“Etkes explains that the seizure of the springs is part of an ambitious plan of a far larger scope – to take control of the remaining open spaces in the West Bank. This is being done by way of creation of bathing areas and hiking trails, designation of graves of Jewish spiritual figures as “holy sites,” and development of picnic sites, all on Palestinian-owned private land. The aim: to isolate the Palestinian villages, instead of isolating settlements, and of course to seize more and more land.
Last Friday this criminal undertaking claimed a high price: The gurgling waters were tainted with red – the blood of Rina Shnerb, a teenager who was killed by an improvised explosive device that had been planted next to the Ein Bubin spring; her father and brother were also wounded in the blast.”
This Place Is Only for Jews: The West Bank’s Apartheid Springs
A pool at the Anar Springs, formerly named Ein a-Shuna. Who’s banned from such places, we ask a soldier. “Arabs,” he says. “This place is only for Jews.” Photo credit: Alex Levac