Bethlehem: Bethlehem bells rang under gray skies on Christmas morning in the streets, whose closed pastel or green shutters were like an Advent calendar that no one came to open.
Shoppers and hoteliers in the Palestinian city reported far less business than in years before the coronavirus shutdown, which halted the arrival of wealthy foreign tourists, ravaged the economy of the traditional birthplace of Jesus.
In Mangar Square, hundreds of Christians – mostly those who live, work or study in Israel and the occupied West Bank – gathered near trees and cradles to sing carols and some in the scene outside the Church of the Nativity Bring enthusiasm
But Joseph Giacaman, whose family has sold souvenirs around the square for a century, said business was about 2 percent of what it was in pre-pandemic years. “We were closed till three weeks ago. I’ve sold maybe two or three olive wood cradles. In normal years, we used to sell three or four every day throughout the year,” he said.
The back roads were almost empty. Star Street was renovated in recent years to attract crowds, but like elsewhere here, the Omicron version dashed those hopes in November when Israel began closing its borders.
Earlier in December, Bethlehem Mayor Anton Salman sought a morale boost by walking down a cobbled street at night, shaking hands with vendors selling raw wine and olive wood carvings. But the opening of the market could not continue its momentum and there were no foreign coach parties to sell.
Across the city, Bethlehem’s grandest hotel, the Zakir Palace, was locked and locked.
And at a nearby nativity hotel, receptionist Victor Zidane said he was working 12-hour shifts on reduced pay to check on a rare day’s work in Palestinian Christian and Filipino care workers, who briefly extended occupancy . “I haven’t even celebrated this year, I didn’t get much work earlier so now I’m taking a chance,” he said.
Gerris Qumsih of the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities told Reuters this year was better than the last as there were at least some domestic visitors compared to the stringent 2020 restrictions, but that foreign tourism was “zero”.
Nevertheless, in the early hours of Saturday, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, urged a less midnight mass congregation to seek hope.
“In this time of health emergency and prolonged political emergency, many different voices are heard in families; Some undermine self-confidence, take away hope, extinguish love. Others, however, are more encouraging,” he said. “We need to seek and find the voice that leads us to Jesus and salvation, that opens hearts to hope.”
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