How the war in Gaza canceled Christmas in Bethlehem, the place where Jesus was born

The war of Israel in Loop against the Palestinian militia Hamas has converted to Belen, the place where according to the Bible Jesus was born, in a ghost town. The Christmas celebration used to fill this place with visitors, but today there is practically no one.

Since November the authorities of Belen had decided to reduce the festivities to a minimum for Christmas in solidarity with the people of Palestine.

LOOK: More than 160 dead in Gaza in the last 24 hours and more than 20,400 since the start of the war

As a chain report explains cnnthis year The decorations that previously adorned the neighborhoods of Bethlehem have been removed. Parades and religious celebrations were also canceled. In the city center, the traditional huge tree in Manger Square is conspicuous by its absence. This square remains empty and is only guarded by numerous Palestinian security agents.

The church of the nativity, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, typically attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists each year. Now there are no pilgrims and the hotels Belen They are empty, reports the AFP agency.

For the children of Gaza

“This year, without the Christmas tree and without lights, there is only darkness,” John Vinh, a Franciscan monk from Vietnam who lives in Vietnam, told the AP agency. Jerusalem for six years.

He said that he always comes to Belen by Christmasbut explained that this year was especially somber as he watched the birth in the Manger Squarewhere a child Jesus wrapped in a white cloth he remembered the hundreds of minors killed in the bombings in Gaza. That child is not in a manger, but among ruins and wires that represent the Palestinian enclave.

The wooden figures of the Virgin Mary, Saint Joseph, the cow and the donkey and the May Kings complete the scene, as in any nativity scene in the world, but on pieces of concrete and rubble.

“It is a sign of solidarity with our children who are dying every day”Reverend Munther Isaac, one of the religious of the Lutheran Church of Christmas, told the EFE agency.

The war broke out on October 7 after the attack of Hamas against the south of Israel, in which around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were murdered. That day, the Islamists also kidnapped some 240 people, of whom 129 remain captive in Loop.

In response, Israel promised to “annihilate” Hamas and launched an air, sea and land offensive against Gaza, governed by Hamas since 2007. The Israeli retaliation leaves at least 20,424 people dead, mostly women and children.

Bethlehem is a Palestinian city located in the center of the West Bank, about 9 km south of Jerusalem and nestled in the Judean Mountains.. Since December 1995 it has been administered by the Palestinian National Authority (PNA).

Since October 7, Israel restricts circulation in Belen and other Palestinian cities in the West Bank, with military checkpoints allowing entry and exit, which affects Palestinians trying to go to work, CNN reported.

Tourism left Bethlehem

“We cannot justify taking out a tree and celebrating normally, when some people (in Loop“They don’t even have houses to go to,” Ala’a Salameh, one of the owners of the Afteem restaurant, a family restaurant located a few steps from the town, told the AP on Sunday. Manger Square.

Salameh maintained that on the eve of Christmas It is usually the busiest day of the year. “Normally you can’t even find a chair to sit on, we’re packed from morning to midnight.” This year there was only one table occupied, by journalists taking a break from the rain.

The businessman said that his restaurant operated at around 15% of its normal capacity and that he could not cover operating costs. He estimated that even when the war ends, it will take another year for the tourism return to Belen normally.

AP explained that the cancellation of the Christmas celebrations represents a hard blow to the local economy, since Tourism represents 70% of Belén’s incomealmost everything during the days of the Christmas.

A similar story is that of Amir Michael Giacaman, who opened his shop, “Il Bambino,” which sells olive wood carvings and other souvenirs, for the first time since October 7. There have been no tourists and few neighbors have money because those who worked in Israel They have had to stay home, the AP indicated.

“When people have extra money, they go buy food,” his wife, Safa Giacaman, told the AP. “This year we tell the Christmas story. We celebrate Jesus, not the tree, not Santa Claus,” she added.

“Our message every year at Christmas is one of peace and love, but this year it is a message of sadness, pain and anger before the international community for what is happening and happening in the Gaza Strip,” said the mayor. of Bethlehem, Hana Haniyeh, in a message.

CNN spoke with Rony Tabash, a third-generation store owner who has lost customers.

Tabash’s store offers souvenirs and figures carved from olive wood, it is one of the few that remains open, out of a desire to support the skilled artisans who make their merchandise.

“We have never seen Christmas like this,” Tabash told CNN. “For three months, honestly, we haven’t had a single sale… I don’t want to lose hope.”