More than 60,000 Palestinians expected to visit Israel as tourists in 2011

The permits are not usually issued to individuals or families, but mainly to
schools and summer camps wishing to take children to visit beaches and mixed
Jewish-Arab cities in Israel.
By Anshel Pfeffer Haaretz Published 03:08 19.07.11
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/more-than-60-000-palestinians-expected-to-visit-israel-as-tourists-in-2011-1.373952

More than 60,000 Palestinians are expected to visit Israel as tourists by
the end of 2011, at least twice as many as last year, a defense official
said.

Israel is planning to double the number of permits issued to Palestinians
this year, due to the improved security in the West Bank, the source said.
However, if the situation deteriorates in September following the
Palestinians' UN bid for statehood, it will be harder to issue permits, he
said.

The permits are not usually issued to individuals or families, but mainly to
schools and summer camps wishing to take children to visit beaches and mixed
Jewish-Arab cities in Israel.

In 2010 28,000 Palestinians were given permits to visit Israel. The permits
are granted specifically for touring, as opposed to other permits given for
employment, medical treatment or prisoner visitation.

During the first six months of 2011 the IDF's Civil Administration issued
31,000 permits, more than in the whole of last year, and expects to issue at
least 20,000 more for the summer holiday.

"We want Palestinians, especially young ones, to see another kind of
Israeli, not only soldiers and settlers. Anything that can help them blow
off steam and relax. Perhaps instead of demonstrating in September they'll
go to the beach," the source said.

Most of the Palestinians visit Arab and mixed towns such as Haifa, Jaffa and
Acre, among other things, because of their beaches.

"For many of these youngsters, this is the first visit to the beach," says
an Israeli guide of West Bank groups.

Another popular destination is the Ramat Gan Safari, which has prepared
Arab-language tours to accommodate the numerous Palestinian visitors.

"They see things differently from Israeli children. They've never seen wild
animals like those in the safari," says Adam Yakobi, one of the safari
guides who works with Palestinian groups.

"In addition to ecologic explanations, we try to convey a message of
coexistence, between animals and human beings, and among people as well.
Politics does not come into it. It's a completely different atmosphere and
they're engrossed in looking at the animals," he said.