Battir

So you visited Jerusalem and were wowed by the shimmering Dome of the Rock. Perhaps you made a loop around Israel proper, but you know there’s a whole world to explore on the other side of the separation barrier and you’re curious. Is it safe? What locations are worth travelling to? To answer your first question, 95 percent of the West Bank is quite safe, especially during the day. While it is advisable to avoid refugee camps without a local guide, the Palestinian territories are quite safe if you are a foreigner. Sure the checkpoints are intimidating but they let you through really easily once they see your Israeli entry visa. Now that we cleared up the first question, let me give you a guide for the other one. After spending six months living in Jerusalem, I spent a lot of time exploring all of the great sites of the West Bank. Here are a few of my top picks.