Israel reopens borders to small groups of foreign tourists

Israel reopened its borders to foreign tourists on Sunday after a fall in COVID-19 infections but said it would take time for visitors to start arriving and to revive the tourism industry. Under an easing of coronavirus restrictions, the government went ahead with a plan to start letting in small groups of tourists from countries using vaccines it has approved. Foreign airlines are also resuming flights they suspended when Palestinian militants began rocket attacks on Israel this month. A ceasefire has now halted the fighting, helping the government meet Sunday’s target date for starting the plan. But registration for the Tourism Ministry’s plan opened only last week, so the number of visitors will initially be limited. “It is unlikely that the first groups will arrive before the beginning of June,” a Tourism Ministry spokeswoman said.<br/>