West Bank (Palestine) Travel Guide - Visit Palestinian West Bank

East Jerusalem, Palestine by Yaopey Yong on Unsplash.

Travel Notes: Middle East - Palestine Travel Notes - Updated 17 July, 2023.

Palestine Travel and Tourism on Travel Notes

Find Palestine Travel and Tourist Information with links to official travel and tourism websites and state resources for visitors to The West Bank. Tweet

About The West Bank / Palestine

Even though the Israelis partly withdrew from the West Bank as part of the peace process, they are always liable to re-enter to restore order and establish security for the Jewish settlers still living there, or at least set up roadblocks and effectively cut off Palestinian communications.

As many Palestinians work as labourers in Israel, this hurts their pocket.

Mapping The West Bank

Map of The West Bank

The Palestinian Territories of the West Bank and Gaza are still very much an appendix of Israel.

Palestine

The British drove the Ottoman Turks out of Palestine in 1917, and sowed the seeds of the Palestinian problem.

Under the British mandate of Palestine, 1922 to 1948, Jews came to settle in what they considered their homeland.

They mainly chose to make their homes along the Mediterranean coast, in Jerusalem itself, or around the Galilee region. The local Palestinian Arabs were also growing in numbers along the west bank of the River Jordan.

The Arabs rejected the Partition Plan, and attacked Israel following her declaration of independence, on May 15, 1948.

Jordan occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and King Abdullah later merged all of Arab-held Palestine with Trans-Jordan, despite strong opposition from other Arab League members, and granted citizenship to West Bank residents.

In 1967, war broke out between Israel and her neighbours, Egypt and Syria. Jordan also entered the arena on the third day of the war.

Three days later it was all over. Israel had defeated the combined armies and took control of the Golan Heights from Syria, the Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip from Egypt, and all of the West Bank from Jordan.

The River Jordan connects the Dead Sea with Lake Tiberius, or the Sea of Galilee, and a trip north from Jerusalem to Tiberius is often done along the Jordan.

The Jerusalem Fund

The Palestine Center is an independent educational program committed to communicating reliable and objective information about the Palestinian political experience to American policy makers, journalists, students, and the general public.

Established in 1991, it is the educational branch of The Jerusalem Fund.

Travel Palestine

Visitors to Palestine, the only place in the world considered Holy to Christians, Muslims and Jews, will encounter myriad religious, historical, and archaeological sites on their journey.

Beyond the historical, Palestine offers walks and hikes in its extensive valleys, along coasts, as well as desert hills, towns, and ancient marketplaces at the hearts of cities and villages nestled in the heart of breath-taking landscapes.

The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities works with the private sector to create new packages under new themes including trails that cover unknown sites in Palestine and aims to develop social responsible tourism.

East Jerusalem

The Palestinians claim East Jerusalem (Al-Quds) as their capital; the Mosque is behind the Western Wall.

It is also within the old city that you find most of the budget accommodation.

Gaza Strip

Perishable goods can be flown out of the territory to international markets, even when the Israelis set up roadblocks.

Palestine's Gaza International Airport (GZA) became operational in November 1998 and is located at Rafah, in southern Gaza Strip.

The opening of the Yasser Arafat International Airport, in the Gaza Strip, gave the Palestinians a greater sense of independence, even though Israel controls Gaza's airspace and Israeli security forces can close the airport at will.

Palestinian Airlines operates between Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

West Bank

Although tourists don't often go to Hebron, Nablus, or Ramallah, both Bethlehem and Jericho are in the West Bank.

Nablus

Nablus is the site of Jacob’s Well, where Jesus met the Samaritan woman who offered him a drink of water and believed in him.

Al Yasmeen Hotel was one of the first unique tourism investment projects, between Nablus Municipality and the privately owned Yasmeen Investment Company, aimed at revitalising and upgrading the tourism sector in Nablus.

Hotels in Nablus.

Massada

Massada is famous for its hill top fortress near the Dead Sea; where visitors to the region can also float in the saline waters, or take a mud bath on its shores.

Towering 430 metres above the Dead Sea, Massada (Hebrew for fortress) is a boat-shaped, craggy mountain. Upon it one of the greatest epics in the history of mankind was played out.

Palestine Accommodation

Where to stay in Bethlehem, Gaza, Jerusalem, Nablus and Ramallah.

The Arab Hotel Association (AHA) is a non-profit, officially registered organization representing Palestinian hotels throughout the Holy Land and assisting other related tourism associations in Palestine.

AHA was established in Jerusalem in 1962 and currently has 82 members with well over 6,010 guest rooms.

The expanding role of the hotel industry in the Palestinian economy provides the AHA with many new challenges. Through restructuring planned process the current association includes hotels in Palestine under its umbrella ensuring decentralized representation through its four regions in Palestine. AHA will represent more than 100 members with more than 10,000 rooms.

West Bank Travel Guides

Palestine - Palestine Maps.

Weather in the Middle East:
Local weather forecasts for destinations around the Middle East.

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