BETHLEHEM: The Nativity Store in Manger Square has sold handmade olive wood carvings and religious items to people visiting the traditional birthplace of Jesus since 1927. But as Bethlehem prepares to mark its second Christmas under the shadow of the war in Gaza, there are almost no tourists, leaving the Nativity Store and other businesses unsure of how much longer they can hold on.
For the second straight year, Bethlehem’s Christmas celebrations will be somber and muted, in deference to ongoing war in Gaza. There will be no giant Christmas tree in Manger Square, no raucous scout marching bands, no public lights twinkling and very few public decorations or displays.
“Last year before Christmas, we had more hope, but now again we are close to Christmas and we don’t have anything,” said Rony Tabash, the third-generation owner of Nativity Store.
Israel’s war against Hamas has been raging for nearly 15 months, and there still is no end in sight. Repeated ceasefire efforts have stalled.
Since the war began, tourism to Israel and the Israeli-occupied West Bank has plummeted. And after Israel barred entry to most of the 150,000 Palestinians in the West Bank who had jobs in Israel, the Palestinian economy contracted by 25 percent in the past year.
The yearly Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem — shared among Armenian, Catholic and Orthodox denominations — are usually major boons for the city, where tourism accounts for 70 percent of its yearly income. But the streets are empty this season.
Tabash said he continues to open the store every day, but often an entire week will go by without a sale. Tabash works with more than 25 local families who create hand-carved religious items out of the region’s storied olive wood. But with no buyers, work has dried up for these families.
Lots of room at the inn
The number of visitors to the city plunged from a pre-COVID high of around 2 million visitors per year in 2019 to fewer than 100,000 visitors in 2024, said Jiries Qumsiyeh, the spokesperson for the Palestinian tourism ministry.
According to the Christmas story, Mary was forced to give birth to Jesus in a stable because there was no room at the inn. Today, nearly all of Bethlehem’s 5,500 hotel rooms are empty.
The city’s hotel occupancy rate plunged from around 80 percent in early 2023 to around 3 percent today, said Elias Al Arja, the head of Bethlehem Hoteliers Association. At his own hotel, the Bethlehem Hotel, he said he has laid off a staff of more than 120 people and retains just five employees.
The city hosts more than 100 stores and 450 workshops dealing with traditional Palestinian handicraft, Qumsiyeh said. But just a week before Christmas, when the city should be bursting with visitors, Manger Square was mostly empty save for a few locals selling coffee and tea. Only two of the eight stores in the main drag of the square were open for business.
Qumsiyeh worries that when the war ends and tourism eventually rebounds, many of the families that have handed down traditional skills for generations will no longer be making the items that reflect Palestinian heritage and culture.
Many are leaving the region entirely. “We have witnessed a very high rate of emigration since the beginning of the aggression, especially among those working in the tourism sector,” said Qumsiyeh.
A Christmas without joy
Almost 500 families have left Bethlehem in the past year, said Mayor Anton Salman. And those are just the families who moved abroad with official residency visas. Many others have moved abroad on temporary tourist visas and are working illegally, and it’s unclear if they will return, Salman said.
Around half of the population in the Bethlehem area, including nearby villages, works in either tourism or in jobs in Israel.
The unemployment rate in Bethlehem is roughly 50 percent, said Salman. Unemployment across the West Bank is around 30 percent, according to the Palestinian Economy Ministry.
Canceling Christmas festivities is one way to draw attention to the difficult situation in Bethlehem and across the Palestinian territories, said Salman. “This year we want to show the world that the Palestinian people are still suffering and they haven’t the joy that everybody else in the world having,” said Salman.
It is another blow to the Holy Land’s dwindling population over the decade due to emigration and a low birthrate.
Christians are a small percentage of the population. There are about 182,000 in Israel, 50,000 in the West Bank and Jerusalem and 1,300 in Gaza, according to the US State Department.
Finding the light in the night
Father Issa Thaljieh, the parish priest of the Greek Orthodox Church in the Church of the Nativity, said many families are struggling financially, leaving them unable to pay rent or school fees, much less buy Christmas presents or celebrate the holiday in other ways. The church’s social services have tried to help, but the needs are great, he said.
Thaljieh said his Christmas message this year focused on encouraging Palestinians in Bethlehem to stay despite the challenges.
“A church without Christians is not a church,” he said, as workers hand-polished the ornate brass candelabras in the cavernous, empty church a week before the holiday.
“The light that was born when Jesus Christ was born here is the light that moves beyond darkness, so we have to wait, we have to be patient, we have to pray a lot, and we have to stay with our roots because our roots are in Bethlehem,” he said.
Some families are finding ways to bring back pockets of joy.
Bethlehem resident Nihal Bandak, 39, gave into her three children’s requests to have a Christmas tree this year, after not having one last year. Decorating the tree is the favorite part of Christmas of her youngest daughter, 8-year-old Stephanie.
Mathew Bandak, 11 was thrilled his family brought back some of their traditions, but also torn.
“I was happy because we get to decorate and celebrate, but people are in Gaza who don’t have anything to celebrate,” he said.
Rony Tabash, the third-generation owner of Nativity Store, said he will continue to open the store, because it’s part of his family’s history.
“We are not feeling Christmas, but in the end, Christmas is in our hearts,” he said, adding that the entire city was praying for a ceasefire and peace. “We have a big faith that always, when we see Christmas, it will give us the light in the night.”
Bethlehem plans another somber Christmas under the shadow of war in Gaza
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Bethlehem plans another somber Christmas under the shadow of war in Gaza
- Manger Square is empty of tourists and many businesses aren’t sure how much longer they can hold on
- The city’s hotel occupancy rate plunged from around 80 percent in early 2023 to around 3 percent today
Israeli military confirms hostage killed alongside father in Gaza
- Israeli forces continued on Friday to pound Gaza, with Palestinian medics saying at least 15 people had been killed
- The Israeli military has said it suspected Hamza and Youssef were killed in one of its strikes
JERUSALEM: Israel confirmed on Friday that the remains of a hostage found killed in Gaza were of Hamza Ziyadne, the son of deceased hostage Youssef Ziyadne, whose body was found beside him in an underground tunnel near the southern city of Rafah.
Israeli forces continued on Friday to pound Gaza, with Palestinian medics saying at least 15 people had been killed, including a journalist for Cairo-based Al-Ghad TV who had been covering an incident at Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.
There was no immediate comment on the latest fighting from Israeli’s military, which earlier announced it had concluded forensic tests to identify Hamza Ziyadne, an Israeli Bedouin taken hostage by Hamas-led fighters alongside his father and two of his siblings.
It said earlier this week that the body of Hamza’s father Youssef had been recovered close to those of armed guards from Islamist group Hamas or another Palestinian militant group and there were indications that Hamza may also have been killed.
There was no immediate comment from Hamas although the group’s armed wing told Qatar’s Al-Jazeera news network that most of the hostages in northern Gaza were now considered missing because of intense Israeli strikes there.
The left-leaning Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that the Israeli military has said it suspected Hamza and Youssef were killed in one of its strikes, given their bodies were found next to those of dead militants. A military spokesperson said this week that Youssef Ziyadne had not died recently.
The military declined to comment on the cause of the hostages’ deaths.
EFFORTS TO END FIGHTING
Mediators Qatar, the United States and Egypt are making new efforts to reach a deal to halt the fighting in Gaza and free the remaining hostages before President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20.
The Hostages and Missing Family Forum, which represents most of the families, renewed its call on the Israeli government to conclude a deal with Hamas and bring back the hostages, saying Youssef and Hamza Ziyadne could have been saved through an earlier agreement.
The negotiations have been at an impasse for a year over two key issues. Hamas has said it will only free its remaining hostages if Israel agrees to end the war and withdraw all its troops from Gaza. Israel says it will not end the war until Hamas is dismantled and all hostages are free.
Israeli defense minister Israel Katz on Friday instructed the military to present a plan for the “total defeat” of Hamas in Gaza if it does not release the hostages before Trump’s inauguration. It was not clear how such a plan would differ from existing Israeli military plans.
“We must not be dragged into a war of attrition against Hamas in Gaza, while the hostages remain in the tunnels, putting their lives at risk and suffering severely,” he told senior commanders, according to a defense ministry statement.
Israel launched its assault on the Gaza Strip after Hamas fighters stormed across its borders in October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Since then, more than 46,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to Palestinian health officials, with much of the enclave laid waste and most of its people — displaced multiple times — facing acute shortages of food and medicine due to Israel’s actions, humanitarian agencies say.
Arab, international support for Lebanon pours in as Aoun set to form government
- Bukhari expressed “Saudi Arabia’s satisfaction with Lebanon’s successful presidential election”
- Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides visited Beirut to congratulate Aoun, marking the first visit by a foreign head of state to Lebanon following the election
BEIRUT: Joseph Aoun’s first day as president of Lebanon was marked by strong Arab and international support.
Parliamentary consultations to name a new prime minister will take place next week.
Imran Riza, UN humanitarian coordinator in Lebanon, announced the allocation of $30 million from the Lebanon Humanitarian Fund to address urgent humanitarian needs caused by the recent escalation of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.
Lebanon’s Dar Al-Fatwa relayed remarks from the Saudi ambassador to Lebanon, Walid Bukhari, during his meeting with Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdel Latif Derian.
Bukhari expressed “Saudi Arabia’s satisfaction with Lebanon’s successful presidential election, achieved through Lebanese unity that inspires hope.”
He described the accomplishment as a significant step toward Lebanon’s renaissance, reconstruction, security, and stability, as well as the initiation of reforms and restoring Arab and international confidence.
Dar Al-Fatwa also reported that Bukhari admired “President Joseph Aoun’s inaugural speech, which was a reflection of his national responsibility.”
On Friday, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides visited Beirut to congratulate Aoun, marking the first visit by a foreign head of state to Lebanon following the election.
Aoun also received a congratulatory message from Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, expressing “the Iranian government’s readiness to continue strengthening bilateral cooperation in all areas.”
Pezeshkian said he hoped the presidential elections would lead to political stability, economic growth, peace, and security for the people of Lebanon. He added that reinforcing stability and unity would thwart Israel’s ambitions in Lebanon’s territory.
Aoun’s initial meetings included a session with Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who, along with Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib, is set to visit Syria on Saturday. This marks the first official Lebanese visit to Damascus since the fall of Bashar Assad.
Aoun asked Mikati to “continue managing caretaker duties until a new government is formed.”
Mikati said after the meeting that during the two years and two months since the end of former President Michel Aoun’s term, his government held 60 Cabinet sessions and issued more than 1,211 decisions and more than 3,700 decrees.
“We managed to navigate this phase and maintain the continuity of the state, particularly through its backbone — the army — under the leadership of Gen. Joseph Aoun and through our cooperation with him.”
Mikati explained that the discussion with the president focused on “the existing challenges and the content of the inaugural address, in which Aoun outlined the directions for any new government to implement the speech’s content through the necessary constitutional steps.”
Mikati said: “We talked about the situation in the south and the necessity for a swift and full Israeli withdrawal, reestablishing stability in the south and halting Israeli violations.”
He said the next government must be able to reflect the direction outlined by the president. “We are embarking on a new phase that requires everyone’s cooperation to exert serious efforts to save the nation. The broad outlines set by the president are very important and the leadership of this country has the will to act. Many of these objectives can be achieved quickly through an active government.”
Regarding Aoun’s insistence in his speech on “the state having a monopoly on bearing weapons,” Mikati said: “Do we expect the president of the country to say that weapons are legal for everyone? Do we expect a new government to say that weapons are legal for all citizens? Today, we are entering a new phase that starts from southern Lebanon, specifically south of the Litani River, to withdraw arms and ensure that the state will be present across all Lebanese territory, with stability beginning from the south.”
Aoun’s inaugural address on Thursday was widely welcomed in Lebanon, and across the Arab and international states. Leaders of political parties and economic bodies expressed support for the speech and its implementation.
Sami Gemayel, head of the Lebanese Kataeb Party, said: “His address is unprecedented in the past three decades, as all presidents came during the Syrian guardianship or when Hezbollah controlled decisions and no president was allowed to speak about the interest of his country.”
Gemayel pledged to “defend the speech, which fully represents us, and to stand by the president to realize his national project.”
A few hours after the election of the president, Israeli reconnaissance planes resumed violations of Lebanese airspace, starting from the south and reaching Beirut and its southern suburb, extending to Hermel on the border with Syria.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces continued their incursions into southern Lebanon, destroying border villages.
Aita Al-Shaab was subjected to artillery shelling, with Israeli forces conducting explosions and intensive sweep operations inside the town.
Movements of Israeli forces’ vehicles were observed between Tallat Al-Hamames and the adjacent Metula settlement at the Khiam-Wazzani triangle.
Once again, Israeli tanks and infantry forces conducted incursions in the town of Taybeh and opened fire on the remaining houses.
On Friday, a Lebanese Army unit entered the town of Aitaroun in Bint Jbeil, accompanied by a bulldozer to clear a dirt barrier previously erected by the Israeli Army at the village entrance.
The Lebanese Army is awaiting a signal from a five-member committee, tasked with overseeing the implementation of the ceasefire resolution, to redeploy in positions at the Al-Qouzah-Debel-Aita Al-Shaab triangle following the Israeli withdrawal.
On Thursday Israel heavily bombed the border town of Aita Al-Shaab, causing tremors deep in southern regions.
Israel also carried out operations to detonate houses in Kafr Kila, Houla, and the vicinity of Wazzani, with the Israeli military claiming it had bombed “five large ammunition warehouses.”
Israeli forces still have 15 days left of the 60-day deadline to fully withdraw from the area following the incursion on Oct. 1.
On Friday, Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee renewed his warning to the residents of southern Lebanon via social media, advising them against “moving south to the line of villages from Mansouri in the west to Shebaa in the east until further notice. Anyone who moves south of this line is at risk.”
Civil defense personnel, in coordination with the army and UNIFIL, continue to search and survey the areas from which the Israeli army withdrew, looking for the bodies of Hezbollah fighters who were reportedly missing.
Stampede at central Damascus mosque kills four: health official
- Ghina, who was at the mosque to attend Friday prayers, said she saw “people carrying an elderly woman with blood dripping from her face“
- The Al-Watan newspaper said it happened during the distribution of free meals
DAMASCUS: A stampede at the landmark Umayyad Mosque in Syria’s capital on Friday killed four people, a Damascus health official told state media.
“Damascus Health Director Dr. Mohammed Akram Maatouq announced that the final toll from the unfortunate stampede that occurred today in the Great Umayyad Mosque and its surroundings is four dead and 16 injured,” a statement carried by state news agency SANA said.
Earlier, Damascus Governor Maher Marwan had told SANA that the deadly crush took place “during a civilian event at the mosque.”
A photographer who collaborates with AFP and was at the site of the stampede saw large crowds gathered near the mosque because free meals were being handed out.
Ghina, who was at the mosque to attend Friday prayers, said she saw “people carrying an elderly woman with blood dripping from her face,” adding that she appeared dead.
The Al-Watan newspaper said the stampede happened during the distribution of free meals by a social media personality.
A YouTuber called Chef Abu Omar, who has a restaurant in Istanbul, had earlier posted a video of preparations for the distribution of free meals at the Ummayyad Mosque.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani had visited the mosque in the morning.
Israel strikes Yemen Houthis, warns it will ‘hunt’ leaders
- “A short while ago... fighter jets struck military targets belonging to the Houthi terrorist regime,” the Israeli military said
- It said it also struck military infrastructure in the ports of Hodeida and Ras Issa
JERUSALEM: Israel struck Houthi targets in Yemen on Friday, including a power station and coastal ports, in response to missile and drone launches, and warned it would hunt down the group’s leaders.
“A short while ago... fighter jets struck military targets belonging to the Houthi terrorist regime on the western coast and inland Yemen,” the Israeli military said in a statement.
It said the strikes were carried out in retaliation for Houthi missile and drone launches into Israel.
The statement said the targets included “military infrastructure sites in the Hizaz power station, which serves as a central source of energy” for the Houthis.
It said it also struck military infrastructure in the ports of Hodeida and Ras Issa.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a statement after the strikes, said the Houthis were being punished for their repeated attacks on his country.
“As we promised, the Houthis are paying, and they will continue to pay, a heavy price for their aggression against us,” he said.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israel would “hunt down the leaders of the Houthi terror organization.”
“The Hodeida port is paralyzed, and the Ras Issa port is on fire — there will be no immunity for anyone,” he said in a video statement.
The Houthis, who control Sanaa, have fired missiles and drones toward Israel since war broke out in Gaza in October 2023.
They describe the attacks as acts of solidarity with Gazans.
The Iran-backed rebels have also targeted ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, prompting retaliatory strikes by the United States and, on occasion, Britain.
Israel has also struck Houthi targets in Yemen, including in the capital.
Since the Gaza war began, the Houthis have launched about 40 surface-to-surface missiles toward Israel, most of which were intercepted, the Israeli army says.
The military has also reported the launch of about 320 drones, with more than 100 intercepted by Israeli air defenses.
Syria monitor says Assad loyalist ‘executed’ in public
- The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said fighters affiliated with the country’s new rulers executed Mazen Kneneh on Friday morning
- Fighters shot Kneneh in the head on the street in Dummar
BEIRUT: A Syria monitor said fighters linked to the Islamist-led transitional administration publicly executed a local official on Friday, accusing him of having been an informant under ousted president Bashar Assad.
Contacted by AFP, the Damascus authorities did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said fighters affiliated with the country’s new rulers executed Mazen Kneneh on Friday morning, describing him as “one of the best-known loyalists of the former regime.”
Fighters shot Kneneh in the head on the street in Dummar, a suburb of the capital Damascus, said the Britain-based monitor.
It said he was “accused of writing malicious security reports that led to the persecution and jailing of many young men” who were tortured in prison under Assad, whose rule came to an end on December 8.
A video circulating online, which AFP was unable to independently verify, purportedly showed the man’s slumped body tied to a tree trunk, his clothes bloodied from what looked like a bullet wound to the head.
Members of the public including children gathered around the body, according to the video, some filming with their mobile phones and others beating the body with sticks or high-kicking it in the head.
In recent days, Syrian authorities launched security sweeps targeting “remnants of the regime” of the deposed leader in several areas.
Anas Khattab, the new General Intelligence chief, has pledged to overhaul the security apparatus, denouncing “the injustice and tyranny of the former regime, whose agencies sowed corruption and inflicted suffering on the people.”
