In a few months it will be 15 years since the Israel Defense Forces Central Command first issued the directive prohibiting Israeli citizens from entering Area A territories in the West Bank, placed under Palestinian Authority control by the Oslo Accord. But slowly, quietly, the IDF is allowing Israelis to visit in an orderly manner. According to tour companies and tour guides, thousands of Israelis have already gone on organized tours in recent years, with the authorization of the military and in coordination with the Palestinian authorities, mostly to Jericho and Bethlehem, but also to other tourist destinations.

“Due to popular demand — another trip to Jericho!” The online ad for Trips and Tales caught my eye before the Shavuot holiday. “In cooperation with security services, we’ll venture a bit over the border … to the Deir Hajla Monastery, the Quarantal Monastery and Herod’s castles.”

According to Meny Nahman, an employee of the tour company, “As of now we’ve had 150 buses, each of them with 50 people. Before [we started going to the West Bank], we visited biblical sites and we stopped at the border, but the story is incomplete without Jericho and Bethlehem. Jericho is amazing in every way — the landscape, history and the connection to the heritage of Israel.” He clarifies, “The tours are apolitical. We try not to present it as returning the land of the patriarchs or to prefer the other side. The tour guide staff is mixed and we do not present a political stance, but only show the current situation.”

This isn’t the only company that does this. There are several tour operators in Israel that fill hundreds of buses with Israeli tourists who want to visit Jericho and Bethlehem just like they visit Acre, Nazareth or Paris. Tours and Encounters, run by Itzik Tahori, started operating only four months ago, and has already brought six or seven tour groups to these destinations.