• Cutting public transport connections: Where once Bethlehem had access to bus and train lines that connected it to the remainder of the West Bank via Jerusalem, many of these lines were shut down, while others were re-routed around Jerusalem. Transport routes from Hebron and al-Ubediyah now terminate in Bethlehem, and passengers are required to change to one of two remaining bus routes to Jerusalem, which are controlled by Israeli-run companies.175 Palestinian public transport (the Fordaat, servees, private taxis and buses) to Ramallah and further north, must now take the considerably longer route via Wadi alNar (Valley of Fire), and is subjected to numerous checkpoints, arbitrary road impediments and increasing congestion, adding considerable costs, stress and travel delays to previously straightforward trips.176 The train lines once accessible to Palestinians before 1948 now run through the Bethlehem governorate without any Palestinian stops or stations. These lines were decommissioned and now only reach Beyt Shemesh (an IsraeliJewish colony and under an hour’s journey away from Bethlehem) which then connect onto Jaffa and Tel Aviv and are inaccessible to Palestinians from the West Bank. Additionally, colonizer-only transport in the form of the Jerusalem Light Rail177 and extensive Israeli-owned colonizer-only bus services178 have been established to bolster access between the colonies in the Bethlehem governorate and Jerusalem. • Control of the commercial tourism routes: Tourism in Bethlehem is also directly affected and controlled by Israel. Israel has full control over Palestinian tour guides as it restricts their ability to obtain permission to enter and work in 1948 Palestine.179 Israel also has complete control over foreign visitors, including those wanting to enter Bethlehem through the Green Line checkpoints, made more difficult and intimidating by the several barriers fragmenting the two cities.180 This allows Israeli tour companies and buses to virtually monopolize the tourism routes from Jerusalem, particularly the highly lucrative Christian pilgrimage 175 Visit Palestine, “Get into Bethlehem from Jerusalem,” webpage, 29 November 2016, available at: http://visitpalestine.ps/get-bethlehem-jerusalem/ [accessed 28 February 2020]. 176 Fordaat are the 7-seater vans that travel from governorate to governorate and servees are the public shared taxis usually for internal travel. Griffin, supra 172, 133. 177 POICA - Monitoring Israeli Colonization Activities in the Palestinian Territories, “’New 20 Km Length Path’ Israeli Authorities Approves the New Route of the Jerusalem Light Rail,” prepared by ARIJ, 1 February 2016, available at: http://poica.org/2016/02/new-20-km-length-pathisraeli-authoritiesapproves-the-new-route-of-the-jerusalem-light-rail/ [accessed 28 February 2020]. 178 Jerusalem Bus Map, subsidiary of Oren’s Transit Page, available at: https://www.orenstransitpage. com/jlembusmap/jlembusmap.htm [accessed 3 February 2020]. 179 In violation of the Paris Protocol, only 46 individuals from Bethlehem hold specific permits that allow them to work in the tourism field inside the Green Line. Hazboun, supra 174. 180 Clarno, supra 5, 101. 53