The occupation has stolen and fenced off two Palestinian water springs in the northern Jordan Valley in just the last few months. They have taken an essential natural resource, which Palestinian families rely on as their major source of water, and turned them into apartheid beauty spots, locked behind metal gates and off limits to Palestinians.

Ein Al Sakout

Until recently the natural water spring at Khirbet al Sakout, near the Jordan river, was a popular leisure area for Palestinians to gather for picnics. It was also used by local farmers to irrigate their crops. For years, the occupation forces have repeatedly stopped the farmers from harvesting their crops and damaged the crops to make them worthless. But the families have remained steadfast and continued to farm their land. Then, in December 2020, settlers from Mehola settlement built a fence all around the spring, erected locked gates and quite literally stole it.

Just a little further south, the settlers from Maskiyyot settlement have taken control of the natural spring of Ein el Hilwe. This natural spring, at the head of Wadi al Maleh, has been used by Palestinians to water their livestock for years. They have faced repeated attacks from settlers and attempts to remove them by the occupation using its apartheid laws and demolitions. The settlers have now moved in and built a swimming pool, picnic seats and a play park – overlooked by a security guard and information hut, with all the information provided in Hebrew.  

Khirbet Ein El Hilwe 2017

The area around Ein el Hilwe was previously categorised as a closed military zone, giving the occupation a green light to harass the local Palestinian community at will. It has now been re-designated as Nature Reserve – an apparently innocuous term that disguises its real meaning. Ein El Hilwe is on one of 7 new nature reserved declared by the occupation in 2020. This facilitates take-over of the land by settlements and means Palestinians can been prohibited from farming the land, even if they are the legal owners.

Ein el Hilwe natural spring 2017

Rashid Khudairi, Coordinator of Jordan Valley Solidarity, said:

“It is clear that the occupation is silently applying its annexation policy by taking direct control of Palestinian land and water resources.

“We are facing a situation of grave danger. The occupation is violating the rights of Palestinian residents to access water. By fencing off the springs of Ein Al Sakout and Ein El Hilwe it is denying them access to their land. We are really concerned that the residents of Ein El Hilwe, already surrounded by Maskiyyot and Rotem settlements, will become completely cut off from their land and will no longer be able to sustain themselves.

“We demand the peoples of the world and international governments take action to protect the civilian population, implement international law, and prevent the occupation from annexing the Jordan Valley.”