BETHLEHEM: Dark clouds hang over the little town of Bethlehem and a cold winter wind blows through the deserted Manger Square, the birthplace of Jesus Christ.
“It will be a sad Christmas,” said Hana Nasser, the Christian mayor of Bethlehem. “We don’t even want to talk about celebrating it”.
Nasser has called off all festivities in protest at the Israeli occupation of Bethlehem. No Christmas tree stands on Manger Square and no twinkling lights or decorations have been put up.
The streets will stay dark and silent on the holy night of Christmas Eve. The street lights still have not been repaired after they were knocked down by Israeli tanks when they entered the town in April.
“This year, we will be singing ‘Stormy Night, Holy Night’,” the mayor said bitterly. “Bethlehem has never experienced such a terrible Christmas.”
The small town, which only has around 10,000 Christians, has spent more than four months under Israeli occupation this year.
In April, Israeli forces besieged the Church of the Nativity for weeks after militant Palestinians sought sanctuary among devout Christians and civilians. In the heavy fighting that followed, tank artillery destroyed many new buildings and hotels.
Six weeks after the Israeli army withdrawal at the beginning of May, the soldiers took the town again — this time for two months. On Nov 22, tanks entered the town again.
Each period of occupation was preceded by Palestinian terror attacks which claimed dozens of victims in Israel.
The army has kept an iron grip on the town since it took over. “Unlike what the government has said abroad, the troops have still not withdrawn,” said Mayor Nasser. “Tanks still come through the city even into Manger Square”.
A curfew can be imposed temporarily but stay in place for days. “Anyone who violates it puts their life at risk,” said Mitri Raheb, the pastor of the Christmas church.
The occupation has ruined his plans for Christmas. “We wanted to open a new international conference and meeting centre but the occupation meant that was delayed,” he said.
The church also wanted to look after the many poverty-stricken members of the Protestant community. “We wanted to visit 30 poor families in the next few days and we had planned a large gift-giving campaign for children. But that is not possible now,” he said.
Poverty is particularly high among Bethlehem’s Christians and the community also has unproportionally high unemployment.
“Sixty-five per cent of Bethlehem’s income comes from tourism and that has been dead since the Intifada started 27 months ago,” said Nasser.
“Ninety-six per cent of businesses are in Christian hands — hotels restaurants, souvenir shops, and of course tour guides are all Christian”.
Around 1,500 Christians from the three small towns in the area — Bethlehem, Beit Sahur and Beit Jalla — have packed up and left because of the bleak situation. They do not want to spend another hopeless Christmas in Bethlehem.
But for many Christians, Christmas in Bethlehem is much more than a Christian festival. “Christian is a national celebration for all Bethlehem Palestinians,” said one Christian, Abir Sansur.
She has called for an open boycott and a campaign of civil disobedience against the hated occupiers.
“We will not show the world a festive Bethlehem,” she said. Instead people should come to Manger Square to protest. For two hours all the lights in the city should go out.
Joseph Taliyeh, who lives next to the square with his family, is also opposed to any celebration. His 16-year-old son was killed by Israeli soldiers on Manger Square last year. He doesn’t even want to celebrate at home.
“Celebrations are for happy people. We have no reason to celebrate. This year there isn’t even a Christmas cake. My daughter wants new clothes but we can’t afford them.
“In protest against Israel, we won’t go to Mass, even if they lift the curfew. We don’t trust the Israelis. We will stay at home and pray”.—dpa
