Far-right Israeli Knesset member Zvi Sukkot has announced a new settlement project targeting the archaeological site of Fasayel Pools in the occupied Jordan Valley, through a plan to restore the site and turn it into a tourist resort and organised swimming area for settlers in the coming months.
The project will receive direct government funding of 3 million shekels allocated by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
In statements published on his social media accounts and by Israeli media outlets, Sukkot said the project aims to rehabilitate the site known in Israel as Herod’s Pools. He claimed the area had suffered from neglect and vandalism, accusing Palestinians in the region of “stealing water” and causing the ancient pools to dry up.
Sukkot also published photographs of his visit to the site alongside far-right Israeli Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu, announcing the start of practical steps to implement the project.
Observers say the move is part of a continuing Israeli policy aimed at taking control of Palestinian archaeological sites and rebranding them as locations with Jewish or biblical significance.
The project comes amid a series of measures by the current Israeli government to strengthen its control over the Jordan Valley, using archaeology and tourism as tools to expand the settlement presence and impose new realities on the ground.
READ: Knesset approves transfer of responsibility for archaeological sites in West Bank to Israel
