By Ehud Amiton • September 23, 2026
Jerusalem, 23 September, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Israel in recent days began preparing the Obeid Springs site in Wadi Zeitun, northwest of Ramallah, for development as a public water park.
As part of the operation, security forces and the Civil Administration demolished illegal Palestinian structures that had stood at the site for decades and began overseeing its archaeological features and antiquities.
The Obeid Springs in Wadi Zeitun, northwest of Ramallah, where Israel is developing the area for public use, on Sept. 23, 2026. Photo by TPS-IL
The Obeid Springs area contains more than 15 springs, cisterns and other water sources, as well as archaeological features and antiquities.
A security source told The Press Service of Israel that the site, located in Area C of Judea and Samaria and previously subject to illegal Palestinian encroachment, is being developed as part of a strategy for the region. Area C is under full Israeli civil and security control under the Oslo Accords.
The source said demolition orders for most of the structures had been in place since the early 1990s. The complex had been abandoned, and the houses were unoccupied when the demolition was carried out, providing an opportunity to implement the orders, the source said.
