Wadi Qana

On Saturday we went to a demonstration / solidarity visit to Wadi Qana. This is a small valley in the Salfit district. It’s very pretty particularly during the winter months and Palestinians have used its water sources for centuries as it has numerous natural springs. Since the occupation began in 1967 the Israelis have been gradually annexing the land, forcing the Palestinians who lived in the area out and making it impossible for Palestinians in the surrounding areas to reach the land (which is owned and farmed by them) and use its water resources.

We joined local villagers, representatives of the Palestinian Authority, Israelis and other internationals on a visit to Wadi Qana and to the village of Al-‘Uyuuna at the end of the valley. We set off in cars along an awful road but were stopped after 1km by 2 Israelis jeeps. The soldiers said we were not allowed to take cars through the valley (despite the fact they’d just driven their jeeps through it). We abandoned the vehicles and set off on foot only for them to change their minds 500m down the path meaning we could all get back in the cars and continue.

On either side of the valley the hills are lined with illegal Israeli settlements, 7 in total. Not only are the settlements built illegally on stolen land but the settlers often come down the slopes and attack local farmers trying to earn a living on their own land. In addition they vandalise wells and water pipes used by Palestinians and in some cases they have completely taken over natural water springs, guarding them so that Palestinians cannot reach them. The road through the valley can hardly be described as a road and at various points we had to splash our way through overflowing raw sewage from the surrounding settlements. Not only is this disgusting but it also contaminates the natural water supplies that the Palestinians depend on.

After half an hour we reached the village of Al-‘Uyuuna. It used to have 40 buildings but 33 of these have been demolished by the Israeli military. The remaining 7 all have demolition orders on them. To look at them, I was surprised they even warranted a demolition order, they would not have looked out of place in one of those museums showing what rural life was like hundred of years ago. They look like this because the Israeli authorities will not allow the villagers to use anything other than basic stone and mud to build their homes, with a blanket ban on permanent concrete roofing. They obviously don’t want the villagers to get too settled, even though most of them have lived in the area for centuries. The other residents fled to the village in 1948 after being forced from their homes in Jaffa when the Israeli state was created. They have been waiting to return to their homes ever since.

When we left the village we headed out on the settlement road and left through the settlement gate. Anybody can leave through this gate but only those on a list held by the Israeli authorities can enter the village through the gate. Those lucky enough to have been registered at birth as belonging to the village are on the list but there are many that are not on the list as the Israelis have stopped registering people under the village, instead registering them under surrounding villages. It is clear what they want to achieve through this policy.

If not on the list villagers and visitors to the village have to travel round to the other side of the valley and make their way along the terrible road along which we came. Many of the villagers are students or work in the local towns, having to make this journey is a real struggle as they do not have their own vehicles. It also means that villagers have to continue their most basic existence, as materials and machinery that could improve their conditions cannot be brought over the road.

The visit and the plight of the villagers was summed up just by looking at the hillside, at the bottom were tiny basic mudstone buildings while at the top stood grand luxury homes with bay windows and balconies (see picture below). When we drove through the settlement and out of the gate it was like stepping into a model village, the gardens were landscaped and hanging baskets lined the roads. It is clear that the Israeli authorities see only one community living here in the future, despite the fact that their presence is illegal under international law.