Maybe it was because of the incident outside the village of Kusra on Nov. 30 that left a Palestinian dead after an encounter with Israeli hikers. Maybe it was because of the criticism leveled at the plan to create what was to be called the Eastern Israel National Trail. Whatever the reason, the Ministry of Tourism has apparently backed away from its original idea to create a new hiking trail traversing the West Bank and part of the Golan Heights. A senior official involved in the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity told Al-Monitor that in lieu of the original plan for a major trail, a revised plan proposes several local trails in parts of the West Bank and other regions, some of which will connect to the Israel National Trail.

The incident in Kusra highlighted claims by opponents of the new major trail about the risks inherent in encounters between Israeli hikers and Palestinian residents of the West Bank. According to settlers, when a group of hikers, most of them children from the nearby settlement of Yitzhar, arrived in the vicinity of the Palestinian village, locals began pelting them with rocks. One of the security guards accompanying the group fired on them with his pistol, killing one of the Palestinians. Two of the adults accompanying the group were injured in the clash, and a gun belonging to one of them was seized by the Palestinians.

A few days earlier, on Nov. 26, the Israeli government had decided to assemble a top-level team composed of general directors of various ministries to formulate plans to create a hiking trail crossing the length and breadth of Israel and the territories and connecting with the Israel National Trail and various bike routes. They were given four months to complete their task. The government budgeted 10 million shekels ($2.8 million) for the initiative.

The team was assembled after Tourism Minister Yariv Levin brought the proposal for the new trail to the government. Levin was explicit in telling Kan News that the intention was always to develop the trail that would pass through the Golan Heights, Jerusalem and the West Bank and the Jordan Valley.