Photo credit: DW
Bethlehem marked another sombre Christmas Eve on Tuesday in the traditional birthplace of Jesus under the shadow of the war in Gaza.
CTV News reports that the excitement and cheer that typically descends on the Palestinian city in the occupied West Bank on Christmas were nowhere to be found: The festive lights and giant tree that normally decorate Manger Square were missing, and as they were the throngs of tourists that usually fill the square.
Palestinian scouts marched through the streets and security forces arranged barriers near the Church of the Nativity, built atop the spot where Jesus is believed to have been born.
The cancellation of Christmas festivities is a severe blow to the city’s economy. Tourism accounts for an estimated 70% of Bethlehem’s income … almost all from the Christmas season.
The top Roman Catholic cleric in the Holy Land, Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa said, “This has to be the last Christmas that is so sad,” while talking to hundreds of people gathered in Manger Square.
He has held a special pre-Christmas Mass in the Church of the Holy Family in Gaza City. several Palestinian Christians told the Associated Press that they have been displaced in the church since the war began in October 2023 with barely enough food and water.
Although Bethlehem is an important centre in the history of Christianity, Christians make up only a small percentage of the roughly 14 million people spread across the Holy Land. There are about 182,00 in Israel, 50,000 in the West Bank and Jerusalem and 1,300 in Gaza, according to US State Department.
Before COVID-19, there were usually about 2 million visitors. However, 100,000 visitors have been recorded in 2024, according to Jiries Qumsiyeh, the spokesperson for the Palestinian Tourism Ministry.
