Bethlehem revives the Christmas spirit after two years of Gaza war
As the Gaza ceasefire enters its second month, a huge Christmas tree with red and gold ornaments is erected in the West Bank city for the first time since 2022
A huge Christmas tree with red and gold ornaments was erected in the West Bank city of Bethlehem for the first time since 2022.
In the past two years, the Palestinian city, which is revered by Christians as the birthplace of Jesus, had refrained from public Christmas celebrations due to the ongoing conflict in Gaza. But as the fragile US-brokered ceasefire in Gaza enters its second month, the city held a ceremony on Saturday night, lighting up the 20-meter tree at the edge of Manger Square.
"This year will be an amazing Christmas. It will be a different Christmas. We will light the tree of Christmas, the tree of Bethlehem, the tree of Palestine, and invite everybody from all over the world to come to light the Christmas tree to send hope, love, and peace to the whole world," Bethlehem's mayor Maher Micola Canawati told reporters at the event.
Thousands of Palestinians from across the West Bank and Israel filled the square, erupting in cheers when the tree's lights were turned on shortly before 8 PM local time.
"We came to celebrate, watch, and enjoy, because for several years we haven't had the chance," said Randa Bsoul, a 67-year-old Palestinian from Haifa.
"Honestly after two years of having zero tourism here in Bethlehem and the shutdown of tourist establishments, including hotels, workshops, shops, and restaurants, we've started to feel that things are beginning to return to how they were before the war," the mayor stated.
"We hope and invite all people to come to the city of peace during Christmas, and we invite them to be with us to celebrate peace and hope, which should come out from the city of peace to the whole world," he added.
Although Gaza is roughly 60 km (37 miles) from Bethlehem, the war has affected Palestinians in the West Bank. Many have family and friends in Gaza, and the war has damaged the tourism that Bethlehem's economy relies on.
Israel has erected new military checkpoints across the territory over the past two years, following the infiltration of thousands of Palestinian terrorists into its borders by land, sea, and air, who conducted the massacre of over 1,200 Israelis on October 7.
Some Palestinian communities have in effect been sealed off by gates and roadblocks, making it more difficult for cities like Bethlehem to be accessed by tourists.
"We had corona for two years, so there was no tourism, but after corona we were able to breathe a little bit for a few months, and then the war happened, and we got really out of breath. It's been two years in a below zero level, but today we hope that God provides for us and tourism goes back to how it used to be," Mahmoud Sliman Fallah, a vendor at the market, told reporters.