Jerusalem -The Grand Hotel Intercontinental in Paris has cancelled the central part of an Israeli Tourism Fair, the tourism ministry in Jerusalem said Wednesday, a day before it was scheduled to take place.

"The main part of the event was supposed to take place at their hotel and they cancelled," said Shira Kaveh, a spokeswoman for the ministry.

"The fair will still go on, but not at the hotel. The public part just won't happen, but the private meetings of businessmen will still take place," Kaveh added.

The ministry of tourism said there was concern that protests would take place outside the hotel against Israel's ongoing military offensive in the Gaza Strip and cause damage and lead to the cancellation. (dpa)