Will the presence of Israeli forces in Palestine affect my safety? Many people who want to travel to Palestine are concerned about the political situation there, and whether they will be safe during a visit or a trip.
Well, Palestine is often shown in the media as a place of clashes and riots. It is true there are sometimes clashes in Palestine, but what the media doesn’t show is the whole image of Palestine and the life of Palestinians. No place on earth is 100% safe, even your home town, and the news in general only shows the worst aspects of a place.
Many internationals who have come and lived in Palestine have discovered that day to day, Palestine is in fact very safe for visitors, and many say they did not feel unsafe for a moment. Even Palestinians themselves for the most part live very normal lives. They might sometimes face some obstacles in their movements around cities, but in general, they live very peaceful lives. Palestinians have successfully opened their own businesses, exported their products globally and the majority are peaceful, hard-working, and ambitious, living in hope that they can establish their own country one day.
Palestine is currently under Israeli occupation, so Israeli forces are present at the checkpoints which are usually positioned at the entrances of cities. Normally they check Palestinian IDs and the passports of all visitors. However, the presence of these forces does not affect the daily life of the Palestinian people, and so nor will it affect your safety during your time in Palestine. The Israeli government is not concerned with bothering international visitors when they pass the checkpoints, so internationals are rarely stopped or searched there.
While the media may show the worst of what happens there, Palestine is definitely worth a visit, and most visitors to Palestine have an incident-free, safe trip.
