UN accused of funding illegal construction in Israeli nature reserve

A sign near the pipeline claims the pipeline extends 5.8 kilometers and was constructed between October 2018 and January 2019 by a contractor identified as MEDCO Company.

By Sveta Listratov, TPS

Illegal water pipeline infrastructure bearing the logo of the UN Humanitarian Fund has been running through the heart of a protected nature reserve in the Judean Desert in violation of Israeli-Palestinian peace agreements, The Press Service of Israel can report.

“The UN is advancing the establishment of a Palestinian state at any cost, disregarding laws and agreements, and funding illegal construction—even in areas where the Palestinians explicitly agreed not to build,” legal expert Maurice Hirsch told The Press Service of Israel.

“This is a glaring example of negligence by Israel in the face of blatant violations,” added Hirsch, the former Director of the Military Prosecution for Judea and Samaria and current Director of the Initiative for Palestinian Authority Accountability and Reform at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.

The area, known as the Judean Desert Nature Reserve, was originally designated as Area B, meaning it came under Palestinian Authority administrative jurisdiction and Israeli security responsibility.

However, the 41,000-acre reserve, was enshrined as a “no-build” zone under the 1998 Wye River Memorandum.

However recent findings highlight systematic violations, apparently financed through international funding.

A visit to the reserve in August revealed vast stretches of illegal construction, including villas, swimming pools, and the water pipeline.

A sign near the pipeline credited funding to the UN Humanitarian Fund (UNHF), with claims suggesting the infrastructure serves illegal structures nearby.

A separate sponsorship sign said the pipeline was funded by the UN Humanitarian Fund and implemented by the Arab Agronomists Association (AAA) in partnership with the municipality of Zatara, a Palestinian village southeast of Bethlehem.

The sign claims the pipeline extends 5.8 kilometers and was constructed between October 2018 and January 2019 by a contractor identified as MEDCO Company.

The sign also contained the coding “OPT-18/DDA-3482/SA1/WASH/NGO/8999.” OPT commonly refers to “Occupied Palestinian Territories” in UN documents.

“We’re looking at a UN-funded water pipeline project allegedly aimed at assisting marginalized communities, yet it’s located inside a nature reserve—a zone that should be protected from such activities,” said Naomi Kahn of Regavim, a non-governmental organization that monitors illegal Palestinian construction in Judea and Samaria.

“Not only is this infrastructure illegally placed within the reserve, but it is also supplying water to illegally built homes, not agricultural communities,” explained Kahn, who is director Regavim’s international division.

Hirsch questioned the legality of the UN’s involvement in the project, stressing that international organizations are expected to act as neutral parties and respect local laws.

“There’s no need to negotiate with the UN about this illegal activity,” Hirsch told TPS-IL. “These infrastructures should be dismantled immediately. Their actions—falsely claiming these funds are for communities far from the reserve—are blatantly dishonest.”

An online search for MEDCO Company found no results beyond references to UN-funded pipeline projects, raising concerns about the firm’s legitimacy as a contractor.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) listed the project under the same code and provided additional financial details.

According to OCHA, the Arab Agronomists Association received multiple payments totaling over $245,000 for the project, officially spanning from May 2018 to February 2019.

However, observations on the ground reveal that the infrastructure primarily supports illegal construction within the Judean Desert Nature Reserve — a significant distance from Zatara, the community the project was allegedly meant to benefit.

“And even if this was built in Area C, did they secure the necessary permits? Everything is a lie upon a lie. Israel repeatedly turns a blind eye to such violations, and it simply doesn’t work,” Hirsch told TPS-IL.

“In recent years, the UN has increased the level of secrecy surrounding its funding to the Palestinians in order to shield its work from public scrutiny,” Anne Herzberg, Legal Advisor of NGO Monitor told TPS-IL.

“Donor nations should withhold funding and UN agencies should be blocked from operating in the region until its work is open to taxpayers for a full investigation and review,” she noted.

OCHA did not respond to TPS-IL’s inquiries regarding the pipeline’s sponsorship or the MEDCO Company’s credentials.

Illegal construction in the reserve has surged in recent years. Aerial surveys conducted by the NGO Regavim identified over 3,400 illegal structures in the reserve—up from just 268 at the time of the Wye River agreement.

Israel began razing illegal Palestinian buildings inside the nature reserve in December.

During the August tour of the reserve, TPS-IL also witnessed expansive illegal construction spanning kilometers, piles of construction debris and trash as well as scorch marks in the ground left behind by the burning of garbage.

There were buildings in various stages of construction, ranging from still-wet cement foundations to a completed building resembling a guest house with a swimming pool.

In response to enforcement queries, the Israel Defense Force’s Spokesperson’s Unit confirmed in January that responsibility for addressing illegal construction in the reserve was recently transferred to the military under directives from the Israeli government.

“In light of the Palestinian Authority’s violation of the Interim Agreement, enforcement responsibility in the reserve was transferred to the IDF,” the spokesperson told TPS-IL. “Authorities have begun taking action under this directive.”

The IDF declined to comment specifically on the UN-sponsored pipeline or its role in the illegally built compound.

illegal buildingsJudean DesertpipelineUN