Israel continues to expand in West Bank through new tourist route
The Israeli government approved the construction of a new tourist route that would pass through the West Bank to the Syrian Golan Heights, raising fears among Palestinians about Israel’s attempts to maintain a permanent presence in occupied territories.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The Israeli government gave funding approval Nov. 26 for a new hiking trail for tourists and Israelis that passes through the West Bank and the Golan Heights, which were occupied by Israel in June 1967. It would be the first Israeli national trail that traverses the Golan Heights, which was seized from Syria, or the West Bank.
The trail was proposed by Israeli Tourism Minister Yariv Levin, who approved the new path and will submit a final plan to the government within 120 days. The project is expected to cost $2.8 million.
The current route, built in 1995, only passes through Israeli land. The Israeli government had previously refrained from having a national trail go into the West Bank for fear of international criticism; Palestinian government officials say the new trail would in essence redraw Israel's borders to include the West Bank.
The Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities issued a press statement Nov. 27 denouncing the Israeli government’s approval of the new route, which it sees as an attempt to impose a de facto policy and consider the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967 to be Israeli territory. The Palestinian ministry said the Israeli measures are aimed at controlling tourism in the Palestinian territories and exploiting Palestinian sites to develop Israeli tourism at the expense of the Palestinian travel industry.
