AP Features, December 18th, 2007
Israeli tourism workers are handing out candy and welcome cards to foreign visitors this Christmas as their numbers swell to levels seen before fighting with the Palestinians broke out seven years ago, officials said Tuesday.
Israel expects 2.3 million tourists to visit the country this year, the closest the Jewish state has gotten to the peak year of 2000, when 2.7 million came, said Tourism Ministry Director General Shaul Tzemach.
Tourism officials say the renewed peace process has helped.
"Now we can say there is a peace atmosphere for Christmas," said Raphael Ben-Hur, the ministry's deputy director-general.
Bloodshed has dropped significantly in recent years, prompting a return of tourists. While only 880,000 million visited in 2002, the figure rose to 1.9 million last year, ministry statistics show.
The improved trust between Israel and the Palestinians means tourists are also visiting the West Bank, especially the town of Bethlehem, Jesus' traditional birthplace, Ben-Hur said.
"We believe that pilgrims are the bridge of peace between us and our neighbors," he said.
About 340,000 tourists crossed from Israel into Bethlehem by the end of October, up from 200,000 in all of 2006, according to the Tourism Ministry.
Israel hopes its cooperation with the Palestinians on tourism will boost its own economy, which has buckled under the fighting. As part of this cooperative effort, Israel has issued 42 permits to Palestinian tour guides to lead groups in Israel, Ben-Hur said.
Israeli and Palestinian security forces are working together to ensure the smooth flow of tourists into Palestinian-controlled Bethlehem, said Lt. Col. Kamil Wahabee, an Israeli commander at the town's coordinating office. To get to Bethlehem, tourists must cross through a large Israeli army checkpoint at Israel's West Bank separation barrier. The area was the scene of fierce shootouts during the peak of the fighting.
Israel is building the barrier — which is a concrete wall in this section — in an effort to keep out Palestinian suicide bombers.
The state has spent thousands of dollars on decorations to make tourists feel more welcome, the Tourism Ministry said. Workers at ministry-sponsored visitors' centers are also handing out candy and welcome letters to visitors, Ben-Hur said.
Despite the goodwill between Israeli and Palestinian leaders, officials at Palestinian businesses have been less enthusiastic. They insist that they cannot hope for true economic recovery unless Israel facilitates passage at West Bank security checkpoints to ensure the smooth flow of goods and people.
Israel set up hundreds of roadblocks across the West Bank to keep out suicide bombers and other attackers. The barriers have created great hardships for the people of the West Bank, and the Palestinians have urged Israel to reduce the obstacles.
But Israel says its security comes first, and that it can't trust Palestinian police to keep attackers out of Israel.
Israel will allow 500 Christians from the Gaza Strip to enter Israel and the West Bank for up to one month during the Christmas season, Wahabee said. No Muslims from the territory, which the Islamic Hamas group seized in fighting in June, will be allowed to leave the area for the holidays, he said.
Israel has virtually sealed the crossings with Gaza since the Hamas takeover, and refuses to have contacts with the militant group.
About 8,000 Christians from Bethlehem have been granted travel permits as well, Wahabee said.
Israel has also allowed hundreds of Muslims to travel into Israel and within the West Bank for the Eid al-Adha holiday, Wahabee said, but he did not give overall figures. Those festivities begin Wednesday.
