The most recent figures published in 2018 estimate that around 500,000 dunums (equivalent to 14.5 percent of Area C) is covered with nature reserve and parks.59 In Wadi Qana, for instance, a fertile valley East of Qalqiliya, more than 14,0000 dunums were designated in 1983 as Israeli nature reserve. The designation means that Palestinian owners are no longer permitted to freely farm their own lands,60 even though the reserve’s by-laws oblige the Israel Nature and Parks Authority to allow for the continuation of all farming that was practiced on the site before it was declared a nature reserve. Instead, the Israel Civil Administration has issued orders for farmers to uproot their olive trees, notwithstanding the fact that those same olive trees contributed to the inherent “nature” of the area in the first place. As of 2017, some 20 percent of the Jordan Valley was allocated to nature reserves.61 3. Closed Military Zones: Pretext for Accelerated Colonization of the Lands Since 1967, approximately 18 percent of the West Bank has been declared “closed military zones” or “firing zones” and confiscated. Based on manipulative application of Ottoman Laws of 1858, a military commander can declare any area or place closed for military purposes,62 which has allowed Israel to convert 1.11 million dunums of land in the West Bank into restricted military areas.63 As of 2017, 46 percent of the Jordan valley was declared “closed military areas,”64 59 Emek Shaveh, “On which side the grass is greener? National parks in Israel and the West Bank”, 2017, 3, Available at https://emekshaveh.org/en/wp-content/ uploads/2018/04/On-which-side-is-the-Grass-Greener.pdf 60 B’Tselem, “Wadi Qana – From Palestinian agricultural valley to settlements’ tourism park,” 23 April 2015, Accessed 16 February 2022, Available at: http://www.btselem. org/area_c/wadi_qana 61 B’Tselem, “The Jordan Valley”, updated on 11 November 2017, Accessed 15 February 2022, Available at https://www.btselem.org/jordan_valley [Hereinafter B’Tselem, “The Jordan Valley”] 62 Article 125 of the Defense (Emergency) Regulations and Article 318 of Military Order 1651. 63 Bisharat, “Land, Law and Legitimacy”, 534. See also: Order Concerning Security Provision (Judea and Samaria) 2009, 2009. This order is based on (No.378), 1970, Article 90. 64 B’Tselem, “The Jordan Valley”. 16