The war in Gaza on Sunday claimed another symbolic victim: the annual children’s joy parade that marches through Bethlehem.
With Christmas celebrations in Jesus’ birthplace canceled due to conflict, video of this year’s once-raucous holiday parade featuring the Boy and Girl Scouts shows children completely calm as they walk across Bethlehem, or Beit Lechem, which is located in now known as Israel. -occupied the West Bank, carrying banners calling for peace.
A group of Palestinian Girl Scouts can be seen with banners reading, “We want life not death,” and “Peace for Gaza and its people.”
Instead of being greeted by countless spectators as in previous years, only photographers and guards could be seen on the streets with the scouts.
The children’s procession is part of the famous Patriarch’s Procession, which leads the Roman Catholic patriarch’s journey from Jerusalem to Bethlehem to imitate the procession made by Joseph and Mary on Christmas Eve.
The Bethlehem procession includes the arrival of the patriarch at the Church of the Nativity, where the Christmas installation is now covered with a tarp and surrounded by rubble and razor wire.
Palestinian scouts participate in a silent march in Bethlehem holding banners calling for peace in Gaza. AFP via Getty Images The procession took place in silence, without instruments or music, unlike in previous years. AFP via Getty Images
The solemn celebration in Bethlehem is just the latest blow to a city that normally sees tens of thousands of visitors from around the world throughout the year.
The religious hub is now struggling to keep its economy afloat amid the Israel-Hamas war, which has led to a new wave of violent incidents along the West Bank.
Bethlehem Mayor Hanna Hanania, who boasts that the city sees at least 1.5 million visitors each year, said tourism has come to a complete halt since the war began, the New York Times said.
The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, welcomed the scouts and officials who joined the relaxed holiday celebration. AFP via Getty Images The scouts’ procession is part of the famous Patriarch’s Procession, which replicates the journey of Joseph and Mary from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. AFP via Getty Images
The lack of tourists has hurt local businesses, with hotel manager Rony Fakhouri, 27, telling the Times that the Dar Al Majus hotel is down about 100,000 shekels, or $27,000.
He added that while the guest house usually sees at least 200 people stay over the holidays, it has only had 12 guests since the war began.
The drop in visitors also caused Fakhouri to lose his second job as a night shift duty manager at another hotel, something that did not happen during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A Christmas installation outside the Church of the Nativity features a hooded figure standing in rubble surrounded by razor wire. Reuters
Jack Issa Juqman, 52, who has been making wooden statues and carvings of Jesus since he was a teenager, has seen similar effects in the shop his family has run for about 200 years.
“We have already had to let go of nine workers,” Juqman told Al Jazeera of his once-busy workshop.
The Palestinian Ministry of Tourism, which oversees events in Bethlehem, estimates that the economy will take a hit of about $200 million this year, with at least 60% of the losses directly affecting Bethlehem.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
