The Tourism Ministry has begun work on the first project under a new initiative to develop tourism routes in the West Bank, launching a 3.2 million shekel project that will include an accessible promenade and suspension bridge in the Samaria region.
The “Joshua Trail,” whose cornerstone was laid in the settlement of Elon Moreh, is the first stage of the ministry’s broader “Biblical Trails in Judea and Samaria” initiative, according to the ministry. Judea and Samaria are the biblical names commonly used in Israel for the West Bank.
Gallery
Officials attend the cornerstone ceremony for the Joshua Trail in Elon Moreh
(Photo: Tourism Ministry)
The trail will connect the Elon Moreh Heritage Center with the summit of the Mount Kabir Nature Reserve, combining panoramic views with sites associated with the area’s biblical and historical heritage.
The project is being developed in cooperation with the Tourism Ministry, Heritage Ministry, Israel Nature and Parks Authority, Samaria Regional Council, Judea and Samaria Regional Cluster and Elon Moreh Heritage Center.
Officials said the accessible route and suspension bridge are intended to attract families and other visitors, offering views across the Samaria hills while providing information about the area’s history and biblical connections.
The cornerstone ceremony was attended by Tourism Minister Haim Katz, Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu, Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan and Tourism Ministry Director-General Michael Izhakov.
Other participants included Judea and Samaria Regional Cluster Director-General Keren Gefen, the cluster’s economic development director Evyatar Katzav, Elon Moreh Heritage Center founder and director Shira Simchi, Samaria tourism director Lilian Zitman and Beni Katzover, a veteran leader of the Israeli settlement movement and member of the original group that established Elon Moreh.
View of the Samaria hills from the Elon Moreh Heritage Center, which the planned Joshua Trail will connect to the Mount Kabir Nature Reserve
(Photo: Tourism Ministry)
Katz described tourism development as part of strengthening Israeli communities in the area.
“In Samaria, the story is found on the ground, in the places where the events that shaped our history took place,” Katz said. “Developing tourism is part of building the country. Every trail we develop and every site we make accessible connects more people to the area, strengthens settlement and generates growth.”
Katz said he believed the region had the potential to become a major tourism destination.
“Samaria can and should become Israel’s Tuscany,” he said. “It has landscapes, vineyards, wineries, history and heritage that cannot be found anywhere else.”
Dagan also presented the project as part of efforts to expand Israeli development in the region.
The Elon Moreh Visitors Center in the West Bank
(Photo: Tourism Ministry)
“The establishment of the ‘Joshua Trail’ is another moving step in building the country,” he said. “This place, where the forefathers of the nation walked, will now become accessible and welcoming to large numbers of visitors from across Israel.”
Dagan said continued construction and tourism development were the response to challenges facing the region and thanked Israel’s tourism, heritage and finance ministers for what he called their commitment to Samaria.
“Our response to every challenge is to continue building and continue developing tourism in the heart of the land of the Bible,” he said.
The Tourism Ministry described the Joshua Trail as the first project in a larger planned network of biblical tourism routes in the West Bank. The announcement did not provide a timetable for completion of the trail or details about the scope and cost of the broader initiative.