A 15-metre Christmas tree once again dominates Manger Square in Bethlehem, rising beside one of Christianity’s holiest sites — the Basilica of the Nativity, built over the grotto believed to mark the birthplace of Jesus. The familiar festive image has returned after a two-year absence, as the city cautiously resumes Christmas celebrations suspended in solidarity with Palestinians killed in the war in Gaza.
Bethlehem’s mayor, Maher Nicola Canawati, said the decision to relight the tree and restore public celebrations was driven by the fragile optimism created by a ceasefire in Gaza that has been in place since October. “After two years of silence, we decided to rekindle hope and the Christmas spirit to strengthen people’s resilience,” he said in an interview at City Hall. “Many people lost hope — and when that happens, it is the end.”
While a few foreign visitors have begun to reappear, snapping selfies in the square or watching a lone Santa Claus ring a bell, the mood remains subdued. Israeli military operations in Gaza continue to claim lives daily, while settler violence, raids and settlement expansion remain intense across the occupied West Bank, where Bethlehem is located. Residents describe a mix of exhaustion, economic suffocation and a desire to turn the page.
The October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel and the ensuing regional conflict devastated Bethlehem’s tourism-dependent economy. Pilgrims and visitors vanished almost overnight, leaving once-busy hotels, souvenir shops and religious goods stores shuttered or empty. The collapse of tourism has pushed unemployment in the city from 14 per cent to an estimated 65 per cent.
Unlike other West Bank cities such as Ramallah or Nablus, Bethlehem lacks a strong industrial or agricultural base. About 85 per cent of local families depend directly or indirectly on tourism, largely religious. The crisis has been compounded by Israel’s revocation of work permits for Palestinian labourers and by the Palestinian Authority’s partial payment of public salaries, as Israel withholds hundreds of millions of shekels in tax revenues.
Shopkeeper Rony Tabash, whose family has sold religious souvenirs carved from olive wood since 1927, said keeping his store open has been an act of faith. “Every day my father told me: ‘Rony, go open the shop.’ I said, ‘Why, if no one is coming?’ And he replied: ‘For hope, for our history,’” he said. His business supports 25 carving families, all of whom have struggled to survive.
Poverty in Bethlehem has climbed to around 60 per cent, according to the mayor, and some 4,000 residents — more than 10 per cent of the population — have left the city in the past two years. Long-term emigration has also altered Bethlehem’s religious makeup, with many Christian families, often better connected abroad, leaving for countries such as the United States or Chile.
Artisan Jack Giacaman, a third-generation olive-wood carver, said the past two years have been the worst of his life. “Even during Covid it was hard, but at least we had some business,” he said, noting that exporting goods has become increasingly difficult due to Israeli controls on borders and transport.
Local leaders and clergy emphasise “hope” as a necessary antidote to despair. “The suffering of Palestinians did not begin on October 7, 2023,” Canawati said. “But without hope, we cannot continue. People need to believe their children may have a better future.”
Signs of recovery remain tentative. Hotels that had virtually no bookings recently hosted around 7,000 visitors on the day of the Christmas tree lighting, the mayor said. Pilgrims are returning slowly, particularly small groups motivated by faith rather than tourism.
“Those who come now are people of faith, not normal tourists,” said Father Marcelo Ariel Cicchinelli, the Franciscan guardian of the Church of the Nativity. “For pilgrims, it is a spiritual experience. For the people of Bethlehem, it means the return of work.”
