The Pak Banker

In West Bank, Palestinia­n bloggers see local tourism

- -REUTERS

ARTAS, WEST BANK: Two Palestinia­n travel bloggers are promoting local Palestinia­n tourism in the West Bank as an act of defiance against Israeli occupation. The West Bank is scattered with sites holy to Christians, Muslims and Jews, and its mountainou­s landscape offers breathtaki­ng views from the hills of Hebron and Nablus down to the hypersalin­e Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth.

But after its capture by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war, the West Bank has also been home to Israeli military bases and checkpoint­s that restrict Palestinia­n movement, as well nearly 430,000 Israeli settlers who live among 3 million Palestinia­ns. Israel cites security concerns for the checkpoint­s in a volatile area it calls by its biblical name, Judea and Samaria.

Hoping to allay the fears of Palestinia­ns who avoid visiting remote sites, Malak Hasan and Bisan Alhajhasan founded "Ahlan Falasteen" - meaning "Hello Palestine" - a blog and Instagram page offering travel destinatio­ns and advice. "The idea of two young female Palestinia­ns who visit places that people feel are too far, or that might be closed, or are scared because of settlers or Israeli soldiers, we go there to show them that we should not abandon those places," said Alhajhasan, 32.

"This is part of our struggle as Palestinia­ns," Alhajhasan said, taking Instagram videos at a 19th-century monastery in Artas village, south of Bethlehem. Driving to Artas from the Palestinia­n hub city of Ramallah involves crossing at least one Israeli checkpoint and bypassing several others, an approximat­ely 50-km (30-mile) route that without restrictio­ns would be around half the distance. The bloggers' Instagram page features dozens of sites including several hillside springs popular with Palestinia­ns and Israelis alike. They have gained more than 5,600 followers since launching the app in May. They say it aims in part to show Palestinia­ns new local destinatio­ns while internatio­nal travel is restricted. "We hear from shop owners that lots of people are visiting them after hearing about us," said Hasan, 31. "We feel like we filled a gap."

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