“The restrictions laid down by the Israeli Ministry of Internal Affairs for tourists passing through the Palestinian Territories by no means concern the devotees and pilgrims, who can therefore freely visit the Holy Places where they are located”. The reassurance comes directly from the Custodian of the Holy Land, father Pierbattista Pizzaballa, who states to SIR: “the restrictions apply only to people passing through the bridge of Allenby, (the main pass between Jordan and the Palestinian Territories which is under Israeli administration, editor’s note), near Jericho, not to people landing at Ben Gurion airport, in Tel Aviv, where pilgrims usually land. There is no impediment on pilgrimages and visits even to Palestinian cities, such as Bethlehem and Jericho. It is a strong decision that by no means touches the pilgrimages”. The provisions laid down by the Israeli Ministry of Internal Affairs has caused his Tourism counterpart, Stas Misezhnikov, to respond by writing a letter in which he criticised the decision, speaking of “damage to the country’s image”. Tourism is one of the propelling industries of Israeli economy. It has been estimated that 3 million tourists visited Israel in 2008, paying over 4 and half billion euros into the country’s coffers.

© SIR - august 28 2009