What is ‘Herod’s Pool’, and why is Israel developing it in the West Bank?

What the report says

Israel has begun work on a development project around an ancient reservoir in the occupied West Bank that Israeli settlers call “Herod’s Pool,” according to Al Jazeera. The site is near the Palestinian village of Fasayil, close to Jericho, and sits on privately owned Palestinian land belonging to farmer Saad Nemer and his family.

Al Jazeera reports that the pool was filled after settlers illegally diverted water from a nearby Palestinian village over the summer, instead of restoring it to Fasayil. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the “development and preservation” project had started and tied it to efforts to strengthen Israel’s hold on historical sites. He had previously pledged funding for the site in June, according to the report.

The article says Israeli military officials acknowledged the water was diverted without authorisation and said they would investigate. Nemer said the diversion damaged his farm, left greenhouses empty and crops affected, and that he feared approaching the reservoir because of settler violence. Al Jazeera also notes that Reuters reviewed documents supporting the family’s ownership claim.

The broader significance, as described by the publisher, is that the project fits into a wider pattern of Israeli control over water and archaeology in the occupied West Bank. Critics argue such heritage projects can be used to reinforce settlement expansion and reshape Palestinian access to land and resources.