JTA: The Global News Service of the Jewish People

Touring the West Bank

By Uriel Heilman · October 13, 2009

Britain plans to market the West Bank as a tourist destination, according to the U.K. Telegraph:

The West Bank has a reputation for instability, military checkpoints and the ever-present threat of war with Israel.

But the UK is to promote the region as a sun, beach and wildlife destination for British tourists.

To the uninitiated, the image of the Palestinian territories is unlikely to be one of flip flops, suntan lotion and pre-dinner gin-and-tonics as a herd of elephants wanders across the horizon.

But for a small group of leading British tourism experts on a fact-finding mission in the West Bank led by the UK Trade & Investment ministry, a state that does not officially exist is also one that brims with secret promise.

The West Bank boasts a surprising number of scenic spots like the dramatic, undulating desert hills of the Wadi Qelt.

Intrepid tourists who venture here might not spot an elephant, but they are almost certain to catch a glimpse of its closest biological relative, the hyrax.

Full story here.