
Christmas decorations and pilgrims have been notably absent for a second wartime festive season in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city with the Church of the Nativity that dominates the main square as empty as the plaza outside.
- “Normally on this day you would find 3,000 or 4,000 people inside the church,” Mohammed Sabeh, a security guard for the church, was quoted as saying by the AFP news agency.
- “Christians in Ramallah can’t come because there are checkpoints,” Sabeh said, complaining that Israeli soldiers “treat us badly”, leading to long traffic queues for those trying to visit from the city 22km (14 miles) away.
Anton Salman, Bethlehem’s mayor, told AFP that on top of existing checkpoints, the Israeli army had set up new roadblocks around Bethlehem, creating “an obstacle” for those wanting to visit.
- Souad Handal, a 55-year-old tour guide from Bethlehem told the agency: “Bethlehem is special at Christmas. It is so special in the Holy Land. Jesus was born here.”
- “It is so bad (now) because the economy of Bethlehem, it depends on tourism,” Handal added.
Source: Al Jazeera