Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus Christ, has cancelled Christmas celebrations, the Times of Israel has reported.
Christmas is traditionally a boom time in Bethlehem, which is located on the West Bank in Palestine.
Usually, crowds of tourists and pilgrims throng the streets, keen to visit where Jesus is said to have been born.
According to the reports, the roads and shops are shut, Market Square is empty, and the town centre will be silent.
The Church of the Nativity, built on the spot where Mary is believed to have laid her firstborn among the animals in the stable, is usually busy with visitors by now. Not this year.
So why is Bethlehem cancelling Christmas?
Reasons
One of the reasons why Bethlehem is cancelling Christmas is business.
Pilgrims from around the world are staying away, unwilling to risk being caught in the conflict between Palestine and Israel in Gaza, signalling a possible business downturn during the festive period.
The war broke out on 7 October between Israel and the Hamas group in Gaza.
But there is more to the town’s decision to cancel Christmas.
The Church leaders and the city council in Bethlehem decided in November to abandon festive celebrations as a mark of solidarity with the people of Gaza.
Many people living in Bethlehem have links to Gaza through family, whether they are Muslim or Palestinian Christians.
READ ALSO: Was Jesus really born in Bethlehem? Why the Gospels disagree on Christ’s birth
There has also been a surge in violence in the West Bank since the outbreak of conflict in Gaza.
Mitri Raheb, the rector of Dar al-Kalima University in Bethlehem, an arts and culture college, described the cancellation of Christmas as “a sign of mourning for the thousands of civilians murdered in Gaza”.
He highlighted parallels between the recent war and when Jesus was born.
He said, “The Christmas story is a Palestinian story par excellence. It talks of a family from Nazareth whom the Roman Empire forced to evacuate from the north of Palestine to the south, to Bethlehem. Jesus was born to this displaced family.
“There was no place for him at the inn, so he was born in a manger. The situation in Palestine and the Roman occupation 2,000 years ago was difficult. King Herod ordered the massacre of all the children in the Bethlehem area. Over 8,000 children have been murdered in the Israeli airstrikes in Gaza within five weeks.”
According to a report from the Gaza Ministry of Health estimates, at least 18,000 people have been killed in Gaza since October, including 8,000 children.
Economic impact
The impact of the conflict on the Bethlehem economy is enormous. Even before the church leaders and city council officials cancelled the festivities, many pilgrims stayed away from Bethlehem.
Hotels, restaurants, and shops typically are busy at this time of year, but not this year.
While the churches of Bethlehem have cancelled their celebrations, they are open only for prayers and services; one church has created a nativity display showing baby Jesus in a manger surrounded by bomb site rubble.
Munther Isaac, the pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church, said, “If Christ were to be born today, he would be born under the rubble and Israeli shelling. We send this powerful message to the world celebrating the holidays.”
He told Al Jazeera, “Bethlehem is sad and broken. We are all in pain about what is happening in Gaza, feeling helpless and overwhelmed by our inability to offer anything.”
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