Middle East Monitor / June 17, 2023
Following the raid by Jewish settlers backed by Israeli forces, a Palestinian youth movement has called for the protection of Solomon’s Pools in Bethlehem, Al-Resalah newspaper reported on Friday.
Solomon’s Pools are located between the villages of Artas and Al-Khader, four kilometres south of Bethlehem, in a small valley surrounded by pine and cypress trees.
The youth movement reiterated that the settlers’ raids of the Solomon’s Pools violated their sanctity.
Residents of Artas and Al-Khader said that they have the exclusive right to the Solomon’s Pools, stressing that: “Settlers must not be allowed to raid or expropriate them.”
According to Al-Resalah newspaper, land traders have leaked a portion of the area to settlers and the Palestinian Authority did nothing to punish the perpetrators or prevent the repetition of such illegal action.
The youth movement called for Palestinians in the areas around Solomon’s Pools to spend as much time as possible there in order to undermine any Israeli occupation plan.
It is worth noting that the Israeli occupation opened a settler road in 1979 to connect Jewish settlements around the eastern and western sides of Bethlehem.
