The negative repercussions of the American decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel left an impact on the whole Palestinian arena casting a dark shadow on the Christians in Palestine.
The city of Bethlehem – the cradle of Jesus the son of Mary peace be upon him – is preparing to celebrate the birthday of Jesus on December 24-25 as the city used to be full of Palestinian and foreign visitors days before the start of the Christmas celebrations. But a week before Christmas the city is almost empty of tourists because of the tense situation as clashes continue to take place between Palestinian youths and the Israeli occupation forces.
Turning off the lights of the Christmas tree
The courtyard of the Church of Nativity was deserted where a scene of Jesus’s birth and a large list of visitors were placed. Only a few Palestinians were present taking pictures and some street vendors selling Santa Claus hats and other goods.
On the eve of the announcement by US President Donald Trump of his decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel the municipality of Bethlehem turned off the lights of the Christmas tree to protest the decision.
Antoine Salman the mayor of Bethlehem said: “The American decision is unjust illegal and undermines the rights of the Palestinian people” adding “Today is a sad day” noting “As an expression of protest we turned off the lights that decorate the Christmas tree in the courtyard of the Church of Nativity.”
Aghlab Khoury a member of the Council of the Orthodox Center told the PIC that “Trump decision had repercussions on the whole country” calling the decision ‘racist.’
Damaging tourism
The Trump decision not only stopped the joy of Christmas but it also extended to spreading sadness and mourning and it even negatively impacted the Palestinian economy. The West Bank cities especially Bethlehem have seen unprecedented numbers of tourists during past Christian holidays. However this year witnessed an unprecedented decline in the number of tourists.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism the number of tourists who visited Bethlehem last Christmas was about 10000 tourists while this year according to experts the number is expected to reach only half of that as a large number of bookings have been canceled.
Christians from all over the world visit the city of Bethlehem in late December to celebrate Christmas and visit the Church of the Nativity which was built above a cave where Mariam Bint Imran (Mary) is believed to have given birth to her child Jesus.
The peak of celebrations is on the eve of 24 and 25 December (according to the Western calendar) with the “Midnight Mass Service” which is attended by thousands of Christian pilgrims.
In this context Khoury stressed to the PIC that the Trump decision increased the tension in the region calling for adopting a unified Palestinian position to confront this decision. He said: “The Palestinian issue is going through a critical period and we will send a cry out from various Christian groups to declare our condemnation and protest against this decision.”
According to the mayor of Bethlehem the Israeli authorities prevented buses and tour guides from entering the city claiming it to be ‘unsafe’ stressing that this has cast a shadow on tourism.
He added “There are expectations of big losses for hotels restaurants shops selling religious artifacts and others” adding “Every year the city yearns for the Christmas season.”
Tension prevails in all provinces of Palestine following the announcement of the US President Donald Trump on December 6 in which he declared his country’s official recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
