Bethlehem, the occupied West Bank city that Christians believe is the birthplace of Jesus Christ, marks another solemn Christmas in the shadow of Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
On Tuesday, Christmas Eve, the city was deprived of its usual holiday cheer, with no lights or a giant tree adorning its central Manger Square, no crowds of tourists and no youthful fanfares that otherwise mark the occasion.
“This year we have limited our joy,” Bethlehem Mayor Anton Salman told AFP.
Prayers, including the Church of the Nativity’s famous Midnight Mass, will still take place in the presence of the Latin Patriarch of the Catholic Church, but the festivities will be more strictly religious in nature than the festive celebrations the city once held .
The Palestinian scouts marched silently through the streets, unlike their usual loud fanfare. Some carried a sign reading: “We want life, not death.”
Meanwhile, Palestinian security forces set up barriers near the Church of the Nativity, built atop where Jesus is believed to have been born, and a worker emptied trash cans.
“The message from Bethlehem is always a message of peace and hope,” Salman said. “And these days we also send our message to the world: peace and hope, but insisting that the world must work to end our suffering as Palestinian people. »
Journalist Nida Ibrahim said that before the war on Gaza, the center of the city was filled with people at Christmas.
“There would be light everywhere. There would also be a central stage where Christmas songs and carols would be performed in preparation for this festive season,” she told Tel Aviv Tribune.
In Bethlehem, Christmas was not just a celebration for Christians: it was a national holiday where Muslims and Christians “felt it was a chance for them to feel some joy while living under a military occupation that had been going on for decades,” she added.
Ibrahim said the city’s residents were “deeply pained” to see Palestinians in Gaza facing continued bombardment, which has killed more than 45,000 people since October last year.
Hard blow for Bethlehem’s economy
The cancellation of Christmas festivities is a blow to the city’s economy, which is already suffering from restrictions imposed by the Israeli occupation, Ibrahim said.
Tourism accounts for about 70 percent of Bethlehem’s revenue, with almost all of it coming during the Christmas period.
Mayor Salman said unemployment in the city hovers around 50 percent – higher than the 30 percent unemployment in the rest of the West Bank, according to the Palestinian Finance Ministry.
The number of visitors to the city has fallen from a peak of around 2 million visitors per year before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019 to fewer than 100,000 visitors in 2024, said Jiries Qumsiyeh, a ministry spokesperson. Palestinian Tourism.
Mohammad Awad, 57, has been selling coffee for more than 25 years at the foot of the Omar Mosque, which stands directly opposite the city’s famous church.
“Business was good before the war, but now there is no one left,” the seller told AFP. “I hope the war in Gaza will end soon and the tourists will return. »
Israeli violence against Palestinians – from settlers and military forces alike – has increased in the occupied West Bank since the start of the Gaza war, but Bethlehem has remained largely calm.
Restrictions imposed after the war also prevented some 150,000 Palestinians from leaving the territory to work in Israel, causing the economy to contract by 25 percent.
