Nahal Sorek
The Nahal Sorek, also Soreq, is a river in the West Bank and Israel. It rises south of Ramallah in the Judean Hills, flows westwards into the coastal plain, and empties into the Mediterranean at Palmachim. Its valley is mentioned in the Book of Judges as the home of Delilah.Names
The Hebrew name Nahal Sorek means "wadi of choice vines". The river is known in Arabic by a variety of names, including Wadi es-Sarar and Nahr Rubin. The latter name means "river of Reuben", in reference to Reuben, son of Jacob, who is said to have been buried on the river's southern bank.Railway
The historic Jaffa–Jerusalem railway, opened in 1892, follows the Valley of Sorek and the tributary Valley of Rephaim as it climbs from the coastal plain to Jerusalem. It was superseded in 2018 by a more direct high-speed line.The Nahal Sorek Nature Reserve, created in 1965 and since expanded, spans over 11000 dunams, from the Avshalom Cave Nature Reserve near Beit Shemesh to moshav Nes Harim.Near the mouth of the Nahal Sorek are two large seawater desalination plants, Palmachim and Sorek, the latter being, when used at full capacity, the largest of its kind in the world.