Israeli police in the Hevron region have arrested two residents of the Palestinian Authority territories for stealing water. The two had hooked up an illegal connection to an Israeli pipe and were diverting water into an underground well.

Water theft has grown comment in recent years, police sources said. “It’s become a crime phenomenon on a national scale, with many strategic and economic implications,” one said. The crimes “hurt residents who pay the authorities in order to use quality services,” they added.