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Mideast turmoil silences the gambling hall of Jericho
© St. Petersburg Times, published October 8, 2000 JERICHO, West Bank -- Despite the Israeli-Palestinian strife that has killed dozens and wounded hundreds more, the Oasis Casino here is open for business. But it's hardly a case of letting the good times roll. "There are no customers," says a security guard, who had little to guard Saturday except a near-empty parking lot. Opened two years ago, the casino typically draws thousands of Israelis, who are banned from gambling in their own country. But since fighting erupted Sept. 28, soldiers have stopped Israeli citizens from coming into Jericho and other volatile Palestinian areas of the West Bank. Nor are Israelis the only ones staying away as Jericho enters what should be its peak tourism season. Many international groups have canceled reservations, leaving the city's hotels, restaurants and a new $10-million cable-car attraction empty and struggling. "The year 2000 is killed now," says Ra'ed Abdelrazek, owner of the Temptation restaurant. The turmoil between Israelis and Palestinians, the most serious since 1996, has taken a terrible toll in human casualties and has scuttled, at least temporarily, prospects for a peace agreement. But the violence is also hurting the Palestinian economy, especially in parts of the West Bank where a promising tourism industry was starting to develop around the casino, a new Inter-Continental hotel and several major Biblical sites. Many visitors to the Holy Land still venture no farther than Israeli-controlled Jerusalem. Ever-increasing numbers, though, had begun traveling into the West Bank to see the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron and the Mount of Temptation in Jericho, where Jesus is said to have fasted for 40 days and 40 nights while tempted by Satan. Such has been the interest in West Bank events and attractions that there's even a glossy brochure called "This Week in Palestine," similar to tourist guides for London, Paris and other major cities. "Tourism is really the blood of the Palestinian economy," says Amir Dajani, operations manager for the year-old Sultan Tourist Center in Jericho. As a result of the latest trouble, "We will probably realize a serious setback that will discourage future investment in Palestine." Until recently, the center's three restaurants, shopping gallery and scenic cable-car ride up the Mount of Temptation were bringing in at least $200,000 a day, Dajani says. Visitors to the privately financed complex have included Dennis Ross, President Clinton's envoy to the Middle East, and a large group of Israeli rabbis. But since the violence began 10 days ago, the cable car has been shut down and restaurant cancellations are pouring in at the rate of 500 to 700 meals a day. "We have suffered severely," Dajani says. "This is our high season -- the weather is good only from October to May -- and there's not a single tourist in Jericho." Thus far, Dajani has been able to keep all of his workers, about 50, on the payroll. Not so Abdelrazek, owner of the Temptation restaurant. "I have 100, 120 employees," he says, "and every day they call me and want to have a job, and I don't have any jobs for them." After the signing of the 1993 Oslo Peace Accords, Abdelrazek was so optimistic about the West Bank's future that he added two floors to his restaurant, expanded the gift shop and created an entire line of beauty products using minerals from the nearby Dead Sea. His instincts proved good: Until late last month, an average of 3,000 tourists a day visited Jericho, which calls itself both "the oldest city on earth" (10,000 years of continuous habitation) and the "lowest city on earth" (380 feet below sea level). "Always, we think we're going to have peace, that's why we extended our business," Abdelrazek says. "We are looking for peace all the time -- no, we are crying for peace." As one of the smallest and most remote cities on the West Bank, Jericho has generally seen less turmoil than other places. However, a demonstration last Monday near the Aqabat Jaber refugee camp turned deadly as Israeli soldiers killed four Palestinians and wounded at least 37 others. The biggest economic fallout from the violence and road closings appears to have been at the the Oasis Casino and adjacent Inter-Continental hotel. The casino opened in 1998 over the objections of many Muslims, who cited Islam's ban against gambling. Although Palestinians are not allowed to wager in it, the casino has drawn so many people from Israel and other countries that it accounts for an estimated 30 percent of the revenues of the Palestinian Authority, the governing body of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. A few months ago, the luxurious, 181-room Inter-Continental opened next door, providing an incentive for high-rollers to stick around and pump up revenues even further. Both casino and hotel looked dead Saturday, judging from the parking lot. Top managers were unavailable for comment, and journalists are not allowed inside. Still, the casino's director of security, Shirley Morris, insists that anyone else who can get here is welcome. "As far as we're concerned, it's business as usual."
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