In Bethlehem, Christmas celebrations make a comeback after pause in Gaza war

Canawati, the mayor, said 4,000 Palestinians have left Bethlehem since the war in Gaza began, citing a fall in tourism as well as the hardships endured under a tightening Israeli occupation. A lot more families are “really struggling” financially, Qumseih said, as the city is reliant on income from tourism and making wood-carved souvenirs.

Atrash, Qumseih’s husband, had worked in tourism until just a few years ago, when the double-barreled tragedies of Covid and the war kept millions of visitors away.

Tensions remain high across the West Bank, where attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians have reached their highest level since the United Nations humanitarian office started collecting data in 2006.

While the city is comparatively quiet, it feels like “a big jail,” Atrash said, citing Israeli checkpoints and soldiers restricting travel.

Israel has long argued its security presence in the West Bank is necessary to protect Israeli settlements there.

Israel’s government is dominated by far-right proponents of the settler movement; over the weekend, the Israeli Cabinet approved a plan for 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Meanwhile, there are questions over how long the ceasefire in Gaza will last, with a number of details critical to a second phase still uncertain as both sides accuse the other of failing to fully deliver on their commitments.

Sticking points include plans for the deployment of an international stabilization force in Gaza, a technocratic governing body, the disarmament of Hamas and further Israeli troop withdrawals from the territory.