Middle East - Anthony Ham [261]
Buses between Eilat and Jerusalem pass the park turn-off, 2.5km from the park entrance. From there, it’s a long walk to anything of interest; if you can, rent a car in Eilat (Click here).
Hai-Bar Arava Biblical Wildlife Reserve
Located 35km north of Eilat on Rte 90, the Hai-Bar Arava Biblical Wildlife Reserve ( 08-637 3057; admission 23NIS; 8.30am-5pm Sun-Thu, 8.30am-4pm Fri & Sat) was created to establish breeding groups of threatened Negev wildlife. A private car is needed to navigate the wildlife reserve’s gravelled roads, from where you can observe the animals in their ‘natural state’. Just behind the ticket office is the Predator Centre ( 637 3057; admission 23NIS), housing animals endemic to the Negev. A combined ticket for both the Wildlife Reserve and the Predator Centre costs 39NIS.
Kibbutz Lotan
If you are into anything organic, sustainable, environmental or ecological, Kibbutz Lotan ( 08-635 6935; www.kibbutzlotan.com; Rte 90), around 45km north of Eilat, might very well be the place for you. At the kibbutz’s well-known Centre for Creative Ecology, you can take a 10-week ‘Green Apprenticeship’, or participate in a number of half- and day-long courses. There are also alternative therapies available, alongside plenty more earth and body-friendly stuff. Check the website for details of courses, activities the kibbutz runs and information about the pleasant guesthouse.
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THE WEST BANK & GAZA STRIP
The West Bank and the Gaza Strip, predominantly Palestinian territories captured by Israel in 1967 during the Six Day War, have neither been annexed by Israel (as were East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights), nor granted outright autonomy. Instead, they lie in a grey area somewhere in between, their Palestinian citizens’ movement impaired – or sometimes halted – by Israel’s hundreds of checkpoints, road blocks, and its looming concrete ‘security wall’.
The IDF’s control over Palestinian cities, and their surrounding roads, has waxed and waned with the political tide. The 1993 Oslo Agreement brought Palestinians limited self-rule in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, but the IDF retook most urban areas during the second intifada. Today, the region is divided by Israel into several ‘areas’ – ‘A,’ ‘B,’ ‘C,’ etc – with a differing level of Israeli military intervention (and thus, Palestinian autonomy) in each.
Though talk of total Israeli disengagement from the area is frequently tossed around (with land swaps proposed in exchange for the largest West Bank Jewish settlements), the biggest disengagement plan yet occurred in August 2005 when some 9000 Israeli settlers were pulled out of their homes in Gaza’s Gush Katif and forced to relocate in Israel proper. They left behind a US$200 million a year hothouse industry and 1500 homes, which were mostly demolished by Israel on the way out.
In recent years, the West Bank has remained a safe and fascinating place for international travellers to visit, to see how life really operates for Palestinian people. Avoid displaying outward signs of Judaism; read the news while you’re in the region to keep abreast of events, but don’t let propaganda (on either side) put you off. You may find that occasionally (except Bethlehem, Taybeh and Jericho, which are usually accessible) soldiers at Israeli-manned checkpoints and roadblocks will tell you you’re not allowed through; it pays to persist, and you may just find you get