Bethlehem marked another somber Christmas Eve on Tuesday in the traditional birthplace of Jesus under the shadow of war in Gaza.
The excitement and cheer that typically descends on the West Bank during Christmas week were nowhere to be found. The festive lights and giant tree that normally decorate Manger Square were missing, as were the throngs of foreign tourists that usually fill the square.
Palestinian scouts marched silently through the streets, a departure from their usual raucous brass marching band. Security forces arranged barriers near the Church of the Nativity, built atop the spot where Jesus is believed to have been born.
The cancellation of Christmas festivities is a severe blow to the town’s economy. Tourism accounts for an estimated 70% of Bethlehem’s income — almost all from the Christmas season.
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Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the top Roman Catholic cleric in the Holy Land, noted the shuttered shops and empty streets and expressed hope that next year would be better.
“This has to be the last Christmas that is so sad,” he told hundreds of people gathered in Manger Square, where normally tens of thousands would congregate.
In other news, Syrian rebel leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, better known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, called for the lifting of international sanctions in an exclusive interview Monday with a group of foreign journalists.
Dressed in a suit, with a white shirt and no tie, Syria’s de facto new leader ruler appeared thoughtful and statesman-like – a far cry from his Islamist fighter antecedents – as he laid out his vision for the future of his country in an interview with foreign journalists at the Syrian government headquarters in Damascus on Monday.
