Bethlehem lights its Christmas tree for the first time since 2022, offering a glimmer of joy amid the ongoing pain of the Gaza war and a yearning for peace.
BETHLEHEM: A giant Christmas tree adorned with red and gold baubles stands in the West Bank city for the first time since 2022.
The Palestinian city, revered by Christians as the birthplace of Jesus, had refrained from public Christmas celebrations over the past two years as war raged in Gaza.
Thousands of Palestinians from across the West Bank and Israel filled Manger Square on Saturday night for a ceremony lighting the 20-metre tree.
The crowd erupted in cheers when the tree’s lights were turned on shortly before 8 p.m.
“We came to celebrate, watch and enjoy, because for several years we haven’t had the chance,” said Randa Bsoul, a 67-year-old Palestinian from Haifa in Israel.
The war, which began in October 2023, has devastated Gaza and painfully affected Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Many have family and friends in Gaza, and the war has shrivelled the tourism that Bethlehem’s economy relies on.
The past two years have been “like hell”, said a Bethlehem shopkeeper selling souvenirs, who asked to remain anonymous because of fears of reprisal by Israeli forces.
“We are trying our best to keep going,” the shopkeeper said, describing a worsening economic situation and tightening Israeli restrictions.
“As Bethlehem lights its Christmas tree, the deep anguish endured by our people in Gaza does not leave our hearts,” Bethlehem Mayor Maher Canawati told reporters this week.
“The wound of Gaza is our wound, the people of Gaza are our people.”
In Bethlehem, Palestinians said they were hopeful that Christmas and the new year would bring peace after two years of agony and pain.
“We are looking for hope,” said Diana Babush, a Palestinian in her 50s from Bethlehem.
“We are looking that, from this moment, peace will prevail.”
In contrast to the time before the war, there were no fireworks following the lighting of the Christmas tree.
“It’s scary because no one knows what will happen in the future. But we are hopeful,” said Bsoul from Haifa.
