Knesset member Avichai Boaron said in a Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee discussion that Palestinian Authority activity is causing large-scale water theft in the West Bank, along with pollution of Israel’s groundwater and national water infrastructure. In an interview with Channel 7, he described the phenomenon as a form of “water terror” and said it affects Israeli consumers and farmers alike.
Boaron said there are two main channels of theft. One is illegal hookups to Mekorot pipelines across Judea and Samaria, made within minutes and used to fill underground reservoirs, irrigate fields and supply homes. He said some PA actors then trade the stolen water, while others use it to cultivate thousands of dunams of agriculture, giving them a major price advantage over Israeli farmers. He also said they use drinking water rather than treated wastewater, which can improve produce quality and further undercut Israeli competition.
The second channel, he said, is deep drilling into the Mountain Aquifer and Eastern Aquifer, at depths of 150 to 200 meters. According to Boaron, the theft totals about 140 million cubic meters a year from 440 known wells, plus additional unlicensed drilling by about 30 drilling machines that move from place to place and bore holes 40 to 50 centimeters wide. He said Dr. Jacob Lifshitz, the Israel Water Authority’s chief scientist, has warned of salinization risks that could cause irreversible damage to Israel’s water reserves.
Boaron said field teams from the Water Authority and the Civil Administration are trying to respond, but the state lacks a comprehensive, cross-agency plan. He called for the army, Civil Administration, Water Authority, Mekorot, police and political leadership to coordinate a funded strategy, including operations in Areas A and B to seal wells and demolish illegal drilling sites. He said Mekorot has installed sensors and filters to detect contamination, but that this is only a temporary fix. Boaron also said Agriculture Minister calls the issue a flag to raise, while he continues pressing the Defense Ministry, the Energy Ministry, and MK Boaz Bismuth, who chairs the committee.
