Bethlehem – आवारा मुसाफिर

Another bleak Christmas in Bethlehem as Christian families quit West Bank

December 1, 2024169 Views

For a second year running, there is no Christmas cheer in Bethlehem, with tourists shunning the Palestinian city and many residents seeking a way out as the Gaza war grinds on. Bethlehem's Manger Square in front of the Church of the Nativity is largely deserted and souvenir shops are shuttered. Once again, there are no plans to put up the traditional light-festooned Christmas Tree in the ancient settlement that is venerated by Christians as the birthplace of Jesus and now sits in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Orthodox priest Issa Thaljieh walks in the Church of the Nativity as no tourists are seen, in Bethlehem in the Israeli-occupied West Bank November 25, 2024. REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma "During these difficult times that our Palestinian cities are going through, especially in ...

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‘Worst Christmas ever’ in birthplace of Jesus as impact of war empties Bethlehem

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

December 11, 2023589 Views

Bethlehem is normally at its busiest at Christmas but this year war has scared away tourists and pilgrims from the Palestinian town in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, leaving hotels, restaurants and souvenir shops deserted. With global headlines dominated since Oct. 7 by news of the Hamas attacks in southern Israel, followed by Israel's military assault on Gaza and a rise in violence in the West Bank, business owners in Bethlehem said no one was coming. "We have no guests. Not one," said Joey Canavati, owner of the Alexander Hotel, whose family has lived and worked in Bethlehem for four generations. "This is the worst Christmas ever. Bethlehem is shut down for Christmas. No Christmas tree, no joy, no Christmas spirit," he said. Located just south of Jerusalem, Bethlehem is...

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No Christmas tree in Bethlehem as holiday pared down over Gaza war

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

December 3, 2023597 Views

There will be no Christmas tree in Bethlehem this year as the traditional site of Jesus' birth holds pared-down celebrations "without the fanfare and without too many lights" in the shadow of the Gaza war. Bethlehem, which neighbours Jerusalem in the occupied West Bank, has been battered by Israeli-Palestinian clashes of years past. But many townspeople have been especially gripped by the current conflict in the Gaza Strip, 50 km (30 miles) away. A man lights a candle as he prepares the Church of the Nativity on the day of the launch of the beginning of the Christmas season, as the conflict between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas continues, in Bethlehem in the Israeli-occupied West Bank December 2, 2023. REUTERS/Ammar Awad In the early days of every December, church l...

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Bethlehem rebounds from pandemic, lifting Christmas spirits

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

December 24, 2022575 Views

The biblical town of Bethlehem marked what was shaping up to be a merry Christmas on Saturday, with thousands of visitors expected to descend upon the traditional birthplace of Jesus as it rebounds from the coronavirus pandemic. Tourism is the economic lifeblood of this town in the occupied West Bank, and for the past two years, the pandemic kept international visitors away. This year, visitors are back, hotels are full and shopkeepers have reported a brisk business in the runup to the holiday. People gather in Manger Square, adjacent to the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, Saturday, Dec. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean) “We are celebrating Christmas this year in a very much different way t...

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Bethlehem celebrates muted Christmas with few pilgrims to bring cheer

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

December 25, 2021800 Views

The bells of Bethlehem rang out under grey skies on Christmas morning across streets whose closed pastel or green shutters were like an Advent calendar that nobody had turned up to open. Shopkeepers and hotel owners in the Palestinian city reported far lower business than the years before coronavirus closures halted the arrival of wealthy foreign tourists, devastating the economy of the traditional birthplace of Jesus. Worshipers attend Christmas morning mass at Saint Catherine's Church, in the Church of the Nativity, in Bethlehem in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, December 25, 2021. REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma In Manger Square, hundreds of Christians - mostly those who live, work or study in Israel and the occupied West Bank - gathered near the tree and crib to sing carols and bring s...

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Hoping Omicron won’t wreck Christmas, Bethlehem lights up tree

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

December 5, 2021245 Views

Residents lit up a giant Christmas tree outside Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity on Saturday, hoping that a new coronavirus variant doesn't ruin another holiday season in the traditional birthplace of Jesus. The Palestinian city in the Israeli-occupied West Bank was all but closed last Christmas, losing its peak tourist season to the pandemic. Palestinians light a Christmas tree at Manger Square outside the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, December 4, 2021. REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma This December has seen Israel shut out foreign travellers for 14 days to try to prevent the Omicron variant taking hold, and the hope is that the ban will end as scheduled, in time for Christmas travel. In its last pre-pandemic winter, in 2019/20, Bethlehem hosted ...

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Last Christmas was grim, Bethlehem hopes this year will be better

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

November 24, 2021352 Views

The trickle of tourists is sometimes scarcely enough to fill a manger, let alone an inn, but Bethlehem's Palestinians are hopeful that numbers will rise in the month before Christmas. The traditional birthplace of Jesus was all but shuttered by the pandemic last year, ravaging the tourism-dependent economy and leading some hoteliers to consider selling up. But this year Israel has eased curbs on foreign tourists in time for Christmas, although everyone remains wary of a winter coronavirus wave. Foreign tourists stand in Manger Square as they visit the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem in the Israeli-occupied West Bank November 18, 2021. REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma While grateful for the return of some foreign tourists and Christian Palestinians from the West Bank and Israel, it is a f...

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Dark Times: Both Holy sides of conflict wall gearing up for dismal Christmas

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

December 2, 2020475 Views

On both sides of the West Bank Barrier the signs are dismal for the coming festive season. Its dark and gloomy over the region what normally used to be beaming with tourists at this time of the year so close to Christmas. While Jerusalem is yet to come with the terms with the new normal, Bethlehem has announced that it is ‘not going to cancel its Christmas.’ As night grips Jerusalem’s walled Old City, its ancient alleyways become a ghost town of haunting shadows and light. Mornings used to reveal bright picture-postcard scenes of tourists from around the world stopping to buy souvenirs at Palestinian shops as they made their way to biblical sites holy to Jews, Muslims and Christians. A man closes a shop at night amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis, at a market in J...