BETHLEHEM, VESTBREDDEN (Dagbladet): Strings of lights and stars should have been attached to the wires hanging over the square, and in the middle of the square tens of thousands of pilgrims and tourists should have said “good day” to a green and sparkling tree.
There should have been a market in the square, not cars, and on the surrounding facades there should have been decorations full of light and colour.
But not this year.
2023 years after a child was born in Bethlehem, the town’s traditional Christmas celebration has been canceled – almost for the first time.
– The disaster is obvious, so I think people will understand. Many would probably have been ashamed if we had just pretended it was nothing, says Rami Asakrief, the Catholic vicar in Bethlehem, to Dagbladet.
Shadows over everything
In solidarity with the enormous death toll in the Gaza Strip, the local authorities in Bethlehem have chosen not to mark Christmas in public spaces. The authorities have also taken down a number of light decorations that were put up earlier in October.
Now only the wires that stretch across the square outside the Church of the Nativity remain.
The mayor of Bethlehem did not have the opportunity to comment on the case, but announced that the authorities will make a longer statement about the situation in December.
PARISH PRIEST: Rami Asakrieh from Jordan is a parish priest for the Catholic church in Bethlehem, and resides in the Franciscan monastery inside the Church of the Nativity. Photo: Hans Arne Vedlog / Dagbladet Show more
The war between Israel and Hamas has claimed a five-figure number of lives in the Gaza Strip. Even with a conservative estimate of around 10,000, the death toll is historically high.
A four-day ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas came into force on Friday last week. It was initially extended, but collapsed on Friday morning.
When Dagbladet visited Israel earlier this week, you could no longer hear Israeli fighter jets in the air or the sound of artillery fire in the border areas of the Gaza Strip. But the war was in any case overwhelming in the West Bank – and in particular Bethlehem.
BIRTHPLACE OF JESUS: At this place, according to tradition, Jesus is said to have been born. People usually queue for several hours at this time of year to visit the Church of the Nativity. Now there is no one here. Photo: Hans Arne Vedlog / Dagbladet Show more
– A ghost town now
Only one checkpoint into the Palestinian city is open, and only for half the day. Roads that were previously open to the city are now physically closed – some with boulders.
By comparison, it is easier to visit Rachel’s tomb, a holy place for both Muslims, Christians and Jews, from Israel.
The grave for it the biblical matriarch Rachel is located in an area of Bethlehem Israel has practically annexed, and built a reinforced concrete wall around. The wall runs right through Bethlehem, the historic city that Christian pilgrims and tourists make pilgrimages to at this time of year.
But since October 7, the day Hamas attacked Israel, it has been quiet here.
– After 5 p.m. this is a ghost town now, says Issa Thaljieh, vicar of the Greek Orthodox congregation in Bethlehem.
Both Talijeh and the Catholic priest Asakrieh can hold services several times a day. From October to January these are usually full, and the waiting time to see Jesus’ birthplace inside the Church of the Nativity can be several hours.
Now the vicars in practice hold services for themselves – and the security guards in the church.
GREEK ORTHODOX: Issa Thaljieh is vicar of the Greek Orthodox congregation in Bethlehem. Photo: Hans Arne Vedlog / Dagbladet Show more
Not a house in Bethlehem
Up the narrow streets from the square outside the Church of the Nativity, many shops are closed. Those who are open have barely seen customers since Saturday 7 October.
– It is this time of year that we live for and for. Usually 300, 400 buses with tourists come here every day from October and November. Now nobody comes, says Aboud Suboh (31), who runs a shop not far from the square.
There are also no rooms in Bethlehem, because almost all the hotels have closed.
The absence of visitors is not the only consequence of the war.
At least 230 killed
Every day, the Israeli military (IDF) carries out various operations in the West Bank.
At least 230 Palestinians have reportedly been killed by Israeli settlers and the IDF since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, according to the Palestinian Authority.
In all of 2022, the IDF will have killed 151 Palestinians in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, according to Amnesty.
NO CUSTOMERS: Shop owner Aboud Suboh (31) has had hardly any customers since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out. Photo: Hans Arne Vedlog / Dagbladet Show more
Shop owner Suboh (31) shows Dagbladet a video he himself claims to have taken from the night before.
– Every night the IDF comes here and arrests people. Last night I woke up just after midnight to loud noises coming from outside. I looked out the window and saw lots of soldiers. They treat us like animals, says the 31-year-old.
In Amnesty’s annual report for 2022 states the human rights organization that the IDF regularly “subjects Palestinian prisoners to torture and other ill-treatment”.
“GHOST TOWN”: The priest Issa Thaljieh describes Bethlehem as a ghost town. Photo: Hans Arne Vedlog / Dagbladet Show more
“This must end”
Not since the Yom Kippur War in 1973 will the Christmas celebration in Bethlehem be as dull as it will be this year, locals tell Dagbladet.
Because even during the corona pandemic there were some decorations outside the Church of the Nativity.
– In a city like Bethlehem, which is so dependent on tourism, you can imagine how disastrous the consequences of this war are. First corona, then this. You can imagine how desperate people are getting, says Catholic parish priest Rami Asakrieh.
There is still nothing compared to the disaster unfolding in the Gaza Strip, he clarifies.
– This must end. Every child of God, be they Israelis or Palestinians, must be allowed to live with dignity, says the vicar.
– Need freedom
The Catholic priest is supported by his colleague, the Greek Orthodox priest Issa Thaljieh, who also attends the Church of the Nativity.
– The Palestinian people need freedom, peace and dignity – just like everyone else. We must all live in peace and with love. And right here, at the birthplace of Jesus, it is absolutely right to spread exactly that message, says Thalijeh.
He himself was born and raised in Bethlehem, and describes the situation as difficult.
NO QUEUES: Down these stairs, to the birthplace of Jesus, there should really have been long queues. Not this year. Photo: Hans Arne Vedlog / Dagbladet Show more
But even though it will not look like Christmas in Bethlehem this year, the holiday will still be marked as usual inside the church.
Both on 24 December, when the Catholic Church marks Christmas, and on 6 January, when the Greek Orthodox Church marks Christmas.
– Even though our hearts are broken, we will go in the same processions, deliver the same sermons and follow the same theology this year as in all years, says Thalijeh.
2023-12-03 11:50:38
#Cancels #Christmas #Bethlehem
