Driving a Car in Palestine: Public transportation in Palestine may bring you almost everywhere and is relatively inexpensive as well. However, you may want to be able to visit Palestine at your own pace forgetting the dynamics of shared taxis and enjoy a day of total freedom of movement: you can easily do that by renting a car.
Renting a car in the West Bank
There are two main renting options: one is renting a car in West Jerusalem and the other is renting a car in the West Bank. The first option is more flexible since it allows you to drive a car both in the West Bank and Israel, but is far more expensive. The second option is much cheaper, but you will not be allowed to travel to Haifa, Acco, Tel Aviv and so on. The prices for this choice can range, basing on the quality of the car, from 150 shekels to 300 shekels a day (respectively around 37/70 euros), no fuel included.
Deciding to rent a car in Palestine
Your foreign driving license will be fine: here in Palestine, you can choose between an automatic car and a manual car. Before deciding to rent a car in Palestine, however, you must know that driving on highways here is rather different from driving in the cities.
Temporary checkpoint in the West Bank?
Driving on the highways do not give rise to many problems. The biggest problem you may face is a temporary checkpoint in the West Bank, but even in that case, it will be a matter of minutes before resuming your trip. Nevertheless, in cities like Hebron and Ramallah, the traffic can get very intense, and people do not really abide by traffic rules, so be aware of that and do not be surprised of witnessing some peculiar behaviors in Palestinian driving style.
Nonetheless, let’s listen to what Niccolò, 22 years from Rome, has to say: “I have never driven here in Palestine. Although, I think that I would feel perfectly comfortable with it since it is not very different from Italy’s driving style.”
Final remark
In conclusion, driving a car in Palestine is perfectly feasible, even though it requires a bit more attention, and in some cases, it will enhance your experience here in Palestine.
