21 November 2010 - 20:30

Palestinian farmers have been denied access to water sources in the occupied West Bank by Israelis who have turned springs into tourism and memorial sites.

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - In a report published on its website on Sunday, the Israeli daily Ha'aretz said Hebrew-language signs have been erected near many springs, warning the Palestinians to stay out.

There are places which have been turned at the settlers' initiative into tourism sites or memorials for dead Israeli soldiers or settlers, the report said.

Near the heavily guarded settlement of Talmon, a sign points to a site called 'Tal Springs' which settlers take pride in clearing from Palestinians, the paper noted.

"Thanks to me you don't see any Arabs here," the paper quoted a settler as saying. It also referred to a large sign on a nearby building reading, "Death to the Arabs."

Dror Etkes, who has been researching Israel's illegal West Bank construction for years, said at least 25 springs are being seized through a similar process.

"Access to these springs has been blocked to the Palestinians, and there are dozens of other springs that the settlers have marked as targets for takeover," he said.

At many sites, settlers have set up chairs and tables for tourists. Elsewhere, access roads have been built, new pools have been filled and part of the area has been paved.

The sites seized by settlers are not all just springs, but part of an ancient agricultural system that employs pools and channels to take the water to Palestinian farmland.

"The takeover of the springs, while blocking access to the Palestinians, is only one reflection of an extensive project being implemented by the settlers with the full backing of the state," says Etkes.

"They are trying to appropriate for themselves points of unique historical and landscape value such as nature reserves, lookout points and archaeological sites."

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