The Palestinian Authority on Sunday issued a statement boasting that foreign tourism had topped 3 million visitors in 2019.

And that, said PA Minister of Tourism Rula Ma’ayah, “despite the occupation [sic].”

What Ma’ayah failed to mention is that those millions of foreign tourists by-and-large visited historical sites that none of them would have ever heard from if not for the Jews.

While the Palestinian Authority has tried to appropriate Jewish history in this land, the following top attractions in “Palestine” were made world-famous by ancient Israel and the Jewish people:

Bethlehem – birthplace of Jesus, the promised Messiah of Israel, as well as of King David. If there were no Jewish history there, Bethlehem would be virtually unknown.

Jericho – while never noted as a particularly prominent Israelite or Jewish city, Jericho is known to us today only because of its appearance in the Bible as the first city in the Promised Land to be conquered by Israel.

Hebron – a city made holy by virtue of being the resting place of the patriarchs of Israel, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The city had already attained that status in the time of King David, who made it his first capital city prior to conquering Jerusalem. Again, no Jewish history there would mean obscurity for Hebron.

So, while it’s great that the Palestinian economy is experiencing a boost from foreign tourism, the PA is being disingenuous by failing to recognize that it is thanks to the Jews that anyone wants to visit in the first place.