BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) — Thousands of people gathered in Bethlehem's Manger Square on Christmas Eve as families ushered in a much-needed boost of holiday cheer. The giant Christmas tree that never existed War between Israel and Hamas returned on Wednesday.
The city where Christians believe Jesus was born had Christmas celebrations canceled over the past two years. Instead, Manger Square featured a nativity scene with baby Jesus surrounded by rubble and barbed wire, as a sign of respect for the situation in Gaza.
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizza BallThe Holy Land's top Catholic leader kicked off this year's celebrations with a traditional procession from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, calling for a “Christmas full of light.”
Arriving at Munger Square, Pizzaballa said he came with greetings from Gaza's tiny Christian communitywhere he celebrated pre-Christmas mass on Sunday. In the devastation he saw a desire to restore.
“We all decide together to be the light, and the light of Bethlehem is the light of the world,” he told thousands of people, Christians and Muslims.
Despite the festive mood, the impact of the war in the Israeli-occupied West Bank is acute, especially in Bethlehem, where about 80% of the city's residents are Muslim-majority. depend on tourism-related businesseslocal government reports.
The vast majority of those celebrating were locals, but there were also a few foreigners. But some residents said they are starting to see signs of change as tourism slowly returns.
“Hope in very dark situations”
“Today is a day of joy, a day of hope, the beginning of a return to normalcy here,” said Bethlehem resident Georgette Jackaman, a tour guide. She and her husband, Michael Jackaman, another tour guide, come from multi-generational Christian families in Bethlehem.
This is the first real Christmas for their two children, ages 2.5 and 10 months.
During the war, the Jackamans decided to create a website selling Palestinian handicrafts to support those who had lost their livelihoods. The city's unemployment rate jumped from 14% to 65%, Bethlehem Mayor Maher Nicola Canavati said earlier this month.
French visitor Mona River said: “I came because I wanted to better understand what people in Palestine are going through and you can feel that people have gone through very difficult times.”
Friends and family warned her against coming because of the volatile situation, but River said her time in Bethlehem helped her understand the meaning of the holiday.
“Christmas is about hope in very dark situations, a very vulnerable child going through harshness,” she said.
Despite a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip that began in October, tensions remain high across much of the West Bank.
The Israeli military continues to carry out raids in what it calls a crackdown on militants. Israeli settler attacks Attacks on Palestinians have reached their highest level since the UN humanitarian office began collecting data in 2006. Israel captured the West Bank during the 1967 Middle East War. The internationally recognized Palestinian Authority has limited autonomy in some parts of the territory, including Bethlehem.
Due to rising poverty and unemployment, about 4,000 people have left Bethlehem in search of work, the mayor said. This is part a disturbing trend for Christianswho are leaving the region en masse. Christians make up less than 2% of the West Bank's roughly 3 million population.
The beginning of the return to normal life
Fadi Zougbi, who was previously in charge of logistics for the tour groups, said his children were thrilled to see the marching bands parade through the streets of Bethlehem.
The Scouts represent West Bank cities and towns, their bagpipes draped with Palestinian flags and tartan. For the past two years, the Scouts have marched silently to protest the war.
Irene Kirmiz, who grew up in Bethlehem and lives in Ramallah, said the Girl Scout parade is one of her favorite Christmas traditions. Her 15-year-old daughter plays the tenor drum with the Ramallah Scouts.
But her family had to wake up at 5 a.m. to attend the parade and waited for more than three hours at Israeli checkpoints. Previously, the trip took 40 minutes without checkpoints that make travel increasingly difficult for the Palestinians, she said.
“It’s very emotional to see people trying to bounce back, trying to celebrate peace and love,” Kirmiz said.
During the previous two years, the heads of the churches in Jerusalem called on communities to refuse “any unnecessary holiday events.” They called on priests and faithful to focus on the spiritual meaning of Christmas and urged them to “pray fervently for a just and lasting peace for our beloved Holy Land.”
Other events in the Middle East demonstrate the resilience of believers
Santas were everywhere as the traditional parade returned to Nazareth in northern Israel, revered by Christians as the place where the Archangel Gabriel announced to Mary that she would give birth to Jesus.
A hilltop town full of children. Some were filmed in live nativity scenes, while others stood along the route waiting for floats and candy in the bright, warm sun.
On the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, hundreds of parishioners planned to return for Christmas mass at the Greek Orthodox church where a suicide attack killed 25 people in June. On Tuesday, they gathered light up a neon image of a Christmas tree in the yard.
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AP journalists Abby Sewell in Beirut and Ariel Shalit in Nazareth, Israel, contributed.
