Christmas celebrations are slowly returning to the traditional birthplace of Jesus in the Israeli-occupied West Bank – a hopeful change in the Palestinian city that’s been reeling since war broke out in Gaza.
While a shaky ceasefire holds, Palestinians hope the festivities are a step toward a more peaceful future in a region shaken by tragedy.
“It’s not like it was before the war,” restaurant owner John Juka said. “But it’s like life is coming back again.”
Tourism and religious pilgrims have long been a prime economic engine for Bethlehem. Around 80% of the Muslim-majority city’s residents live off it, according to the local government. And those earnings ripple out to communities across the West Bank, a territory long marked by economic precarity.
“When we have 10,000 visitors and pilgrims sleeping in Bethlehem, that means the butcher is working, the supermarket is working and everybody is working,” said Bethlehem Mayor Maher Nicola Canawati. “There’s a ripple effect.”
That economic lifeline vanished when war broke out in Gaza following the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel. Bethlehem’s authorities cancelled major Christmas celebrations during Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza.
At the same time, Israel’s military scaled up operations in the West Bank, including communities near Bethlehem.
The unemployment rate in the city jumped from 14% to 65%, the mayor said. Poverty soared, and about 4,000 people left in search of work.
A United Nations report last month said the West Bank is going through its most severe economic downturn on record, citing the ongoing Israeli military operations.
Now Bethlehem residents seek a comeback.
“The decision we took was to reignite the spirit of Christmas and to reignite hope,” the mayor said. “I think this sends a great message to the whole world that we Palestinians love life and we are eagerly looking forward to a peaceful solution.”
Some tourists return
On a recent Saturday, crowds lined with heavily armed police cheered following a prayer calling for peace, and fathers hoisted children onto their shoulders as a towering Christmas tree lit up Manger Square, near the site where Christians believe Jesus was born.
In August, as ceasefire negotiations picked up momentum, Juka said he began to see visitors walking the streets, and his family decided to reopen their restaurant. “Tourists finally feel safe to come back,” he said. “We’re hopeful that we might see peace in our future.”
In November, tourist visits to the city reached the highest since the war began, the mayor said said, and reservations suggest that hotels will be at around 70% occupancy during Christmas.
Still, few in the hundreds of people gathered in Bethlehem’s square were foreign tourists, and residents said celebrations were nowhere near the size they used to be.
But Montas expressed cautious hope as children ran through packs of street vendors and a mix of Christmas and Arabic music floated over the crowds.
“This (celebration) is not just for us. It’s for everyone. Christian, Jewish, Muslims,” Montas said. “This Christmas is for everyone.”
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