Since its occupation of “east Jerusalem” Israel has been waging a different kind of war on the Old City’s religious cultural and historical legacy by gradually imposing control over a large and important segment of its Palestinian tourist resources most notably its walls underground tunnels water canals the Palestine Archaeological Museum the Jerusalem Citadel and Suleiman’s Cave.
The Old City of Jerusalem’s alleys streets and neighborhoods are home to many Islamic and Christian religious and historic sites as well as museums and libraries.
Israel as an occupying power imposes various economic restrictions on the Jerusalemite Palestinians the indigenous people of the holy city as part of its frantic efforts to Judaize the city especially through targeting and dominating the tourism sector in the city.
Palestinian officials say that the Israeli occupation authority in the holy city refuses to grant the Jerusalemites licenses for the establishment or expansion of hotels or allow banks to give them loans while giving preference to its own tourism sector which include companies that benefit from financial incentives and tax privileges.
Head of the Jerusalem Tourism Cluster Ra’ed Saadeh told the Palestinian Information Center (PIC) that Israel controls the tourism program and industry in Occupied Jerusalem.
“Since the city [east Jerusalem] is considered the heart of the Palestinian tourism there is an Israeli tendency to marginalize the Palestinian economic establishment in [east] Jerusalem which is under its control and to turn it into a neighborhood as was the case with Jaffa city which used to be an important city but became a zone and part of Tel Aviv and today Israeli investors compete in Jaffa” Saadeh said.
“The occupation (Israel) is trying to apply the same experience to the city of Jerusalem through several stages which include in particular marginalization annexation Israelization and displacement and also through replacing the capital invested with Israeli money and buying sites in the target area which is the Old City and its environs” he added.
He affirmed that Israel targets the Old City so as not to thrive in favor of the Palestinians citing as an example the disappearance of 20 Palestinian hotels out of 40 in the city and its vicinity as a result of Israeli policies.
In addition there are about 7000 Israeli tourist guides against 250 Palestinians Saadeh noted.
For his part Dr. Hanna Issa secretary-general of the Islamic Christian Authority for Advocating Jerusalem and Holy Sites has called for revitalizing and supporting the Palestinian tourism sector in order to confront Israel’s policies and Judaization plots in the holy city.
“The continuation of the occupation is one of the main obstacles facing the growth of the tourism sector in Jerusalem as well as the Palestinian territories in general because its existence prevents the exploitation of tourism resources in Jerusalem [in particular] so the demise of the occupation is an essential prerequisite for linking the tourism sector with sustainable economic development” Issa added.
