As Christmas lights return to Bethlehem, Palestinians do not lose hope for peace and prosperity

(Patria) - A giant Christmas tree decorated with red and gold baubles stands in the city of Bethlehem in the West Bank for the first time since 2022, Reuters reported last night.

This Palestinian city, revered by Christians as the birthplace of Jesus, refrained from public Christmas celebrations over the past two years while war raged in Gaza.

But as the fragile ceasefire in Gaza enters its second month, the city held a ceremony on Saturday evening, lighting a twenty-metre tree at the edge of Manger Square.

Thousands of Palestinians from the West Bank and Israel filled the square, erupting in cheers as the tree lights were switched on just before 8 p.m.

A glimmer of joy

Israel's assault on Gaza has devastated the territory of about two million Palestinians. Last month, the reported death toll rose above 70,000.

The war began in October 2023 after a surprise attack on Israel by the Hamas group that governs Gaza, in which about 1,200 people were killed.

Although Gaza is about 60 kilometres from Bethlehem, the war has painfully affected Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Many have family and friends in Gaza, and the war has reduced tourism, on which Bethlehem's economy relies.

The past two years have been "like hell", said a souvenir shop owner in Bethlehem, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal from Israeli forces.

- We are trying to carry on - the shop owner said, describing the worsening economic situation and the tightening of Israeli restrictions on Palestinian movement in the West Bank.

Over the past two years, Israel has erected new military checkpoints across the territory, and some Palestinian communities have been effectively sealed off by gates and barricades.

Moreover, tens of thousands of Palestinians have been forced to leave their homes by Israeli forces, which have been conducting raids on towns in the northern West Bank since the beginning of the year.

Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire in October as part of a US plan to end the war. Although it is formally holding, Israel has repeatedly carried out airstrikes that it says repel attacks or destroy militant infrastructure.

Pain over the war in Gaza

- As Bethlehem lights its Christmas tree, the deep suffering endured by our people in Gaza does not leave our hearts. The wound of Gaza is our wound, the people of Gaza are our people.

The light of Christmas has no meaning unless it first touches the hearts of the suffering and oppressed throughout Palestine - Bethlehem Mayor Maher Canawati told reporters this week.

In Bethlehem, Palestinians said they hoped Christmas and the new year would bring peace after two years of what some described as agony and pain. They hoped Saturday's ceremony would bring a little joy to those suffering in Gaza.

- We are looking for hope. We hope that from this moment peace will prevail. We hope we can have peace and prosperity - said Diana Babush, a Palestinian woman in her fifties from Bethlehem.