RAMALLAH, (Palestine Foundation Information Center ) A new Palestinian report has documented Israel’s systematic policy of water deprivation in the occupied West Bank, revealing that the Israeli occupation army and settlers destroyed or confiscated 1,986 wells, springs, reservoirs, and water tanks over the past decade.
The report, issued by the Land Research Center, highlights Israel’s use of water deprivation as a tool of coercion, stressing that the demolition of wells, the confiscation of water sources, and the seizure of natural springs are part of a deliberate strategy to push Palestinians into forced displacement.
Between 2015 and June 2025, the center recorded the destruction of 1,304 wells by the Israeli occupation forces (IOF), 443 wells targeted by settlers, and 239 cases of confiscation of water tanks. The destruction by the IOF alone damaged nearly 19,550 dunums of farmland (one dunum equals 1,000 square meters), while settler attacks harmed over 10,400 dunums.
According to the findings, Jenin governorate in the northern West Bank suffered the heaviest losses, with 343 wells, springs, reservoirs, and tanks destroyed. Al-Khalil governorate followed with 282 cases, then Tubas (219), Ramallah and al-Bireh (106), with the remainder spread across other districts.
The report detailed that the destruction included 223 wells, 43 water pools, 23 main reservoirs, 24 artesian wells, 151 springs and water pipelines, and 840 plastic water tanks. During raids on Jenin and Tulkarem refugee camps, the IOF destroyed 350 water reservoirs.
The years 2023 and 2025 marked the most aggressive campaigns, with 448 water structures destroyed in 2023 and 248 in the first half of 2025 alone.
The report also noted that settlers did not stop at destroying wells and seizing tanks but also took over natural springs, establishing new settlement outposts nearby, including at Ein al-Sakut and Ein Hilweh in central West Bank. Settlers further blocked the construction of new wells or water networks, placing artesian wells under their exclusive control.
According to the center, settler violence escalated after 2023, with new outposts built around water sources. In August 2025, settlers sealed seven springs with concrete in al-Dhahiriya, south of al-Khalil. In July 2025, settlers seized a water spring in the village of Farkha near Salfit in the northern West Bank.
The report also recorded the establishment of three new settlement outposts in al-Jiftlik, Fasayel, and Ras al-Auja in Jericho governorate in February 2025, describing them as part of Israel’s efforts to Judaize the area and seize natural resources. After controlling grazing lands and destroying crops, settler herders have now taken over agricultural water wells in Masafer Yatta, south of al-Khalil.
