Tourism in Israel - West Bank Tourism

West Bank Tourism

See also: Tourism in the Palestinian territories

West Bank tourism has been administered by Israel since the beginning of its occupation in 1967. Territory that had been off-limits to Israeli citizens was now made available for tourism, and Israel established numerous amenities in these territories and East Jerusalem to make it more appealing to Israeli and foreign tourists. Despite that, Israeli citizens are generally restricted from traveling to parts of the West Bank under Palestinian Authority control. Today, The Palestinian Authority and Israeli tourism ministries work together on tourism in the Palestinian territories in a Joint Committee on Tourism.

  • Bethlehem - Burial place of the matriarch Rachel and birthplace of King David and of Jesus. Around 1.3 million tourists visited the city in 2008. Popular sites in the city and around include: The Church of the Nativity, a church built over the cave that tradition marks as the birthplace of Jesus of Nazareth; The Manger Square; Shepherd's Field in Beit Sahour; Solomon's Pools; and the Salesian Cremisan Monastery.
  • Herodium - A fortress built by Herod the Great. It is administered by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority.
  • Hebron - The second-holiest city in Judaism and the place where the Tomb of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs is located, according to Jewish and Islamic tradition. It was also the capital of the Kingdom of Judah before David moved it to Jerusalem.
  • Jericho - Tourism increased by nearly 42.3% in the first three quarters of 2008 as crossing between areas under PA control and Israel became less restricted.
  • Qumran - An ancient Jewish site where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. It is administered by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority.

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