Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has vowed to wrest control of the ancient Solomon’s Pools site from the Palestinian Authority. Palestinians are responding by reclaiming the site and resisting Israeli efforts to seize more of the West Bank.

Residents around Bethlehem take up the “swimming challenge” as a way of asserting Palestinian presence at Solomon's Pools in Artas, June 2026. (Photo: Majd Jawad)Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has vowed to wrest control of the ancient Solomon’s Pools site from the Palestinian Authority. Palestinians are responding by reclaiming the site and resisting Israeli efforts to seize more of the West Bank.

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