BETHLEHEM, West Financial institution (AP) — Bethlehem marked one other somber Christmas Eve on Tuesday within the conventional birthplace of Jesus underneath the shadow of conflict in Gaza.
The joy and cheer that usually descends on the West Financial institution throughout Christmas week have been nowhere to be discovered. The festive lights and large tree that usually adorn Manger Sq. have been lacking, as have been the throngs of overseas vacationers that normally fill the sq..
Palestinian scouts marched silently by way of the streets, a departure from their regular raucous brass marching band. Safety forces organized boundaries close to the Church of the Nativity, constructed atop the spot the place Jesus is believed to have been born.
The cancellation of Christmas festivities is a extreme blow to the city’s financial system. Tourism accounts for an estimated 70% of Bethlehem’s earnings — virtually all from the Christmas season.
Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the highest Roman Catholic cleric within the Holy Land, famous the shuttered retailers and empty streets and expressed hope that subsequent yr could be higher.
“This has to be the last Christmas that is so sad,” he advised tons of of individuals gathered in Manger Sq., the place usually tens of hundreds would congregate.
Pizzaballa held a particular pre-Christmas Mass within the Church of the Holy Household in Gaza Metropolis. A number of Palestinian Christians advised the Related Press that they’ve been displaced within the church because the conflict started in October of final yr with barely sufficient meals and water.
“We hope by next year at the same day we’d be able to celebrate Christmas at our homes and go to Bethlehem,” mentioned Najla Tarazi, a displaced girl who prayed for the conflict to finish. “We don’t feel happy.”
Bethlehem is a crucial heart within the historical past of Christianity, however Christians make up solely a small proportion of the roughly 14 million individuals unfold throughout the Holy Land. There are about 182,000 in Israel, 50,000 within the West Financial institution and Jerusalem and 1,300 in Gaza, based on the U.S. State Division.
The variety of guests to the city plunged from a pre-COVID excessive of round 2 million per yr in 2019 to fewer than 100,000 in 2024, mentioned Jiries Qumsiyeh, the spokesperson for the Palestinian Tourism Ministry.
After dusk, the golden partitions of the Church of the Nativity have been illuminated as a couple of dozen individuals quietly milled about. A younger boy stood holding a pile of balloons on the market, however gave up as a result of there have been no clients to purchase them.
A surge of violence within the West Financial institution, the place greater than 800 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fireplace and dozens of Israelis have been killed in militant assaults, has stalled tourism. Palestinian officers don’t present a breakdown of how lots of the deceased are civilians and what number of are fighters.
Since the lethal Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas assault that sparked the conflict, entry to and from Bethlehem and different cities within the West Financial institution has been troublesome, with lengthy strains of motorists ready to cross by way of Israeli navy checkpoints. The restrictions have prevented some 150,000 Palestinians from leaving the territory to work in Israel, inflicting the Israeli financial system to contract by 25%.
In the Oct. 7 assault on southern Israel, Hamas-led militants killed about 1,200 individuals, most of them civilians, and took greater than 250 Israeli hostages. Israeli officers imagine that round 100 hostages stay in captivity within the Gaza Strip.
Elsewhere, worshippers discovered connection regardless of troublesome instances.
Vacationers flock to Paris for Mass at reopened Notre Dame Cathedral
Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris celebrated its first Christmas Eve Lots since a devastating fireplace ravaged the medieval landmark in 2019.
About 2,000 individuals joined a day Mass — one in every of 4 held on Tuesday — together with worshippers and different guests marveling on the restoration of the just lately reopened cathedral. Some American vacationers in Paris crafted their journey to make sure they might attend Christmas Eve providers at Notre Dame.
“They did such an amazing job,” mentioned customer Aly Beinert. “It looks beautiful. It blew us away.”
The Paris Archbishop symbolically reopened Notre Dame’s grand picket doorways on Dec. 7 with three resounding knocks, with company together with President-elect Donald Trump, U.S. first girl Jill Biden, Britain’s Prince William and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Syrians come collectively for uncommon second of pleasure
In Saydnaya, Syria, a big crowd gathered close to a historic monastery on Christmas Eve to witness the lighting of a towering tree adorned with glowing inexperienced lights.
The celebration provided a uncommon second of pleasure in a metropolis scarred by over a decade of conflict and its notorious jail, the place tens of hundreds have been held. Households and mates stood beneath the illuminated tree — some sporting Santa hats, others watching from rooftops — whereas a band performed festive music and fireworks lit up the sky.
“This year is different — there’s happiness, victory and a new birth for Syria and a new birth for Christ,” mentioned Houssam Saadeh, one attendee. One other, Joseph Khabbaz, expressed hope for unity throughout all sects and religions in Syria, dismissing latest Christmas tree vandalism as “isolated incidents.”
Heavy snow hits the Balkans
A snowstorm within the Balkans stranded drivers and downed energy strains, however some noticed the sweetness in it.
“I’m actually glad its falling, especially because of Christmas,” mentioned Mirsad Jasarevic in Zenica, Bosnia. “We did not have snow for Christmas for 17 years here, and now is the time for wonderful white Christmas.”
Journey woes and household reunions in the USA
American Airways briefly grounded flights throughout the U.S. on Tuesday because of a technical downside simply because the Christmas journey season kicked into overdrive. Winter climate threatened extra potential issues for these planning to fly or drive.
In Virginia, tons of of sailors and their family members acquired an early Christmas current when the usCole docked at its dwelling port in Norfolk, Virginia, after seven months at sea. Households bundled in coats and blankets, shed tears of gratitude and held indicators bearing the sailors’ names and photographs.
Spanish ministries carry seafarers vacation cheer
Within the port of Barcelona, Spain, volunteers from the faith-based ministry Stella Maris visited seven ships docked there on Christmas Eve to ship Nativity scenes and the native specialty of turrón (nougat sweet) to seafarers.
The volunteers met seafarers from India, the Philippines, Turkey and elsewhere, mentioned Ricard Rodríguez-Martos, a Catholic deacon and former service provider marine captain who leads Stella Maris on this main Mediterranean harbor.