The birthplace of Jesus is marking a second subdued Christmas as locals continue to live under the shadow of the war in Gaza. The town of Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank, normally welcomes thousands of tourists around the holidays, but Manger Square was empty and the Christmas tree and festive lights were nowhere to be found this year.
Image Credit: Metro [BETHLEHEM, WEST BANK - DECEMBER 24: An inside view of the Church of the Nativity, believed to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, as the preparations for Christmas continue on December 24, 2024 in Bethlehem, West Bank. Due to Israel's ongoing airstrikes on Gaza, this year's celebrations will be limited to religious services and prayers, with public festivities kept to a minimum. (Photo by Issam Rimawi/Anadolu via Getty Images)]
Palestinian security forces arranged barriers near the Nativity Church, built atop the spot where Jesus is believed to have been born. Mayor Anton Salman said: ‘Always the message of Bethlehem is a message of peace and hope. And these days, we are also sending our message to the world: peace and hope, but insisting that the world must work to end our suffering as Palestinian people.’.
Image Credit: Metro [epa11791994 Clergymen wait for Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa (not pictured) to enter the Church of the Nativity during the traditional Christian procession towards the Church of the Nativity in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, 24 December 2024. The Church of the Nativity is one of the oldest continuously operating churches worldwide. The structure is built over the cave that tradition marks as the birthplace of Christ, and it is considered sacred by followers of Christianity. EPA/ALAA BADARNEH]
Bethlehem has suffered since war broke out between Israel and Hamas on October 7, 2023. Visitors to the town plunged from around 2,000,000 in 2019 to just 100,000 in 2024, according to Jiries Qumsiyeh, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Tourism Ministry.
Image Credit: Metro [Murals cover Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on Christmas Eve, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)]
Tourism accounts for an estimated 70% of Bethlehem’s income – almost all of it from the Christmas season. Unemployment has also skyrocketed to around 50%, according to Mayor Salman. Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the top Roman Catholic cleric in the Holy Land, said he hoped next year would be better.
Image Credit: Metro [Worshippers pray at the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus, on Christmas Eve, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)]
‘This has to be the last Christmas that is so sad. I bring you the greetings, the prayers, of our brothers and sisters in Gaza,’ he told a crowd of hundreds in Manger Square. Cardinal Pizzaballa held a special pre-Christmas mass at Holy Family Church in Gaza City on Sunday.
Image Credit: Metro [epa11791931 Apostolic Administrator of the Latin Church in the Holy Land, Pierbattista Pizzaballa (R) greets a person dressed as Santa Claus as he arrives to Manger Square, for a Christmas Eve procession, in the West Bank City of Bethlehem, 24 December 2024. The Church of the Nativity is one of the oldest continuously operating churches worldwide. The structure is built over the cave that tradition states is the birthplace of Jesus Christ, and it is considered sacred by followers of Christianity. EPA/ALAA BADARNEH]
![[BETHLEHEM, WEST BANK - DECEMBER 24: An inside view of the Church of the Nativity, believed to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, as the preparations for Christmas continue on December 24, 2024 in Bethlehem, West Bank. Due to Israel's ongoing airstrikes on Gaza, this year's celebrations will be limited to religious services and prayers, with public festivities kept to a minimum. (Photo by Issam Rimawi/Anadolu via Getty Images)]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/SEI_234178143-2d62.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
![[epa11791994 Clergymen wait for Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa (not pictured) to enter the Church of the Nativity during the traditional Christian procession towards the Church of the Nativity in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, 24 December 2024. The Church of the Nativity is one of the oldest continuously operating churches worldwide. The structure is built over the cave that tradition marks as the birthplace of Christ, and it is considered sacred by followers of Christianity. EPA/ALAA BADARNEH]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/SEI_234182658-5959.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
![[Murals cover Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on Christmas Eve, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/SEI_234187545-b1ad.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
![[Worshippers pray at the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus, on Christmas Eve, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/SEI_234180691-2abc.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
![[epa11791931 Apostolic Administrator of the Latin Church in the Holy Land, Pierbattista Pizzaballa (R) greets a person dressed as Santa Claus as he arrives to Manger Square, for a Christmas Eve procession, in the West Bank City of Bethlehem, 24 December 2024. The Church of the Nativity is one of the oldest continuously operating churches worldwide. The structure is built over the cave that tradition states is the birthplace of Jesus Christ, and it is considered sacred by followers of Christianity. EPA/ALAA BADARNEH]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/SEI_234181389-f2d2.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
