Christmas returns to Bethlehem after two-year pause, with ‘half joy, half sadness’
Bethlehem, occupied West Bank: Christmas celebrations returned to Bethlehem after a two-year suspension, on Wednesday evening. Scout troupes marched through Manger Square and surrounding streets, with carols, drums and brass music, blending Christian tradition with Palestinian cultural identity.
The gathering on Christmas Eve drew around 1,500 people, including local residents, Palestinians from across the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and foreign visitors. For many, the revival of public celebrations carried deep emotional weight in a city revered as the birthplace of Jesus, after two years in which festivities were halted in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
Among those present was Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, the highest-ranking Catholic cleric in Palestine. Addressing the crowd, he said Bethlehem had chosen to be a symbol of hope for the world. Referring to his recent visit to Gaza, Pizzaballa recalled witnessing widespread destruction alongside a strong will to live and said Palestinians would rebuild and celebrate again despite devastation.
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Israeli military raids and checkpoints remained in place across the occupied West Bank. Israeli forces arrested three young men from the Dheisheh and Aida refugee camps near Bethlehem just hours before the festivities began.
George Zalloum, a Palestinian Christian from occupied East Jerusalem, said the atmosphere carried both celebration and sorrow. He noted that people in Gaza continues to die, but expressed his hope that the war would end and peace would return to the Holy Land.
According to a BBC report, several visitors said they waited for hours at Israeli checkpoints despite living relatively close to the city. Hussam Zraiqat, who travelled from Birzeit near Ramallah, said the journey was difficult due to prolonged delays. Ghassan Rizqallah from the village of Jifna described waiting more than an hour and a half before being allowed to enter.
Rizqallah told BBC, watching the scout bands and hearing traditional music revived memories of Palestine’s past and reinforced the belief that its people deserved safety and peace.
BBC quoted Bethlehem’s mayor, Maher Canawati, saying that celebrations carried a message beyond the city, describing them as a statement of steadfastness and hope for Bethlehem, Gaza and all Palestinians. He said the event conveyed to the world that Palestinians value life and peace and remain rooted in their land.
Bethlehem’s hotels, many of which had been closed for nearly two years, reopened to receive visitors. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism, hotel occupancy had remained at about 25 percent for much of the year. Elias al-Arja, head of the Palestinian Hotel Association, said losses had reached around $300m, but occupancy rose to 80 percent during the Christmas period, with roughly 8,000 visitors arriving, including Palestinian citizens of Israel and tourists from Europe and the United States.
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Some visitors came specifically to witness the celebrations. Dwayne Jefferson, who travelled from North Carolina in the United States, said the return of Christmas in Bethlehem offered hope that normal life could resume across the region. Jean Charles, visiting from Italy for the first time, described the celebrations as meaningful for all Palestinians, noting the presence of both Christians and Muslims in the square.
For local businesses around Manger Square, the day offered cautious optimism rather than recovery. George Ejha, owner of St Georges Restaurant, said activity had improved compared to recent months but remained far below pre-war levels. Souvenir shop owner Jack Jaqman told BBC, visitor numbers were still insufficient to revive the economy fully, though the celebrations showed Bethlehem’s readiness to welcome pilgrims and tourists again.
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PM's silence on Kharge's insult by Himanta is his consent: Rahul
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said the use of "derogatory language" against party chief Mallikarjun Kharge by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma is an insult to the entire SC/ST community, and the silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the matter "is not his helplessness, but his consent".
"If the prime minister sees an attack on the dignity of crores of Dalits in the country and does not speak up - he is not only shirking his responsibility, but is also a party to that insult," Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on X.
Gandhi said the use of "vulgar and derogatory language" by Sarma against Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Kharge "is entirely condemnable, shameful, and unacceptable".
"Kharge ji is a senior and popular Dalit leader of the country - his experience, stature, and prestige are unparalleled. Insulting him is not an insult to one individual alone, but also to crores of people from the SC-ST community in this country," he posted.
This, he said, just reflected the "old and premeditated mindset" of the BJP-RSS and was nothing new, the leader of opposition in Lok Sabha said.
"Whether it is the insult to Babasaheb Ambedkar, belittling Dalit leaders, or personal attacks on representatives of the SC-ST community - the history of BJP and RSS bears witness that whenever a Dalit leader speaks the truth, they stoop to humiliate him," he posted.
"This is their ideology, this is their true character and face," he added.
Posing a direct question to the PM, he asked, "do you support Himanta Sarma's use of this language? Your silence is not helplessness, it is consent."
Sarma earlier hit out at Kharge, claiming that he was "speaking like a madman" due to old age, after the latter put the onus on central agencies to probe the charges made against the Assam chief minister.
Slamming the Congress chief, Sarma said, "Kharge is ageing and is speaking like a pagal (madman)."
