'Herod's Pool': Israel Develops Project on Palestinian Land in the West Bank

Israel has announced that development work around an open-air pool in the occupied West Bank has begun, after settlers illegally diverted water from a Palestinian village over the summer. Instead of returning the water to the village of Fasayil near Jericho, Israeli authorities are formalising the area known as "Herod's Pool", named after an ancient Jewish king.

On Sunday, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right settler, declared that the "development and preservation" of Herod's Pool had begun, linking the project to a broader plan to "strengthen control" and preserve historical sites. In a social media post featuring images of workers and wheelbarrows near the site, he declared: "The settlement revolution continues!"

The announcement follows Smotrich's June pledge to spend more than 3 million shekels (nearly $1 million) on developing the area, even though the pool sits on the private land of a Palestinian farmer.

The unauthorised diversion of water into the pool is part of Israel's monopolisation of water sources in the fertile Jordan Valley of the occupied West Bank. It is also the latest instance of Israel seizing Palestinian land under the guise of preserving archaeological heritage.

What is Herod's Pool?

Herod's Pool is the name Israeli settlers have given to an ancient reservoir located within the Palestinian village of Fasayil. It is named after Herod the Great, a Jewish king from the first century BC. The reservoir sits beside a natural spring.

Although settlers claim the pool once belonged to King Herod, archaeologists have not determined when it was built. Alon Arad, executive director of Emek Shaveh — an Israeli NGO that protects cultural heritage rights and monitors the use of archaeology for political purposes — told Reuters that the pool's origins remain unclear. "In many cases, we see archaeology being used… to create a sense that the West Bank belongs to Jews alone," he said.

Israeli politicians and settlers have also sought to tighten their grip on the "Pools of Solomon", three ancient reservoirs in the Bethlehem governorate that Palestinians have used for generations. Palestinians say the targeting of their water sources is part of a comprehensive plan to seize resources in the occupied West Bank and force them off their land.

Who owns the pool?

The reservoir sits on land belonging to Palestinian farmer Saad Nemer and his family. Nemer says his grandfather bought the plot more than a century ago. Israeli-issued documents and old ownership records reviewed by Reuters support the family's ownership claim.

Nemer said settlers have repeatedly diverted water from his farm so they can swim in the pool. He explained that settlers stole his irrigation pipes, and that over time this left his farmland parched and his greenhouses empty. Nemer also said settlers have threatened him and assaulted one of his workers.

COGAT, the Israeli military body that administers the occupied West Bank, acknowledged that the water had been diverted "without authorisation" and said it would investigate, even as Smotrich and other Israeli politicians praised the pool. Nemer told The New York Times that COGAT informed him the water would be restored, but it returned for only a day before being cut off again. He now fears approaching the pool to reconnect the pipes because of settler violence.

How do Israeli settlers invoke Herod?

Although there is no evidence of a link to Herod, the name features prominently in Israeli heritage projects across the occupied West Bank, an area Israel calls "Judea and Samaria" to distinguish it from the Palestinians. Groups defending archaeological rights have criticised such projects as increasingly being used to expand Israeli control over Palestinian land and heritage.

There is Herodium, a sprawling hilltop complex south of Jerusalem believed to be the ruins of a fortress built by the king. It has been under Israeli control for decades and operates as a national park, despite Palestinian objections that it is part of their heritage.

At Sebastia — ancient Samaria — Israel has allocated major funding since 2023 to excavate the city's archaeological park and develop it as an Israeli "national park", overshadowing Palestinians who have long presented the ruins as part of their own history. Israeli Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu, who lives in an illegal West Bank settlement, said the site would be "first and foremost a Jewish heritage". His office cited the excavation of the "magnificent Roman city built by King Herod" when describing the archaeological periods the project aims to illuminate.

The Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron — where Israel has repeatedly restricted Muslim access — stands on land revered by both Muslims and Jews as the burial place of the Prophet Abraham. Part of the structure is believed to have been built during Herod's era. In 2017, UNESCO recognised the Old City of Hebron as a Palestinian heritage site and warned that it was threatened by Israeli settler encroachment. Before the UNESCO decision, prominent Hebron settler Yishai Fleisher — a former adviser to Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir — opposed the recognition on the grounds that the site was "built by a Jewish king", referring to Herod.