Kanawati, the mayor, said 4,000 Palestinians have fled Bethlehem since the war began in the Gaza Strip, citing a decline in tourism as well as hardships under a tightening Israeli occupation. Many more families are “really struggling financially” because the city depends on income from tourism and wood-carved souvenirs, Kumseich said.
Atrash, Kumseykh's husband, worked in tourism until the twin tragedies of Covid and war caused millions of visitors to come here just a few years ago.
Tensions remain high in the West Bank, where Israeli settler attacks attacks against Palestinians have reached the highest level since the UN humanitarian office began collecting data in 2006.
Although the city is relatively quiet, it resembles a “big prison,” Atrash said, citing Israeli checkpoints and soldiers restricting movement.
Israel has long argued that its presence in the West Bank is necessary to protect Israeli settlements there.
The Israeli government is dominated by far-right supporters of the settler movement; on the weekends Israel's Cabinet approves plan to build 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank.
This raises questions about how long ceasefire in Gaza will last, with a number of details critical to the second phase still remaining uncertain as both sides blame each other failure to fully fulfill its obligations.
Stumbling blocks include plans for an international stabilization force in the Gaza Strip, a technocratic governing body, the disarmament of Hamas and the continued withdrawal of Israeli troops from the territory.
