In Manger Square, a handful of municipal workers manoeuvre a simple metal crane to hoist baskets of ornaments onto the branches of a Christmas tree that has stood absent for two years.
The decorations appear duller than before the war, their colours faded like the fortunes of the city they adorn.
Nearby, shopkeepers open their doors with hesitation, while hotels that once teemed with foreign pilgrims sit nearly empty, staffed by skeleton crews waiting for guests who may or may not arrive.
Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus Christ and one of Christianity’s most sacred sites, is preparing to mark Christmas this year after cancelling public celebrations during two years of Israel’s genocide in Gaza and escalating violence across the occupied West Bank.
The tree will be lit on December 6, and there will be a midnight mass on Christmas Eve. But the festivities, city officials insist, will carry a different character entirely.
“We decided to observe Christmas despite everything Palestine is enduring… the killing and destruction, especially in Gaza, and the daily raids and siege in the West Bank,” said Lucy Thaljiyeh, deputy mayor of Bethlehem.
“But the celebrations will be limited to religious rituals and their spiritual essence only. There will be no loud festivities, no musical performances, no large markets.”
The Christmas tree stands in Manger Square near the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank [Issam Ahmed]
A worker places ornaments on a Christmas tree in Manger Square in Bethlehem, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank [Issam Ahmed]
A city in mourning
The absence of Christmas celebrations over the past two years reflected the gravity of what was unfolding across Palestinian territories.
The genocide in Gaza, which began on October 8, 2023 and continued for two years, killed more than 70,000 Palestinians and wounded approximately 170,000, according to Palestinian health authorities.
In the West Bank, Israeli forces and settlers killed at least 1,082 Palestinians and injured some 11,000, while more than 20,500 were arrested.
The violence extended to the land itself. Israeli operations and settler attacks destroyed or uprooted nearly 49,000 trees across the West Bank, including more than 37,000 olive trees, the ancient symbol of Palestinian identity and a cornerstone of the local economy.
For Bethlehem, a city where tourism accounts for roughly 80 percent of economic activity, the consequences proved devastating.
Hotels shuttered entirely. Restaurants closed. The streams of pilgrims who would queue for hours to enter the Church of the Nativity vanished.
Palestinians walk through Manger Square as workers prepare the Christmas tree near
the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem [Issam Ahmed]
“The war has officially stopped, but the killing and violence continue,” Peter Qanawati, a 55-year-old Christian resident, told The New Arab.
“We’re living a difficult life, and any celebration or Christmas seems hard given what the people of Gaza are enduring… the destruction, living in tents,” he added.
Peter has witnessed the slow erosion of Bethlehem’s Christian community over his lifetime. In 1960, Christians comprised approximately 90 percent of the city’s population. Today, that figure has fallen to around 20 percent, a decline driven by emigration amid decades of political instability and economic hardship.
Of his eight siblings, only he remains. The rest left, to study abroad, to escape the wars and to build lives elsewhere.
“Many friends and relatives have emigrated,” he said. “Many small business owners stopped working. The city has been directly affected.”
Saif al-Badak, another city resident, spoke of the toll the past two years have taken.
“We’ve suffered greatly from the events over two years without celebrations,” he said.
“We hope the pilgrims and tourists return to Bethlehem, and that the city regains some of its natural energy.”
Israel’s war, he noted, affected everyone – Christians and Muslims alike. Before the violence escalated, trips to Jerusalem were routine. Now everything has stopped.
“We hope there will be an energy of hope that brings life back to the city,” Saif told The New Arab, “even though our country is tied to politics and everything can change quickly.”
Olive wood nativity figurines are displayed for sale at a shop in Bethlehem, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank [Issam Ahmed]
Signs of tentative recovery
A ceasefire agreement that took effect in October, brokered under a plan by US President Donald Trump, ended the active phase of the Gaza war.
In Bethlehem, the announcement that the Christmas tree would return sparked the first signs of renewed interest from abroad.
Elias al-Arja, deputy head of the hotel owners’ union in Bethlehem, described the mood as “cautiously optimistic.”
“It’s improving, and the wheels of work are turning again,” he said. “Tourism is returning to Bethlehem’s hotels, and Christian pilgrims are returning to the Holy Land.”
The city’s dozens of hotels, which collectively offer thousands of rooms, had closed mainly during the war years. Only three or four family-run establishments managed to continue operating.
Hundreds of workers in the tourism sector lost their jobs and sought alternative employment. Maintenance costs accumulated on shuttered properties, and some facilities sustained damage from prolonged disuse.
Before Israel’s genocide, occupancy rates reached 90 percent during peak seasons. Elias expressed hope they might eventually return to those levels, though the current reality remains far more modest.
Visitor numbers still represent a fraction of pre-war figures, by some estimates, barely one percent of what they once were.
“The bookings are future-oriented,” Elias explained. “After the announcement of the tree lighting, we started receiving emails asking about prices and availability. This creates movement and work.”
A man decorates a Christmas tree in the lobby at Bethlehem Hotel in Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank [Getty]
Enquiries have begun arriving about Easter and the upcoming tourism season.
“If the situation in the Holy Land remains calm, things will be smooth and good. Bethlehem and Palestine in general are safe, even safer than many countries. Even Israeli companies require their guides and drivers to stay overnight in Bethlehem hotels with tour groups. This is proof of trust in the place,” he added.
A message of resilience
The celebrations scheduled to begin this month will continue through January 18, encompassing both Western and Eastern Christian observances of Christmas.
Officials expect Palestinian and international dignitaries to attend the midnight mass. Small groups of tourists have already begun trickling back to visit the Church of the Nativity, built over the grotto where Mary is believed to have given birth to Jesus.
Yet the festivities will remain deliberately understated. The municipality’s finances are nearly depleted, and decorations will be confined to specific locations using whatever materials are available. The tree itself stands as a symbolic gesture rather than a centrepiece of revelry.
Lucy framed the decision to proceed with Christmas observances as an act of defiance rather than celebration.
“What our people in Gaza are enduring is genocide, and what is happening in the West Bank, the arrests and incursions, reflects a targeting of every detail of our lives,” she told The New Arab.
“The message of Christmas comes to strengthen resilience, not for traditional celebration.”
The municipality has received calls from families wishing to visit despite the circumstances. For many, Lucy noted, Christmas represents something more profound than festivity: “It is part of their identity.”
“This year’s Christmas message is rise and shine, Bethlehem,” she said. “We want Bethlehem to be a spiritual voice in a time of killing and destruction.”
In Manger Square, prayers for peace and security continue at the Church of the Nativity. The tree will be lit in the coming days, modestly, Lucy acknowledged, but lit nonetheless.
“To tell the world,” she said, “that despite the wounds, Palestinians are holding on to life, justice, and peace.”
Issam Ahmed is a Ramallah-based independent journalist focusing on security and human rights issues
This article is published in collaboration with Egab
