Despite the green grass covering the valley of Wadi Qana, the occupation has rendered it nearly impossible to enjoy. The area is between the Nablus and Qalqilia districts in the northern West Bank.

Wadi Qana was once a haven for people who sat under the trees, climbed the stones, and splashed and swam in the water. Spring was the best time there, nothing seemed more beautiful.

A Jinsafout Village resident said that the reality of the Qana Valley now is that of lost hope. “It is impossible to spend enjoyable days there now as I have in my memory from childhood.” The northwestern West Bank area is also near Deir Istiya Village in the Salfit Region. It was really central for people.

Mahmoud Eid points to the proliferation of Israeli settlements in the surrounding hills and on the slopes of the valley for depriving residents the ability access many of the most beautiful sights, including rare plants and flowers.

Ramatan News Agency editor Nawaf Al Amir recently took a crew to Wadi Qana and reported on the Palestinian steadfastness in the face of Judaization and the illegal Israeli settlement policy. He reminded viewers that bulldozed land was replanted with trees, while many of those involved in the replanting efforts were subject to torture and imprisonment.

Mamdouh Shbeth lives in the town of Azzun. He used to spend every Friday in the Valley during the spring and summer after his work-week at a factory. Now he hardly ever goes, maybe just once or twice a year if it seems safe.

The valley is now controlled in many parts by the largest of all Israeli settlements, Ariel. The Palestinian valley is planted mostly with citrus, to the benefit of the environment, animals and hundreds of people who made their livelihoods there. The spring running through Qana Valley was enough to irrigate the entire valley.

In the 1970s the Israeli settlements began destroying the natural beauty and replaced the water with sewage flowing through huge pipes from the settlements. The diversion of water dried up the natural springs after the Israeli company Mekorot installed pumps to draw the water into the settlements.

The waste water from most of the pollutants, including from an aluminum factory and chemical plants, reaches the valley by being pumped straight in.