Rosh HaAyin springs

[2] Until the 20th century, the water of the Rosh HaAyin springs flew into the Yarkon River, but nowadays most of the water of the Rosh HaAyin springs is used in various irrigation projects and does not reach the Yarkon River.

In 1930s, the British authorities in Palestine searched for an additional major water resource for the evolving city of Jerusalem.

The Jordan River is closer to Jerusalem but located at a much lower altitude than the Yarkon River and in order to bring the water up to the peaks of Jerusalem a relatively complex technology would be needed to be used, therefore the British authorities decided to opt for the alternative Yarkon-Jerusalem water extraction pipeline.

[3] The Rosh HaAyin springs were, during the period of the British Mandate in Palestine, the main and most important water resource of Jerusalem.

At the beginning of the 1950s Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion encouraged the Jewish settlement of the Negev region.