Christmas celebrations return to Bethlehem after 2 years of war in Gaza

BETHLEHEM, West Bank — For the past two Christmases, John Juka’s family restaurant has looked much like any business in Bethlehem: closed and eerily empty.

But on Saturday evening, it was bustling with families and lit by garlands of red lights, a hopeful change in the Palestinian city that has been reeling since the start of the Gaza war.

Christmas celebrations are slowly returning to Jesus’ traditional birthplace in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

As a tenuous ceasefire remains in effect in Gaza, Palestinians hope the festivities will be a step toward a more peaceful future in a region rocked by tragedy.

“It’s not like before the war,” said Juka, 30. “But it’s like life is coming back.”

Muslim-majority city thrives at Christmas

Tourism and religious pilgrims have long been a major economic driver for Bethlehem. About 80% of the majority-Muslim city’s residents make a living there, according to the local government.

These revenues impact communities in 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 everyone is working,” said Bethlehem Mayor Maher Nicola Canawati. “There’s a ripple effect.”

This economic lifeline disappeared when war broke out in Gaza following the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023. Authorities in Bethlehem canceled major Christmas celebrations during Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza, which the Health Ministry reported left more than 70,000 Palestinians killed.

At the same time, the Israeli army has intensified its operations in the West Bank, particularly in communities near Bethlehem.

The city’s unemployment rate rose from 14% to 65%, the mayor said. Poverty exploded and around 4,000 people left in search of work.

A United Nations report last month said the West Bank is experiencing its worst economic recession on record, citing ongoing Israeli military operations.

The people of Bethlehem are now looking to return.

“The decision we made was to rekindle the Christmas spirit and rekindle hope,” the mayor said. “I think this sends a great message to the whole world: we Palestinians love life and look forward to a peaceful solution. »

Some tourists return

On Saturday, crowds lined up with heavily armed police applauded after a prayer calling for peace, and fathers hoisted their children onto their shoulders as a towering Christmas tree lit up Manger Square, near where Christians believe Jesus was born.

For families like Juka’s, who struggled to keep their businesses afloat during the war, the sight of the crowds was like a deep sigh after years of uncertainty.

The family opened the restaurant serving traditional Palestinian cuisine in 1979. With many businesses in Bethlehem closing down during the last war, the family wondered how long they could last.

In August, as ceasefire negotiations gained momentum, Juka said he began seeing visitors walking the streets and his family decided to reopen. “Tourists finally feel safe when they come back,” he said. “We hope to see peace in our future.”

In November, tourist visits to the city reached their highest level since the start of the war, Canawati said, and reservations suggest hotels will be around 70% occupied by Christmas.

Yet among the hundreds of people gathered in Bethlehem’s square, few foreign tourists were present, and locals said the celebrations were nowhere near the scale they once were.

Tensions in the West Bank

Another West Bank resident, Issa Montas, 29, said tensions in the territory cast a shadow over the holiday celebrations.

Although Bethlehem has long been a religious haven of relative calm, violence and military raids regularly occur nearby. The Israeli military said it was cracking down on militants in the West Bank and responding to the aggression.

On Saturday, the Israeli military said its forces shot dead two Palestinians who it said were trying to ram soldiers with their vehicle at a security checkpoint in Hebron, south of Bethlehem. Palestinian health authorities have confirmed at least one of their deaths.

Military checkpoints have turned commuting into sometimes all-day tasks. Montas, who paints houses in Jerusalem for a living, said he traveled six hours from his home in Ramallah, less than 20 miles away, just to reach Bethlehem.

At the same time, Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank have reached their highest level since the U.N. humanitarian office began collecting data in 2006, peaking in recent months.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose government is dominated by far-right supporters of the settlement movement, said the perpetrators were “a handful of extremists.”

Montas spoke with frustration. “I see a lot of violence, but no one can stop them, not even the Israeli army or police can control them. They allow them to do this,” he said of the settlers. “I feel like no matter what I say, it won’t do any good because no one cares.”

Yet even he expressed cautious hope Saturday as children ran through groups of street vendors and a mix of Christmas music and Arabic music floated above the crowd.

“This (celebration) is not just for us. It’s for everyone. Christians, Jews, Muslims,” ​​Montas said. “This Christmas is for everyone.”