BETHLEHEM/JERUSALEM, Dec 25: Middle East politics weighed heavily in the background even though Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, registered its highest turnout in decades on Christmas Eve, bringing cheer among the locals who are heavily reliant on tourists for their livelihood.
Israel refused to grant entry passes to tourism ministers from Qatar and Tunisia leading to the cancellation of planned visits of ministers from Egypt and Bahrain as well.
Only Egypt among the four Arab countries has diplomatic ties with the Jewish state.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) also failed to rise above politics and expelled Israeli journalists from Bethlehem in “reciprocal” measures at the demand of Palestinian journalists who had complained of similar treatment by Israel.
Meanwhile, ignoring renewed violence in the region in which an Israeli and a 3-year-old Palestinian girl have been killed, thousands of Christian pilgrims from around the world packed the famous Manger Square in Bethlehem in the West Bank.
Fireworks ignited the sky as tourists and locals jostled for space at the Manger Square quite early last evening, the centre of activities, and vendors tried to sale peanuts, inflatable Santas, toys and strong Arabic coffee.
The traditional march by bagpipe-wielding boy scouts kicked off the celebrations as musical groups from around the world prepared to sing carols later in the evening.
The heavy turnout, by Palestinian estimates the highest since the end of the Palestinian uprising, the Second Intifada, in 2005 during which revenues from tourism had completely dried out, lifted the spirits among locals.
“All the hotels were sold out a long time ago and we focused on providing the best of facilities to the tourists to attract more pilgrims. This time there were no worries if the rooms would go vacant, or if it would be foolish to hire staff at full strength. We are really happy and hope people realise it is safe to come to Bethlehem,” Farid Zachariah, a hotelier, told reporters.
“I don’t remember being so busy in the last decade. I have been working 14 hours a day for the past one week,” said Jalal, a cab driver.
Bethlehem, considered Jerusalem’s twin city, had seen many Christians emigrate during a wave of spiralling violence and later due to hardships created by a concrete separation barrier built by Israel to prevent suicide attacks inside its territory. (AGENCIES)
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