Posted on 03/24/2017 5:12:04 AM PDT by SJackson
A bid to boost commerce, but Israeli occupation makes it tough.
And now a message from the Palestinian Authority: Walk in the footsteps of Jesus, enjoy some savory hummus and stuffed grape leaves, and please, please, please spend the night. If you squint, you might not see the watchtowers, barbed wire, and rifle-toting Israeli soldiers.
The Palestinian government is making a push to attract tourists to Bethlehem, Jericho, Hebron, and other historic religious sites—going so far as to call Jesus “the first Palestinian.” While tourism to Israel has steadily increased in recent years, Palestinian-controlled lands—which include many of the major Biblical sites—have seen scant benefit as Israel maintains a tight military grip over the West Bank.
Sure, there’s an annual rush to Bethlehem at Christmas. But even then, most visitors come on day trips to check out Manger Square and the Church of the Nativity, spending little time—or cash. Archaeological jewels such as the Khirbet Bal’ama water tunnel near Jenin and the Sebastia Roman colonnade outside Nablus get scarce traffic. And the new, white-marble Yasser Arafat museum in Ramallah? On a recent weekday afternoon, it had just three visitors. Although political tensions make it tough to attract tourists, Saeb Erekat, secretary-general of the Palestine Liberation Organization, envisions sunbathing and spas on the Dead Sea, bike trails through the Jordan Valley, and Christians flocking to Bethlehem year-round. “If we had an independent state, it would be magnificent,” he says.
(Excerpt) Read more at bloomberg.com ...
When I was in Israel three years ago I was warned to avoid those very sites. Way too dangerous for an American.
Going to Palestine is definitely on my bucket list :)
I would very much like to see those parts of Israel. However, so long as they are controlled by terrorists and their sympathizers, I will not spend any money there or even visit. If you cheer for the murder of innocents, I will not support you (whether you are an Islamist or a democrat).
Tourist = fodder....or shields
If you'd like to be on or off, please FR mail me.
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Israelis would be a great source of tourism. They "supported" the Jericho casino until Arafat decided not killing the customers was a poor policy and it shut down. For a while it was an Intercontinental hotel, don't know if the chain, don't know what it is now.
Your President won’t let us in, how
about you come to us.
Oasis Hotel in Jericho
This is actually good news...since their Muslim brother Obama is no longer in office to help the pali’s push the Jews into the sea,
Maybe they are looking across the land and seeing the fat of it and want to join civilization...
One can hope...
Call for victims! Send out your soon-to-be-dead. Americans welcome, especially Jews. Come on down!
AND if you are really, REALLLLLY good...........
........we’ll let you light off a rocket or two.
Ha! That would be more like one way of actually kicking the bucket than an item for a bucket list. If it is on that list, it better be last.
Someone inclined that way should also consider spending a night in a crack house wearing a Blue Lives Matter tee or sticking his head in the mouth of a large alligator.
When Jesus walked the Earth, there was no "Palestine" it was Judea, the land of the Jews. "Palestine" did not exist until Hadrian changed the name on his maps.
Human shields for AllahFUBAR.
I won’t be going until at least 2050, figure most of those who cheered the 9-11 attacks will be dead by then.
And that goes for Egypt as well.
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