How to Get/Fly to Hebron, West Bank: The journey to the beautiful, historic country of Palestine is a trip that will last long in your memory though one which can require a certain level of patience. As with many things in Palestine, getting there is not always simple, however there are at least a few different travel routes you can take.

In this article we will discuss the practicalities of reaching/flying to the West Bank, Palestine. We aim to inform you of the time, costs and the procedures involved as well as the practices we recommend, those we discourage and the benefits and drawbacks of each option. 

Quick Guide To Accessing/Flying To Palestine (West Bank)

Palestinian Airports

Sadly, Palestine lacks an airport despite having one in the past. The Yasser Arafat International Airport in Gaza, near the Egyptian border, opened on November 24 1998 but closed on October 8 2000, when the second Intifada (uprising) began. Israeli soldiers demolished the Gaza International Airport during that time. Sadly, Palestine has had no functional airport since 2000.  Unfortunately it means that it is not possible to get a direct flight to the West Bank, Palestine. 

Although the Yasser Arafat Airport was destroyed, three small Palestinian airlines still operate out of a local airport in Egypt.

No Civilian Airports Within The West Bank 

There are no civilian airports within the West Bank, and the nearest major airport is Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion. From Ben Gurion Airport, it is possible to take either a 50-minute taxi or shuttle ride or a 20-minute train ride to Jerusalem. From Jerusalem you can continue on to the major West Bank cities of Bethlehem, Hebron, Salfeet, Tubas, Nablus, Jenin, Tulkarem or Ramallah.

Note that all Palestinian ID card-holders cannot travel to Israel or the Palestinian Territories through Ben Gurion Airport. The Israeli government requires them to fly to Amman, Jordan and enter via the Allenby Bridge border crossing located near Jericho in the West Bank.

Where Do I Fly To To Visit Palestine As A Tourist?

The Easiest Way: Fly To Ben-Gurion Airport

You may travel to Tel-Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport. From there, you may take a shared or private cab or train to Jerusalem, stopping at the Palestinian side if you choose.

You may also take a bus or the light rail from Jerusalem to the Arab major bus terminal in Jerusalem. From there, take a bus to any major Palestinian city, mainly to Bethlehem and Ramallah.

To assist in alleviating your concerns, we will share with you how to travel to the Engage in Palestine’s Center from Ben Gurion Airport in Israel. Again, the method is simple. Travelers will take a shared taxi (sherut in Hebrew), a private taxi or a train from the airport to Jerusalem, and then a shared taxi (servees in Arabic) to Hebron.

• 1. Getting Shekels For Your Trip To Hebron

Upon arrival at Ben Gurion Airport, you must get a 3-month visa, recover your bags and clear customs. After this, go to an ATM and get shekels for your journey to Hebron. You will need cash to pay for your shared taxi rides. The ATMs at Ben Gurion are easily accessible. 

• 2. Leave The Airport And Go To Hebron

After collecting your bags and using the ATM, depart the airport and go to Hebron, West Bank. Many taxis are parked outside the airport. While a private cab is an option, we strongly suggest a shared taxi (sherut in Hebrew). These huge vans will be parked outside the airport and are the easiest route to Jerusalem, especially if you have a lot of or heavy luggage. Ask the driver to drop you off at Damascus Gate. Alternatively, you can take a 20-minute train from the airport to Yitzhak Navon train station and then take the light rail to Damascus Gate.

• 3. Damascus Gate Service In Jerusalem

A shared taxi service from the airport to Jerusalem’s Damascus Gate costs around 70 shekels (approximately $20 USD). Notably, these vehicles do not depart until fully stocked. So, you may have to wait, but it is seldom long. After the ceremony, enjoy the picturesque trip to Jerusalem. Once at Damascus Gate, pay the driver in cash.

Once you arrive at Damascus Gate, there is a bus terminal which is plainly visible from Damascus Gate. There is a parking area next to the bus terminal where you may locate the route to Hebron. Walk around the buses to the parking lot and you’ll hear a man saying “Al Khalil!”. If you don’t hear anyone saying that, ask someone in the area where the servees to Al Khalil is and they will help you. Once you locate the white van (the servees), inform the driver you want to travel to Masjid Al Hussein (The Al Hussein Mosque). 

An alternative is to ride the servees until it ends in the city center and then hire a private cab for little more than 12 shekels to the Excellence Center-Engage in Palestine. 

The Excellence Center-Engage in Palestine is immediately next to Al Hussein Mosque which is across from Al Hussein School. A shared taxi from Damascus Gate, Jerusalem to Hebron costs 25 shekels. Pay the driver at some point during the journey (you will see other passengers doing this) and head to the our center. We eagerly anticipate your arrival.

• 4. Bethlehem Checkpoint

An alternate but slightly more complex way to reach Hebron from Jerusalem is via Bethlehem. From the bus terminal at Damascus Gate, find bus 234 to Checkpoint 300 in Bethlehem. The bus costs 5.5 shekels and while it may be possible to pay in cash, soon it will only be possible to pay with a Rav-Kav card (the card used for Israeli public transportation). The bus will drop you off in front of checkpoint Bethlehem 300, which you may reach by foot. The walk from one side to the other takes around five minutes. You won’t need to show your passport when leaving Jerusalem to go to Bethlehem, but you will need your passport to return to Jerusalem via this checkpoint.

Upon leaving the checkpoint, there is a taxi collecting place. You may either take a private taxi, for which you will not – and should not – spend more than 50-60 shekels. Otherwise, you can take a servees (a shared taxi), which will cost you 10-15 shekels per person. Before boarding the taxi/servees driver, request that he drop you off in front of the Stadium on Ein Sara Street in Hebron (in Arabic: al-Khall, el Malab fi sharaa Ein Sara).

From there, look for Sara Cafe (located on a nearby street corner a few meters away) and walk towards it. Then look for the street that slopes up slightly and has the stadium on your left-hand side and Sara Cafe on your right-hand side, walk up the street for two minutes and you will see our center.

How To Get To Hebron From Tel Aviv Airport By Taking A Private Taxi?

Engage in Palestine’s staff can organize a private taxi to pick you up at Ben Gurion Airport and take you straight to Hebron and our center. This is the easiest and fastest way (about an hour and a half) to get to Engage in Palestine’s Center. 

It costs, however, about €170. Please contact Engage in Palestine’s staff if you are interested in this option.

The Difficult Way: Fly To Amman’s Queen Alia International Airport

This is the most difficult route to Hebron. Take a cab from Amman’s Queen Alia Airport to the Jordanian-Israeli border. This journey will cost around 30-35 JD (Jordanian Dinar). The Allenby/King Hussein Bridge crosses the boundary here.

This border bridge is located in the picturesque southern Jordan Valley, 57km from Amman. Saturday and Sunday (08:00 am–08:00 pm) for arrivals, and 8:00 am–2:00 pm for departures. Due to Jewish holidays (shabbat), it is only open for 5 hours on Friday and Saturday from 8:00 am–1:00 pm.

Jordan To Palestine Travel

The travel from Jordan into Palestine is lengthier and may take several hours at the Allenby/King Hussein Bridge owing to intensive inspection. To go to any city in Israel, you may obtain a shared or private cab from the checkpoint. However, traveling to Palestine over the Allenby (Israeli)/King Hussein (Jordanian) Bridge is not something we encourage. It is doubtful that anyone will speak English at any of the three border crossing sites into Palestine.

• 1. The Queen Alia Airport To King Hussein Bridge

From Amman International Airport (Queen Alia) to King Hussein/Allenby Bridge (Israel) takes around an hour and costs around 30 JDs (Jordanian Dinars).

Arriving at the border is easy. Remember that if you hold a foreign passport, you must request the foreign passport checkpoint. Among the two buses going to the Israeli border, ask for and board the one for foreigners. Ask any airport administrator or information specialist where the international passenger bus is situated. The bus ride from the Jordanian checkpoint to the Israeli checkpoint might take up to 40 minutes.

• 2. Arriving In Israel

On arrival in Israel, gather your luggage and either follow the flowing crowd or inquire where your suitcase may be tagged for examination. You will have to go through border and passport controls, and you may have to wait for your data to be validated. Your passport may be detained for a variety of reasons, and the Israeli border guards are unlikely to explain. We advise you not to ask questions and to be patient since this procedure might take hours.

• 3. Allenby To West Bank Cities Or Jerusalem

After crossing the Israeli border, cabs will be ready to transport you to Jerusalem. Other West Bank communities, including Hebron, may need a bus ride to the Palestinian border. Once at the Palestinian border, several taxis will drive you to any Palestinian city you want. A shared cab from there to Nablus costs around 50 shekels, and to Hebron or Ramallah, 55 shekels. Pre-arrange a fee before you leave. While getting to Hebron via Jordan is more difficult, it does allow travelers to see more of the country and experience daily life among the inhabitants. Prepare yourself for long waits and stress!

How Should An International Visitor Handle Israeli Checkpoints?

The Israeli checkpoints were built specifically for Palestinians, not for international visitors. This indicates that there should be no hindrance or impediment to your passage. Typically, you will be requested to show your passport and Israeli visa.

Israeli checkpoints may be situated in strategic locations. It is important to note that internal checkpoints only exist in the West Bank and not in Gaza. In the West Bank, there are three basic kinds of checkpoints:

• Internal checkpoints: These are checkpoints and barriers placed on roads, sometimes found at the entrances and exits to and from villages and towns throughout the West Bank. Some of these checkpoints are permanently manned, others on occasion. They prevent movement between communities that are located near each other or create obstacles in accessing the West Bank’s main roads, nearby settler-colonies or areas declared nature reserves and out of bounds for Palestinians.

• ‘Flying’ checkpoints: These checkpoints are set up suddenly in different locations at the wish of the Israeli Forces, according to the ‘security’ situation, or as unexplained collective punishment. An army jeep can block a side road, spikes are spread across the entrance to a certain village, giant concrete blocks force drivers to slow down, and more.

Useful Information

*Palestine’s currency is the Israeli shekel. These are not as simple to get in the UK as Euros or US dollars, so prepare ahead of time and acquire some cash before entering the country. This will be essential for obtaining cabs or buses to your desired location, since cash outlets are few, especially for UK bank accounts.

*Before you come over, it is a good idea to learn some basic Arabic words and phrases such as ‘hi!‘ (ahlan/ marhaba/ salaam) ‘how are you? (keef halek/ik?) May you assist me?‘(fiik tsee3edne) and so on. You never know when this could come in handy, such as when asking for directions.

If you dress modestly and are polite, you will be more likely to get assistance if you need it. Learn Arabic for left and right, and make a list of any addresses you need to visit before traveling to Palestine (in Arabic as well as English if possible).

Traveling As A British Citizen To The West Bank

Many British citizens have misunderstandings about visiting the West Bank, Palestine. It may seem a more involved process than visiting France or Spain, but in actuality, the West Bank is reasonably easy to enter for British people, providing they do some before study and are prepared for some minor oddities and differences along the route.

The British typically see the West Bank as an independent, self-contained entity. A truer depiction would be that of an archipelago, separated by checkpoints and borders into portions controlled by the Israeli government, the Palestinian Authority, or a combination of both. As a Briton with a tourist visa, you may easily walk through these various checkpoints — in fact, apart from needing to produce your passport at the occasional checkpoint, it is possible to travel throughout the West Bank as a UK citizen quite uninformed of which sector you are now in.

*Before visiting Palestine, make sure you have travel insurance from the UK. This should not be too tough to get in the UK. Keep a level mind and be prepared, and you’ll discover that your trip to Palestine will be beneficial and enjoyable.

Flying From The UK 

In practice, Palestine has great transportation ties. Flights to Israel, for example, are straightforward to book from London’s Gatwick, Heathrow, Luton and Stansted airports. Easyjet, Wizz Air and El-Al both provide daily flights to Ben Gurion Airport in Tel-Aviv. Note that if you are flying with El-Al, you will likely be subjected to questioning and extra searches before even boarding your flight. 

Accessing The West Bank

Furthermore, once in Jerusalem (a short sherut ride from the airport), the whole West Bank is linked by a cheap and regular bus service to the main towns or shared taxis to practically any site you can think of.

Another aspect worth emphasizing is that no special papers are required to access the West Bank. This is due to a number of factors, one of which being the absence of a Palestinian embassy to provide such papers. 

Getting A Visa At Ben Gurion Airport

Upon arrival at Ben Gurion Airport, you will place your passport in a machine which will print out a visa or entrance card. Then you will proceed to passport control where you will usually be asked a few preliminary questions regarding the duration and nature of your stay in Israel. Then you will get your passport and paper visa back. Note that you will not receive an Israeli entrance stamp. Remember to keep your visa with you and don’t lose it. 

This card identifies you as a tourist, records your arrival and departure dates, and allows you to enter Israel and the West Bank. As a volunteer with Engage in Palestine (or any other NGO in the area), you do not need a work or volunteer visa – since you will not be paid, a tourist visa will suffice!

To Summarize

Although these extensive guidelines may seem to be intimidating, overseas travelers to the West Bank, Palestine should keep in mind that the people they encounter on their trip are exceedingly friendly and willing to assist! Most of these people will be able to speak some English and they are anxious to enjoy the company of an international while also giving the international a nice view of their hometown.

International visitors to the West Bank, Palestine will rapidly grow used to the means of transportation available between Hebron and the neighboring cities. What is our recommendation? Accept the thrill of the voyage and all the companions you’ll meet along the way!

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