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OQR welcomes Jalameh crossing opening for tourist buses

The Office of the Quartet Representative today welcomed the Government of Israel's move to allow tourist buses through the Jalameh vehicle crossing into the West Bank. The introduction of buses will allow Palestinian tour operators to revive the biblical route connecting the tourist sites in the Galilee with Jerusalem and Bethlehem, taking in historical tourist sites throughout the West Bank along the way.

As part of the Office of the Quartet Representative 's focus on tourism, Quartet Representative Tony Blair last week visited the historical site of Sebastia and met with local businesses as well as leaders of the Arab-Israeli tourism sector, who arrived from Nazareth through Jalameh.  They discussed additional ways of promoting the West Bank’s tourist potential among Arab-Israelis and international visitors. The Office of the Quartet Representative will continue to promote additional measures to boost the enormous potential of the Palestinian tourism sector.  These steps include improving freedom of movement, the reintroduction of Israeli guides to Bethlehem and Jericho, and an increase in the number of permits available for Palestinian tourist guides.

Speaking in Sebastia last week, Tony Blair said: "I was fascinated to visit Sebastia today, with its wealth of archaeological heritage and history, and to see the massive potential of place for regenerating the tourism industry in the Northern West Bank. It is one of the most impressive places I have visited.

"If we could remove the key obstacles, you can see the development potential for Palestinians. Now that we have seen the opening of the Jalameh crossing, we need to encourage and promote the 'Nativity Route' between Nazareth and Bethlehem, which would vastly increase the number of people visiting Sebastia, both international and Arab-Israeli visitors alike."