{"id":54628,"date":"2025-12-07T17:59:14","date_gmt":"2025-12-07T17:59:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/54628\/"},"modified":"2025-12-07T17:59:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-07T17:59:14","slug":"bethlehem-christmas-tree-lit-for-first-time-since-gaza-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/54628\/","title":{"rendered":"Bethlehem Christmas tree lit for first time since Gaza war"},"content":{"rendered":"

Christmas cheer returned to Bethlehem on Saturday as the city lit its Christmas tree for the first time since the Gaza war began more than two years ago.\n<\/p>\n

According to AFP on Sunday, the decorated tree, positioned near the Church of the Nativity in Manger Square, drew thousands of visitors.
\n\"\"A Palestinian police officer from the K9 unit checks Christmas decorations before a Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Bethlehem, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on December 6, 2025. (Photo by HAZEM BADER \/ AFP)\n<\/p>\n

Its lights were switched on after a two-hour ceremony, prompting cheers from the crowd gathered under a cloudy, moonlit sky.\n<\/p>\n

It is the first major public Christmas celebration in Bethlehem since the October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza.<\/p>\n

Residents and visitors describing the event as a sign of resilience.
\n\"\"A man dressed as Santa Claus sells balloons near Nativity Square during a Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Bethlehem, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on December 6, 2025. (Photo by JOHN WESSELS \/ AFP)\n<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like a symbol for resilience,\u201d said 27-year-old Abeer Shtaya, who travelled from Salfit in the northern West Bank.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a message for the world that it\u2019s calm,\u201d Mike Shahen, 43, said at his ceramic store on the square, after a handful of visitors came in for purchases.<\/p>\n

Christians and Muslims attended the celebration, including visitors from the Palestinian territories, Israel and abroad.\n<\/p>\n

Nuns watched from rooftops as families gathered on balconies despite intermittent rain. <\/p>\n

\"\"Spectators gather on Nativity Square during a Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Bethlehem, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on December 6, 2025. (Photo by HAZEM BADER \/ AFP)<\/p>\n

\u201cThis event didn\u2019t happen for the last two years because of the war and it\u2019s quite emotional after two years of nothing but war and death,\u201d said 50-year-old Liyu Lu, who had travelled from northern Israel, close to the border with Lebanon.\n<\/p>\n

Bethlehem had restricted previous Christmas seasons to subdued observances due to the conflict. Pilgrims have only recently begun returning, though numbers remain low.
\n\"\"An aerial photograph shows people gathering in Nativity Square during a Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Bethlehem, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on December 6, 2025. (Photo by HAZEM BADER \/ AFP)\n<\/p>\n

Fabien Safar, director of Terra Dei, a pilgrimage organiser, said smaller groups are arriving and bookings for 2026 have begun. He expects a fuller recovery by 2027, depending on developments in Gaza and Lebanon.\n<\/p>\n

Despite a November 2024 ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, Israel has continued airstrikes in Lebanon, contributing to regional uncertainty. Safar said many pilgrims remain cautious because there is \u201cno official end to the war\u201d in Gaza.
\n\"\"An aerial photograph shows people gathering in Nativity Square during a Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Bethlehem, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on December 6, 2025. (Photo by HAZEM BADER \/ AFP)\n<\/p>\n

Tourism accounts for nearly all of Bethlehem\u2019s economy. Local businesses say the impact of the past two years has been severe.<\/p>\n

\u201cCovid was bad, but nothing like the last two years,\u201d Shahen said.
\n\"\"Children hold balloons in Nativity Square during a Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Bethlehem, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on December 6, 2025. (Photo by JOHN WESSELS \/ AFP)\n<\/p>\n

Travelling within the West Bank has also become more difficult since 2023, with long queues at Israeli checkpoints and rising violence in the territory, which Israel has occupied since 1967.
\n\"\"A scout musical band performs during a Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Bethlehem, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on December 6, 2025. (Photo by HAZEM BADER \/ AFP)\n<\/p>\n

The city\u2019s Christmas celebration comes amid a fragile truce between Israel and Hamas that began in October, though tensions and sporadic violence continue across the West Bank.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Christmas cheer returned to Bethlehem on Saturday as the city lit its Christmas tree for the first time…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":54629,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[153,155,154],"class_list":{"0":"post-54628","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bethlehem","8":"tag-bethlehem","9":"tag-bethlehem-headlines","10":"tag-bethlehem-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54628","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54628"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54628\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54629"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54628"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54628"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54628"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}