Settlers transport spring water through huge pipes
After the closure of "Ain al-Sakot", the residents of the Jordan Valley are thirsty next to a running river
Ain Al-Sakoot is famous for its natural beauty and the freshness of its waters.
Emirates today
The gates of the "Ain al-Sakout" spring are closed to the Palestinians.
Emirates today
The human rights activist in the Jordan Valley Bedouin rackets Aref Daraghmeh.
Emirates today
Human rights activist in the Jordan Valley, Faris Fiqha.
Emirates today
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Next to the eastern Palestinian border with the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and at a distance of (150) meters from the Jordan River, "Ain al-Sakout" is located in the northern Jordan Valley, with the beauty of its nature and the freshness of its springs, extending along the fresh river. This spring is an extension of a series of water springs in the region.
Although al-Ain is what remains of the Palestinian Khirbet al-Sakut, whose original inhabitants were displaced by the occupation in 1967, the Palestinians, residents of the northern Jordan Valley areas, especially Khirbet Ain al-Bayda, flock to it for recreation and entertainment, and to irrigate and cultivate their agricultural land, where they form a lung that they breathe Including, in light of the escalating pace of settlement annexation plans towards their lands and properties.
settlement onslaught
However, this breathing space did not last long, as the settlement attacks broke out and eliminated it forever, as “Ain al-Sakot” is now under the control of the settlers, as the occupation closed at the beginning of this June the iron gates at the entrances to the “Ain al-Sakot” spring, depriving thousands of citizens and farmers from entering Al Ain to benefit from its fresh water and fertile agricultural lands.
Aref Daraghmeh, a human rights activist in Wadi al-Maleh and the Bedouin speculators in the Jordan Valley, said in an interview with "Emirates Today": "After the June setback in 1967, the occupation demolished Khirbet (Ain al-Sakout), which has an area of 36,000 acres, and displaced all its original inhabitants, who depend on cultivating its green fields, and turning them into buffer zones planted with mines, along the eastern border with Jordan.”
He added, "10 years ago, the occupation removed the minefields in (Ain al-Sakut), and they became illegal by the settlement council, which included large areas of al-Ain lands for settlement expansion."
According to Daraghmeh, six years ago, the Palestinians succeeded in reclaiming approximately 3000 dunams of “Ain al-Sakoot” lands, after a judicial battle that took place for many years in the corridors of the Israeli courts, but the occupation allowed them to recover only (800) dunams, and as a result, the residents were able to The Jordan Valley and the West Bank flock for entertainment and recreation in the springs of “Ain al-Sakut” and for cultivating the recovered lands.
However, the occupation did not like the scenes of thousands of Palestinians and farmers flocking to the “Ain al-Sakout” springs, which amount to 10 dunums, in addition to organizing ecological paths and student trips to the headquarters of natural beauty, which prompted it six months ago to put an iron fence and barbed wire in the vicinity. Ain al-Sakout.
Daraghmeh explains: “In early June, the occupation closed two iron gates that were placed at the entrance and exit of the barbed wire fence, which besieged the (Ein al-Sakout) springs, as part of a plan to annex the Palestinian northern Jordan Valley.”
He points out that Ein al-Sakot, after it was closed to the influx of Palestinians, has become open to settlers, as the water from the springs is withdrawn through several pipes, and transferred to the settlements perched on the lands of the northern Palestinian Valley, in addition to the settlers’ relaxation in the spring water pools.
Suffering and deprivation
As a result of the closure of the gates of the “Ain al-Sakout” spring, the last spring of fresh Palestinian water adjacent to the borders of Jordan and its river, the Palestinian suffers in various regions of the Jordan Valley severe water poverty, despite its proximity to a running river, especially the owners of agricultural land in that area, who depend for their livelihood on the cultivation of melon crops and trees. The other day, according to the human rights activist in the Jordan Valley, Fares Faqha.
In an exclusive interview with Emirates Today, its jurisprudence shows that the fencing of “Ain al-Sakot” is a prelude to the settlement council’s control over its entire lands, its annexation of the settlements perched next to the eye, and the looting of fresh water springs, just as happened in Wadi Qana, which extends in the governorates of Salfit and Qalqilya, and springs of water in Jericho Governorate, and Ain Senia in Ramallah.
The human rights activist says: “The Palestinians in the Jordan Valley are currently engaged in a water battle, after closing the entrances to the spring (Ain al-Sakout), depriving them of entering it, and benefiting from the water of its fresh springs. It also cut off the way for farmers to enter their agricultural land and irrigate it, while livestock and cows were deprived of drinking water from waterfalls. (Ein al-Sakot), which constitutes a tourist attraction for Palestinians’ recreation, as there is no sea or lake in the West Bank at all.
He added, "The occupation prevents Palestinians and residents of the Jordan Valley from entering the lands of (Ain al-Sakot) under security pretexts, in addition to the law of seizure by the military ruler, which allows the occupation to control the lands."
His jurisprudence indicates that the springs and lands of “Ain al-Sakout” are the destination for the ecological paths that start from Ain al-Bayda and roam different areas in the Jordan Valley, pointing out that by closing the entrances to “Ain al-Sakoot,” this path stops, which was a title to preserve the abandoned ruin lands from annexation and confiscation.
Ain al-Sakot is considered one of the most diverse areas of the Palestinian lands in vegetation. It is the other second bank of the Jordan River, and the mouth of the surplus from the river through the aquifer in which it is located.
Six years ago, the Palestinians succeeded in reclaiming approximately 3000 dunams of “Ain al-Sakot” lands, after a judicial battle that took place for many years in the corridors of the Israeli courts, but the occupation allowed them to recover only 800 dunams.
After the closure of Ein al-Sakot in front of the influx of Palestinians, it became open to the settlers, as the springs water is withdrawn through several pipes, and transferred to the settlements perched on the lands of the Palestinian northern Jordan Valley, in addition to the settlers’ relaxation in the spring water pools.
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