Before going to Hebron, I had so many questions about how to get there, how long it would take, how I would get by without speaking any Arabic, how migration would be and so on. In the end, everything went well, but I hope to answer most or maybe all of your questions with this guide to Hebron.
Generally you don’t need to arrange or pay for a visa, but your passport needs to be at least 6 months valid. Check your country’s website to be sure. Once you arrive in Tel-Aviv airport, you first pass by this area where they take your picture and give you a little card with the photo on it, the date of arrival and how long you can stay (this is usually 90 days). This goes very fast and is just to speed up the process of migration, which comes next. You have to wait in line and there it depends on the not so random picking of the migration officer.
I’m Belgian and with my Belgian passport I didn’t experience any troubles nor questions. But it can happen that they ask why you are visiting Israel. You can just say that you are a tourist and maybe mention some things you would visit as a tourist in Israel. They might ask if you will visit the Palestinian territories, to which you can answer yes and that you will for example visit Bethlehem and so on. Stay calm and answer their questions, in the end they will let you pass.
After that, you can get your luggage and you will probably arrive at the ground floor of Terminal 3. There you can exchange money or get shekels from the ATM. If you go outside you will find the sheruts (the shared taxis) that go to Jerusalem. If you first stay in Tel-Aviv, you can go to the first floor and take a public bus (line 445) that takes you to the center. If you go straight to Hebron, like I did, take the sherut to Jerusalem which costs 66 NIS. You might have to wait a while, because they only leave when they are full. After an hour or so the sherut stops at the Damascus gate where you have to get off.
There are three bus stations close to each other, but you will need the HaNev’im Terminal to get to Hebron. It is more a minivan than a bus, but it goes directly to Hebron, so that makes it easy. I managed to get on the right bus after arriving in Jerusalem, just by asking ’Al Khalil’ (which means Hebron in Arabic) and everyone is so helpful to show you the right bus. The ride takes 1/1,5 hours depending on traffic and costs 25 NIS.
When we almost arrived, I showed them the address and told them that it is in front of the Alhussain Ben Ali school. Everyone in the bus helped, and they dropped me off in front of the center. It is always useful as well to pinpoint on the map the locations you need beforehand, or download maps you can use offline. There is a sign of the center that shows you to pass next to the toy store and go to the second floor, where you will enjoy your warm welcome in the Go Palestine center!
How to apply or ask for additional information?
To apply to any of our programs: Please email Mr. Tamimi at info@gopalestine.org. Please type the name of the chosen program in the subject line. We will then contact you back!