Settlers seize West Bank spring, depriving Palestinian villagers of water

Israeli settlers are diverting water from Palestinian villages in the occupied West Bank, irrigating their own crops and creating recreational sites while leaving Palestinian farmers without the resources needed for their livelihoods. In the village of Fasayil, a spring that once served as a lifeline for generations has been siphoned off to irrigate crops and fill a pool advertised as an Israeli tourist attraction.

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Our water supply remains cut off to this day, depriving us of the water we depend on for our homes, our livelihoods, and our agricultural land.

"Our water supply remains cut off to this day, depriving us of the water we depend on for our homes, our livelihoods, and our agricultural land," said Saad Nemer, a local farmer whose irrigation pipeline was seized by settlers in June. He explained that his greenhouses and fields, normally abundant with produce like eggplant and watermelons, have lain fallow due to the lack of water, resulting in significant financial losses and threatening the work of many families.

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They are now in the process of developing a recreational park around the pool.

Nemer's experience is not isolated. United Nations data indicates that Israeli settlers have targeted at least 160 water and sanitation sites across the Palestinian territory this year. Palestinians view these actions as part of a deliberate strategy to make their lives in the West Bank unsustainable. The situation is exacerbated by threats and physical altercations, with Nemer reporting that an employee was beaten by settlers and he himself had faced threats for attempting to access the spring.

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The settlers cutting off our water has caused us losses and has meant that many families will lose their work and their livelihoods.

An Israeli settler, Yishai Shreiber, visiting the pool near Fasayil, stated that Palestinians were now afraid to approach the area due to the presence of large groups of Jewish visitors. He asserted that the West Bank belongs to the Jewish people and suggested that Palestinians should leave if they do not accept Jewish authority. Meanwhile, Nemer presented land ownership documents and maps to Reuters, indicating his ancestral claim to the land and the spring, though Israeli authorities did not respond to requests for comment.

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Now that they see this entire mass of people, all these large groups of Jews coming here to bathe, they are afraid to come here.