Israel is threatening to seize the ancient Solomon's Pools water reservoirs near Bethlehem, a move that would mark a significant escalation in the intensifying campaign for control of West Bank land and the Middle East's historical narrative. The threat, made explicit in May by Israel's extremist finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, to 'erase' agreements confirming Palestinian ownership of the site, has been followed by increased Israeli settler and troop presence around the spectacular location.
Historical Significance of Solomon's Pools
The pools date back to the second century BCE, with main construction carried out by the Romans a century later as part of a vast engineering project involving two reservoirs, aqueducts, and tunnels to supply water to Jerusalem, 8 miles (13 km) away. A third monumental basin was added under Ottoman rule, along with a fort to safeguard the water supply. During the British Mandate period (1923–1948), the system was modernized with metal pipes and pumps. The pale stone Mandate-era pumping station now stands abandoned in the wooded hills, and the pools, over 10 meters deep in places, no longer funnel water to Jerusalem but have become a primary recreation area.
Current Use and Local Significance
On a recent afternoon, children from the neighboring villages of Artas and al-Khader jumped off stone walls into the deep green water, while men fished amid reeds. On Fridays and holidays, families from Bethlehem, 2 miles (3.5 km) to the northeast, come to bathe and picnic. As Bethlehem becomes hemmed in by new settlements, the pools increasingly serve as a sanctuary. Mahmoud Jaber, a local activist and horticulturist from Artas who uses water from local springs to grow vegetables, said: 'It's the only place now in all Bethlehem that you can find somewhere to sit and to enjoy the water, the shade, the green space – and now they are trying to steal it.'
Political Context and Escalation
Although a district of the Efrat settlement looms above the pools, they came under immediate threat in May when Smotrich and another hardline Israeli politician, Zvi Sukkot, had police drive Palestinians away so they could be filmed swimming in the middle pool. Smotrich declared, 'This is our land,' and Sukkot echoed the call for Israeli takeover. Since then, settler incursions have become more frequent, and on 10 July, Israeli soldiers carried out an unprecedented raid, firing teargas while children swam. The pressure campaign has sparked outrage in Palestine not only due to the archaeological importance of the three rectangular pools—with a combined capacity of 250,000 cubic meters, one of the largest surviving ancient water systems—but also because it represents a new frontal assault on the Palestinian Authority (PA).
Oslo Accords and Area A Status
Under the second Oslo Accord of 1995, Solomon's Pools was made part of the wider Bethlehem area classified as Area A, under Palestinian civil and police control. The division of the West Bank into Areas A, B, and C was intended as a halfway stage to eventual Israeli withdrawal and Palestinian statehood. That aim has long been renounced by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right coalition, who have accelerated settlement expansion to cripple an independent Palestine. Until a security cabinet edict in February asserted Israeli control over Rachel's Tomb inside Bethlehem, Area A was mostly considered inviolable. Seizure of Solomon's Pools would set a precedent, allowing ad hoc appropriation of parts of Area A.
Expert and Official Reactions
When Smotrich visited the pools in May, he said leaving such a 'magnificent ancient water site' under Palestinian control was 'one of the terrible mistakes' of the Oslo Accords. He added, 'We are working hard to repair the terrible damage caused by the Oslo Accords disaster.' Alon Arad, an Israeli archaeologist and executive director of Emek Shaveh, an organization protecting ancient sites, said: 'This site is being weaponised in order to erode and basically cancel the Oslo agreement.' He noted that there are 6,000 ancient sites in the West Bank, and only a fraction represent any connection to Jewish heritage.
Uncertain Future and Justifications
It is unclear if and when the Israeli coalition will try to seize Solomon's Pools, but archaeologists and Palestinians are braced for more incursions as Israel's October elections approach. Hardline propagandists argue that the PA has allowed the site to fall into disrepair, with some crumbling and litter visible. The PA Waqf, which owns the site, had tourism development ambitions, but these were crushed when Smotrich withheld PA tax revenues. Another rationalization is that the site is uniquely Jewish. Reserve Lt Col Maurice Hirsch wrote on the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs website that the site is 'by its very name, of Jewish historical significance and importance.' However, the name 'Solomon's Pools' is a historical misnomer; King Solomon, if he existed, ruled about 800 years before work started. The first two pools were built under Herod the Great, a Jewish king and Roman client ruler, but the site shows overlain traces of successive eras. Eman al-Titi, head of Bethlehem's tourism and antiquities department, said the name likely refers to Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. She stated: 'Archaeological sites should never become instruments of political conflict. This issue extends beyond control of the land itself. It also involves attempts to reshape history and promote a single historical narrative that does not reflect the archaeological evidence or the many civilisations that have contributed to Palestine's rich cultural heritage.'
