Bethlehem marked a gloomy Christmas for the second year in the shadow of the Gaza war. Israel-Palestine conflict news
Bethlehem, the occupied West Bank city that Christians believe is the birthplace of Jesus Christ, marked another grim Christmas in the shadow of Israel’s massacre in Gaza.
On Tuesday, Christmas Eve, the city was deprived of its usual holiday cheer, with neither any lights nor a giant tree on its central Manger Square, nor crowds of tourists, nor marching youths. There were bands that would otherwise mark the occasion.
“This year, we limited our happiness,” Bethlehem Mayor Anton Salman told the AFP news agency.
Prayers, including the Church of the Nativity’s famous midnight Mass, will still be held in the presence of the Latin Patriarch of the Catholic Church, but celebrations will be of a more strictly religious nature than the festive celebrations once held in the city.
The Palestinian Scouts marched silently through the streets, unlike their usual raucous marching bands. Some people carried placards that read, “We want life, not death.”
Meanwhile, Palestinian security forces set up roadblocks near the Church of the Nativity, built over the spot where Jesus is believed to have been born, and a worker cleared trash bins.
“The message of Bethlehem is always a message of peace and hope,” Salman said. “And these days, we are also sending our message to the world: peace and hope, but insisting that the world must work to end our suffering as the Palestinian people.”
Al Jazeera’s Nida Ibrahim, reporting from Manger Square, said that before the war, the central hub was packed with people at Christmas.
“There will be lights everywhere. Additionally, there will be a center stage where songs and Christmas carols will be presented in preparation for this festive season,” she said.
In Bethlehem, he said, Christmas was not just a celebration for Christians – it was a national holiday where Muslims and Christians alike “felt it was a chance for them to feel some joy as they endured decades-long military occupation.” “Living in”.
Ibrahim said the city’s residents were “deeply saddened” to see Palestinians in Gaza continue to suffer bombardment, which has killed more than 45,000 people since October last year.
Shock to Bethlehem’s economy
The cancellation of Christmas festivities is a severe blow to the city’s economy, which is already suffering due to restrictions under the Israeli occupation, Ibrahim said.
An estimated 70 percent of Bethlehem’s income comes from tourism – almost all of it from the Christmas season.
Mayor Salman said that according to the Palestinian Finance Ministry, unemployment in the city is around 50 percent – higher than the 30 percent unemployment in the rest of the West Bank.
Palestinian Tourism Ministry spokesman Jiris Qomsieh said the number of tourists visiting the city has dropped from a pre-COVID high of about 2 million visitors per year in 2019 to less than 100,000 in 2024.
Mohammed Awad, 57, has been selling coffee for more than 25 years under the Mosque of Omar, which is located just opposite the city’s famous church.
“Business was good before the war, but now there is none,” the seller told AFP. “I hope the war in Gaza will end soon and tourists will return.”
Israeli violence against Palestinians – both from settlers and military forces – has increased in the occupied West Bank since the war in Gaza broke out, but Bethlehem has remained largely quiet.
Post-war sanctions prevented about 150,000 Palestinians from leaving the area to work in Israel, causing the economy there to shrink by 25 percent.
