Russia deploys North Korean missile unit to Ukraine; Moscow-Pyongyang axis deepens: report

Russia has begun deploying a North Korean missile unit equipped with up to 120 ballistic missiles and six launchers for use in its war against Ukraine, a Ukrainian intelligence official told told Reuters Wednesday.

The reported escalation marks a deepening military partnership between Moscow and Pyongyang, with around 90 North Korean personnel expected to be stationed in Russia's western Voronezh region to support the new unit, according to Andrii Cherniak of Ukraine's Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR).

Cherniak also claimed Pyongyang has already delivered a fresh batch of 40 KN-23 and KN-24 ballistic missiles to Russian forces, Reuters said.

RUSSIA LAUNCHES BALLISTIC MISSILE ATTACK ON KYIV HOURS AFTER ZELENSKYY WARNS OF MAJOR STRIKE

Final details of the deployment are expected to be finalized during high-level talks next month.

The intelligence report follows a massive Russian barrage against Kyiv and the surrounding region Aug. 4. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Moscow launched 24 ballistic missiles, four cruise missiles and 115 drones overnight, killing at least 17 people.

Zelenskyy argued more lives could have been saved had Western allies replenished Ukraine's depleted stockpiles of air defense interceptors.

Zelenskyy previously warned that Moscow had been preparing since June to receive additional North Korean military personnel in the Voronezh region, according to reports.

RUSSIA UNLEASHES NEARLY 600 MISSILES AND DRONES ON KYIV IN DEADLIEST STRIKE SINCE MAY

Cherniak told Reuters a Russian strike in late July marked the first recorded use of North Korean ballistic missiles against Ukrainian targets since August 2025.

According to HUR estimates, Russia has received approximately 150 KN-23 and KN-24 missiles from North Korea since late 2023.

Military analysts say Russia is increasingly relying on ballistic weapons because they require advanced defense systems — such as the U.S.-made Patriot — to intercept.

The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) assessed that Russia is deliberately incorporating more ballistic missiles into its long-range strike packages to maximize pressure on Ukraine's limited air defenses.

ISW added that North Korea is gaining critical battlefield data from the conflict, allowing Pyongyang to refine its missile performance using Russian operational experience.

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North Korea has emerged as one of Moscow's key military allies since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began.

Reuters reported that Pyongyang has supplied millions of artillery shells and previously sent 14,000 troops to Russia's Kursk region to counter Ukraine's 2024 cross-border incursion.

Cherniak also noted that roughly 9,500 North Korean troops are still in Kursk, though they are not engaged in active combat right now.

A report by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) states that, since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, North Korea has supplied Moscow with large quantities of artillery and rocket ammunition, cannon and rocket artillery systems and ballistic missiles.

The policy institute described the Russia-North Korea relationship as one of the "most consequential among the Axis" and the only partnership in which one member has deployed troops in combat to assist another.

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Terrifying 'human safaris' on display in shocking video that reveals depths of Russia's deadly campaign

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of going "mad" following the release of a video showing a Ukrainian vegetable vendor being stalked by a Russian military drone before the drone exploded near him.

The incident occurred on Aug. 4 at a Kherson market located in Southern Ukraine. Footage released by the Kherson Regional Military Administration shows a drone hovering near a man standing beside a minibus before following him as he moves behind the bus. Moments later the drone dives toward the minibus and explodes near its front, detonating close to where the man is standing.

"A Russian drone deliberately hunted down a man selling vegetables and detonated right next to him," Zelenskyy wrote on X in a post including the video. "The Russians even admitted to the crime, showing zero regret and openly boasting about tormenting people. The man was wounded in the blast. Every single day, ordinary people in Kherson face these Russian "safaris."

MOSCOW BOMBING EXPOSES POTENTIAL SECURITY GAPS AROUND PUTIN'S MILITARY ELITE, EXPERT SAYS

The street vendor, identified as 52-year-old Yuriy, survived the near-fatal encounter, which Ukrainian authorities describe as part of a pattern of Russian drone attacks that track and target civilians — a practice they have dubbed "human safaris."

Speaking from a hospital bed, Yuriy told BBC that he and his wife were setting up their stall when he heard the drone buzzing nearby. His wife had run away, and the drone zeroed in on Yuriy, who pulled out vegetables to show that he did not have a weapon.

"It could see that I had tomatoes out, some cucumbers and eggplants laid out on the floor," Yuriy told BBC. "It even ducked under the umbrella when I was running away round the other side."

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called the attack a "barbaric war crime," demanding international intervention.

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Zelenskyy argued that everyone should see the video to make clear what Russia is capable of, arguing that President Vladimir Putin won't stop with Ukraine.

"This is not just about Ukraine," Zelenskyy wrote. "Russia’s campaign against human life must be stopped here in Ukraine before it spreads further. Finland and Kazakhstan, the Baltic states and Poland, the countries of the South Caucasus, Romania, and Moldova — all should work together to ensure real security guarantees and bring Russia’s war to an end."

"Peace is needed, which requires cooperation among everyone in the world who truly values peace," Zelenskyy wrote.

Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office says authorities have opened 5,303 criminal cases into drone attacks on civilian targets in the Kherson region. The office says the attacks have killed 287 civilians and wounded 2,549 others, including 41 children.

UKRAINE SEEKS MORE U.S. PATRIOT INTERCEPTORS AS BOMB SHELTER PROBE DEEPENS

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Prosecutors said the attacks appeared to be part of a systematic campaign, with FPV drones repeatedly striking civilians in public places, homes, transport hubs and civilian vehicles, and in some cases launching follow-up attacks after emergency crews arrived.

The release of the chilling video comes a year after a one-year-old boy was killed by a Russian drone in the Kherson region while playing in his playpen in his grandmother's backyard.

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Nuclear experts urge Trump not to let Iran steer talks away from regime's atomic threat

Iran’s top Revolutionary Guard commander declared Wednesday that Tehran would continue working on nuclear weapons as long as the United States and Israel possess them, intensifying concerns that Iran is using negotiations over the Strait of Hormuz to postpone concessions on its nuclear program.

"As long as the United States and Israel possess nuclear weapons, we will continue working on them for our national security," IRGC commander-in-chief Ahmad Vahidi said, according to a translation of remarks circulating Wednesday. "If they disarm, we will disarm."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded by vowing that Israel would continue preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, with or without a diplomatic agreement.

WHO IS AHMAD VAHIDI? IRAN’S NEW IRGC CHIEF TIED TO GLOBAL ATTACKS AND ‘DEATH TO AMERICA’ IDEOLOGY

"Today, we heard the commander of the Revolutionary Guards, Vahidi, explicitly declare Iran’s intention to continue developing nuclear weapons — ‘continue,’ as he put it," Netanyahu said at a ceremony marking the reinterment of Shimon and Rivka Herzl, the grandparents of the founder of modern day Zionism, Theodor Herzl.

"Well, as prime minister of Israel, I too am determined to continue — to continue preventing Iran from possessing nuclear weapons," he said.

Netanyahu praised President Donald Trump as Israel’s greatest friend in the White House and expressed appreciation for the two countries’ joint efforts against Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

"Israel’s existence is not subject to negotiation," Netanyahu said. "With an agreement or without an agreement, I am determined — we are all determined — to do whatever is necessary to ensure our security and our future."

NETANYAHU'S ISRAEL GRAPPLES WITH TRUMP-IRAN DEAL AS DETAILS REMAIN UNCLEAR

The exchange came as nuclear experts urged Trump to keep Iran’s nuclear program at the center of negotiations, warning that Tehran could use the Hormuz crisis to secure sanctions relief and other concessions before addressing its remaining nuclear capabilities.

Trump told "Fox News at Night" Tuesday that military force remained an option if Iran abandoned the talks, while insisting Tehran could not be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon.

"If they back out again, they’re going to get hit really hard," Trump told Fox News’ Trace Gallagher. "They know that. They understand that. I have no choice. They can’t have a nuclear weapon. It’s very simple.

"The hard hit is yet to come, and hopefully we won’t have to use it."

Trump said negotiators held an "all-day negotiation" Tuesday and described the discussions as "very good." He has said the talks would initially focus on reopening the Strait of Hormuz before turning to Tehran’s nuclear program.

TRUMP WARNS IRAN WILL BE HIT 'REALLY HARD' IF NUCLEAR NEGOTIATIONS COLLAPSE AGAIN

Andrea Stricker, deputy director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Nonproliferation and Biodefense Program, said that sequence could play directly into Iran’s strategy.

"It is in the Iranians’ interest to steer the negotiations toward the issues that they most care about," Stricker told Fox News Digital, including securing major U.S. concessions over Hormuz and "maintaining control of that crucial waterway that has proven a lifeline for Tehran to survive this war."

She said Iran would also seek oil sanctions relief and potentially relief from all U.S. sanctions, before addressing the nuclear file.

"If Tehran is able to structure the talks that way — and I’m concerned that Trump appears to be going along with that approach — there may be little left in terms of leverage to get big concessions from the Iranians on the nuclear file down the line," Stricker said.

There is evidence that Tehran has sought to sequence the talks in its favor. Axios reported in April that Iran proposed reopening the Strait of Hormuz and ending the war before beginning nuclear negotiations, potentially reducing U.S. leverage over enrichment and Iran’s enriched-uranium stockpile.

The Washington Post later reported that Tehran was focused on preserving its leverage over Hormuz rather than engaging deeply on major nuclear restrictions.

Kelsey Davenport, director for nonproliferation policy at the Arms Control Association, agreed Iran is seeking to capitalize on the leverage it gained by disrupting maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

"The current focus on the Straits of Hormuz is not surprising. Iran is looking to capitalize on leverage gained by disrupting maritime traffic through the waterway and test if Trump is willing to negotiate in good faith," Davenport told Fox News Digital.

TRUMP WARNS IRAN FIGHTING ISN'T OVER AS HE VOWS US WILL 'WIN' AS TALKS FADE

She said Tehran understands that any durable agreement will ultimately have to address its nuclear program but said, "At the end of this conflict, Iran will still possess the capabilities necessary to build a bomb," Davenport said, "The relevant knowledge and nuclear expertise cannot be bombed away.

"Tehran retains key materials and technologies necessary to build a bomb," she added. "If left unchecked, the nuclear program will be a source of instability and renewed conflict, even if Iran does not resume more proliferation-sensitive nuclear activities."

A proposed agreement between Iran and Oman could give Tehran some control over ships entering the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, a senior Iranian source and two regional officials told Reuters Wednesday. One regional source described the arrangement as a concession that had already been made, although the precise meaning of Iranian "control" remained under negotiation.

Iran is also seeking fees from ships traveling through the waterway, according to Reuters, while Washington has opposed both Iranian control and mandatory transit charges.

Stricker said postponing the nuclear issues would allow the regime to preserve its remaining enriched-uranium stockpiles and avoid fully dismantling its nuclear infrastructure.

She said Iran also wants to avoid accounting for its past nuclear weapons-related work or committing to end uranium enrichment and plutonium reprocessing.

"Leaving them as a last-order issue in the negotiations likely means that we will not see the Iranians make big concessions and make a solid nuclear deal," Stricker said.

Davenport said the administration should prioritize restoring access for inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency before beginning detailed nuclear negotiations.

"The IAEA has not visited key Iranian nuclear sites in more than a year," she said. "It remains unclear how much of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure remains and where any gaps might be in trying to account for Iran’s nuclear materials."

She said renewed inspections would give Washington a clearer picture of Iran’s remaining facilities and materials, while helping negotiators design a verification regime capable of addressing any gaps.

Davenport also recommended pairing sanctions relief with specific, verifiable Iranian steps rather than negotiating one sweeping package.

"A series of smaller deals could build confidence in the process," she said.

Stricker urged the administration to link every concession involving Hormuz, sanctions or the U.S. blockade to a measurable Iranian step on the nuclear file.

"The best approach to ensure a solid deal is to make the nuclear issues just as important as the Strait of Hormuz, removing the blockade and other top Iranian priorities," she said.

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Israeli President Herzog calls antisemitism a 'contamination of societies' as hate crimes surge

Israeli President Isaac Herzog issued a stern warning about the global spread of antisemitism in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital at his Jerusalem residence.

"Antisemitism is an age-old plague which should be dealt with by everybody, by all societies. It's not an Israeli issue or only a Jewish issue," he said.

"It's a contamination of societies that starts with the Jew — never ends with them. It's the most dangerous phenomena that has to be dealt with aggressively, with no mercy, with full adjudication, and most importantly, with education," he added.

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Herzog's warning comes as newly released New York City Police Department (NYPD) data show anti-Jewish incidents accounted for 56.9% of all confirmed hate crimes since the start of 2026, even though Jewish New Yorkers make up only about 10% of the city's population.

Herzog pointed to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, whom he accused of spreading hate and compromising the lives of New Yorkers.

"Mamdani does not respect my nation's right for self-determination — the Jewish people's inherent right to have a nation of their own. And he's basically spreading blasphemy, hate, antisemitic rhetoric. He should understand that he's risking his own citizens, he’s risking their safety, well-being and life," Herzog told Fox News Digital.

In a video posted on social media on July 21, Mamdani called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "a war criminal" and "the architect of a horrific genocide against the Palestinian people."

Days later, Raul Morales, 51, allegedly yelled "Allahu Akbar" while stabbing two men on Manhattan's Upper West Side, including one who was visibly identifiable as Jewish.

SUSPECT ARRESTED AFTER ALLEGEDLY YELLING ‘ALLAHU AKBAR,' STABBING 2 MEN IN NYC ATTACK

"We've seen the stabbing just a few days ago ... just because somebody was dressed as an Orthodox Jew. This cannot be accepted in New York, which is a city that is dear to our heart, dear to Israelis, and dear to me personally," Herzog said.

More broadly, a report released last month by the J7 Large Communities' Task Force Against Antisemitism found that 20 people were killed in antisemitic attacks across seven countries outside Israel in 2025, marking the deadliest year for such violence in the Jewish diaspora since 1994.

The J7 comprises Jewish communities in the United States, Australia, Canada, Argentina, the United Kingdom, Germany and France.

According to the report, more than 23,000 antisemitic incidents were recorded across the J7 countries last year, representing a 97% increase in violent attacks and a 136% rise in overall incidents compared with 2022.

"Of course, Israel is doing its best, but it has to be an effort with governments all over the world, law enforcement agencies, educational systems and Jewish communities, which we care about a lot," Herzog said, in reference to confronting Jew-hatred.

Referencing a recent article by Prof. Niall Ferguson titled "The Death of History," he said, "How much TikTok or the social networks distort the facts of history? They negate the worst and greatest horror of humankind, the Holocaust. And that's why we have to stand up together and combat it," he told Fox News Digital.

Herzog stressed that misinformation spread through distorted and superficial channels makes it easy to smear Israel on social media, but that such narratives do not reflect reality.

GERMAN OFFICIALS WARN ISLAMIST, FAR-LEFT RHETORIC DRIVING SPIKE IN ANTISEMITIC ATTACKS

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"[Israel] is the place where the Startup Nation flourishes. This is the place where great ideas are given to the world and contribute enormously to the world in so many great fields, from health to energy, to science, to agriculture, to food security, to what not. There's a reason why Americans who visit our country, young Americans, fall in love with this country," he said.

Growing antisemitism, coupled with polarization within and between Jewish communities and a weakening sense of Jewish identity in some places, led Herzog to launch Voice of the People in April 2023. The initiative brings together a council of 150 emerging leaders — one-third from Israel, one-third from the United States and the remainder from around the world.

Leaders are selected through an algorithm from thousands of candidates and serve rotating terms of roughly two years, developing ideas to address challenges facing the Jewish world.

The initiative held an in-person kick-off summit in March 2025 in Haifa, featuring Herzog and bringing together all council members, reflecting his belief in building the next generation of Jewish leadership, which he described as one of his main tasks.

"I'm overjoyed by the great ideas I see and feel, and I hope that around November we will have a new registration starting for the next slot, the next cohort, and I invite as many Jewish friends to register," he said.

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Capybaras crash Brazilian lawmakers' voting session and steal the show

Brazilian lawmakers preparing to conduct official business found themselves sharing the halls of a state legislature with several uninvited — but unusually relaxed — guests.

A group of capybaras entered the Mato Grosso Legislative Assembly in Cuiabá on July 30, briefly drawing attention away from an upcoming vote as they explored the government building.

Video recorded by legislative staffer Nayara Bueno showed the animals moving calmly through the entrance while workers sought to steer them outside.

BLACK BEAR CAUGHT ON VIDEO WANDERING INTO CALIFORNIA WATER DISTRICT OFFICE AFTER PUSHING OPEN FRONT DOOR

"They show up here quite often, so we’ve gotten used to seeing them," Bueno told The Associated Press.

The rodents' guest appearance did not cause any damage to the Mato Grosso state legislature, according to officials.

The legislature borders a park that is home to wildlife, giving the animals easy access to the surrounding government complex. 

Native to South America, capybaras are semiaquatic mammals commonly found around wetlands and other bodies of water. They are highly social, generally travel in groups and can reach weights of about 175 pounds.

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The world's largest living rodents have also become internet favorites, with social media users frequently highlighting their laid-back behavior around other animals and people.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Ceuta migrant surge exposes Spain-Morocco tensions as Islamist groups reportedly seek to exploit border crisis

Thousands of migrants remained stranded in Spain’s North African city of Ceuta on Tuesday as the European Union offered emergency assistance to reinforce the enclave’s border and Spanish authorities investigated whether criminals or suspected jihadists used last week’s chaotic mass crossing to enter European territory.

Approximately 72,000 people entered Ceuta from Morocco, and about 70,000 have since returned, Spanish officials said Tuesday, leaving roughly 2,000 people in the small territory. Reception facilities remained overwhelmed as authorities struggled to shelter hundreds of migrant minors and determine the status of those who remained.

Local authorities were processing 862 migrant minors, who receive special protections under Spanish law and cannot be summarily returned. The Associated Press reported that children were begging for food or sleeping outside after the youth shelter became overwhelmed.

SPAIN DEPLOYS MILITARY AFTER THOUSANDS OF MIGRANTS OVERWHELM BORDER ENCLAVE, AT LEAST 18 DEAD

The EU offered Spain assistance, including emergency financial support, to strengthen protection of its external border in Ceuta, European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner said Tuesday following an emergency meeting of the bloc’s ministers in Brussels.

Brunner said the unprecedented crossing was fueled by criminal smuggling networks and disinformation spread through social media, as Spanish authorities were examining whether known criminals or suspected jihadists exploited the scale and disorder of the crossing to enter Ceuta undetected.

Spain’s National Police and Guardia Civil were reviewing video of the crossings and checking people who remained in the territory against criminal and counterterrorism databases, according to El Confidencial, which cited Spanish Interior Ministry sources.

The Spanish outlet reported that authorities were searching for known criminals and possible jihadists who may have entered among the tens of thousands who crossed. Interior Ministry sources acknowledged that the sheer scale of the surge created a genuine infiltration risk, according to the report.

El Confidencial said the concern was heightened by Ceuta’s proximity to Fnideq, also known as Castillejos, a Moroccan border town that has figured in previous jihadist recruitment investigations. Authorities have previously dismantled extremist cells operating across the Ceuta-Fnideq border area, while hundreds of people from northern Morocco traveled to join ISIS and other terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq during the mid-2010s, the outlet reported.

TRUMP BLASTS SPAIN MIGRANT SURGE AS 'CATASTROPHE,' WARNS US COULD FACE WORSE IF DEMOCRATS REGAIN POWER

The crisis is also creating an opening for Islamist movements seeking to weaken confidence in Morocco’s government, according to Zineb Riboua, a research fellow at the Hudson Institute.

Riboua said in an article that Moroccan Islamists have spent years portraying the monarchy as overly secular and pro-Western, attacking its relationships with the United States and Israel and encouraging the belief that young Moroccans have little future at home.

At the same time, she wrote, Islamist voices have promoted an idealized image of Europe as a place where prosperity and legal status can be easily obtained.

Riboua said the Ceuta crisis allows those movements to transform public frustration over migration, unemployment and economic conditions into a broader political attack on the Moroccan state ahead of the national elections in September.

Evidence has separately emerged that the mass crossing was preceded by an extensive online mobilization campaign.

An open-source intelligence report prepared by Golden Owl Intelligence traced weeks of activity across TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, including misleading interpretations of Spanish immigration law and practical information about routes, meeting points and recommended crossing times.

The report estimated that the content generated more than 11 million potential impressions through posts, videos, comments and interactions. It also identified messaging groups administered through telephone numbers carrying Algerian international codes.

The campaign accelerated after Spain’s Supreme Court issued a July 8 ruling concerning the immediate return of migrants intercepted at sea near Ceuta and Melilla, according to the report. Simplified and misleading interpretations of the decision, combined with confusion surrounding Spain’s policy to regularize hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants, were presented online as evidence that people who reached Spanish territory would be allowed to remain and eventually obtain legal status.

The investigation documented the later circulation of maps, swimming routes, transportation information and suggested departure points as tens of thousands of people began moving toward the border.

MIGRANT CRISIS PUSHES ITALY TO RESTORE BORDER CHECKS WITH SPAIN, TESTING EUROPE'S OPEN-BORDER SYSTEM

Morocco’s Interior Ministry spokesman Rachid El Khalfi said at a news conference Sunday that the surge resulted from several overlapping factors, including the exploitation of digital platforms, misleading information, human-trafficking networks and inaccurate interpretations of legal and administrative developments.

Khalfi said the messaging created the false impression that the border was open and that people could reach European territory without legal consequences. He said Moroccan prosecutors had opened investigations to identify those responsible and determine the appropriate legal consequences.

Reuters and the Associated Press have independently documented cases in which online claims influenced people to travel toward Ceuta. Reuters interviewed a Moroccan teenager who said Instagram videos inspired him and his cousin to make the journey, while a Moroccan human-rights activist told the AP that social-media posts initially claimed the border was open and later promoted a misleading interpretation of the Supreme Court ruling.

The crisis has also placed Spain’s intelligence services and its relationship with Morocco under scrutiny.

El País and Cadena SER reported, citing officials familiar with Spain’s intelligence assessment, that Morocco did not plan the mass crossing but allowed it to unfold after border controls were gradually relaxed.

Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said Spain’s foreign intelligence agency had not warned him of an imminent surge of that magnitude.

WHITE HOUSE BLASTS SPANISH GOVERNMENT AS THOUSANDS OF MIGRANTS SURGE FROM MOROCCO, EMERGENCY REQUEST DENIED

Morocco has denied deliberately orchestrating the crossing. Interior Ministry spokesman Rachid Khalfi blamed the surge on online misinformation, human-trafficking networks and distorted interpretations of Spanish legal and administrative developments, according to The Jerusalem Post. The ministry said Morocco remained committed to international cooperation against irregular migration and human trafficking.

Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares defended Rabat’s response, saying Moroccan authorities quickly provided police support and helped facilitate the return of most of those who crossed.

Juan Jesus Vivas Lara, president of the autonomous city of Ceuta, offered a sharply different assessment, telling El País that many Ceuta residents believed Morocco had allowed, if not orchestrated, the surge.

"Morocco has shown us that it isn’t reliable," Vivas said. "There’s no alternative but to put in place whatever means are necessary to ensure it cannot do this again."

Fox News Digital reached out to the Moroccan government for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Holy Land battle: Solomon's Pools become flashpoint in fight over Israel's biblical heritage

Built more than 2,000 years ago to supply Jerusalem with water, Solomon's Pools have become the center of a modern political dispute, with officials from the nearby Israeli town of Efrat accusing the Palestinian Authority of allowing the historic site to deteriorate after it was placed under Ramallah's jurisdiction following the 1993 Oslo Accords.

Most archaeologists date the construction of Solomon's Pools, three ancient reservoirs located between Efrat and Bethlehem, south of Israel's capital, to the Hasmonean period in the second century B.C. The reservoirs were built to supply water to Jerusalem during the Second Temple period. Herod the Great (37–4 B.C.) later expanded the system to provide water to his palace-fortress at Herodium.

"Solomon's Pools are not only the history of the Jewish people in the Land of Israel and the source of Jerusalem's living water, but also the future of Efrat in our ability to exercise our sovereignty, preserve Efrat's development space and sustain tourism for all religions in the area between Jerusalem and Hebron," Dovi Shefler, mayor of Efrat, told Fox News Digital.

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The three reservoirs collectively hold approximately 288,000 cubic meters of water, or more than 10 million cubic feet. They are fed by the Arrub and el-Biyar aqueducts, which, together with rainwater, historically supplied Jerusalem with water year-round. During the British Mandate, the pools underwent significant renovations and became known as "Jerusalem's beach" until the Oslo Accords.

Under the agreements, the West Bank was divided into Areas A, B and C. Solomon's Pools are located in Area A, which falls under Palestinian civil and security control.

Yonatan Marcus, chief of staff of the Efrat Municipality, told Fox News Digital that during the negotiations, then-Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin maintained that the pools would remain under Israeli control, alongside other archaeological sites of major Judeo-Christian significance such as Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem.

However, during the mapping process, he said, the words "Solomon's Pools" remained within Area C on zoomed-out maps, while the reservoirs themselves ultimately mistakenly fell inside Area A.

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Marcus said under Palestinian Authority control, things changed for the worse. "When you visit today, you can see that the place is neglected. Much of it has been destroyed. There are signs everywhere in Arabic stating that swimming is not permitted because the pools are filled with sewage water," he said.

He added that the sewage contamination was not natural, with wastewater deliberately diverted into the pools, replacing the fresh water that flowed there until the Oslo Accords. He said this occurred despite the PLO's commitment under the agreement to protect historical sites in Area A.

"Our main goal is to protect these magnificent pools. It's not just about Jewish history; it's about Judeo-Christian history and whoever believes in the people of the Bible who walked here," he said.

He described the reservoirs as the largest archaeological pools in Israel, saying they occupy a strategic location between the Western Wall and the Cave of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs along Route 60, known as the Biblical Highway.

Although the pools are located in Area A, Marcus said visits by Israelis take place only on coordinated tours secured by the IDF's Judea and Samaria Division, as permitted under the Oslo Accords.

He noted that visits by Israeli officials, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, have prompted improvements, saying the Palestinian Authority removed about 200 bags of garbage from the site following years of neglect.

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"If the pressure of our coming here is going to make them take care of the site, then wonderful. In the end, our goal is for it to be preserved," he said.

Ahmad Fattouh, a spokesman for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction, rejected the allegations.

"It's absolutely audacious that the leadership of the colonial settlement of Efrat claims to be concerned about the condition of Burak Sulaymān's pools when they are the very reason behind its declining water levels," Fattouh told Fox News Digital. He said Israeli locals diverted the springs that feed the pools and argued that the Palestinian Authority has restored the site and developed it as a tourist destination.

Fattouh also accused Israeli officials of using the issue to justify taking control of the site, saying Smotrich's visit showed that the pools were not completely dry, contrary to claims by Efrat officials.

Yishai Fleisher, international spokesman for Hebron, said the pools are akin to rediscovering a lost part of the Jewish Temple, as they supplied Jerusalem with water for some 2,000 years.

He said preserving the site begins with attracting visitors, producing educational videos, improving access along the new road from northern Efrat, hosting senior Israeli officials and establishing a permanent presence with cameras, patrols and farms.

"Since the story started breaking, the P.A. is trying to build a mosque there. The goal of the P.A. is to stop Israeli presence in Judea and Samaria and the Land of Israel. They are not about developing anything for its own sake," Fleisher claimed to Fox News Digital.

Fleisher, who is an influential voice among the Israeli right, called for a radical change in policy. "What we really have to do is dismantle the P.A. and assert sovereignty over Judea and Samaria. In the meantime, the line should be redrawn so that Solomon's Pools, which are essentially archaeological sites, are placed under Israeli control in Area C," he said.

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