthorized diversion has damaged his farmland and greenhouses. He has also reported threats and violence from settlers. Although the Israeli military administration acknowledged the water diversion occurred without authorization and pledged an investigation, the flow to Nemer’s property was restored only briefly before being cut off again.
The Herod’s Pool project is part of a larger pattern of Israeli heritage initiatives across the West Bank, including development of sites such as Herodium and an archaeological park in Sebastia. Palestinian leaders contend that these projects serve as mechanisms for territorial appropriation and resource control in the region. The targeting of water sources and archaeological sites has drawn criticism from international organizations, including UNESCO, which has designated some Palestinian heritage areas as endangered by Israeli settler activity.
Article Attribution | Read More at Article Source
Article summary produced by Claude AI