Israel announced on Friday that it was intensifying its strikes on Gaza, almost three weeks after the Hamas attack which sparked this war. One of the consequences of this conflict is also the putting on hold of religious tourism in the Holy Land, and particularly in Bethlehem.
In the occupied West Bank, the town of Bethlehem, where the Church of the Nativity is located, found itself cordoned off by the Israeli army from the afternoon of Saturday, October 7, when Israel decided to respond to attacks from Hamas carried out a few hours earlier. It is impossible to leave for Palestinian workers but also impossible to enter for groups of pilgrims. Since this war broke out, tourism has been at half mast in the Holy Land, particularly religious tourism.
HASDrawn by the cities of Jerusalem and Bethlehem, three million people visited Israel in the first nine months of the year according to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Suddenly everything stopped. In Bethlehem, the guides therefore find themselves unemployed. “I’ve never seen that. Here, at the Church of the Nativity, in general, it’s a four to five hour wait. There, I’m starting to realize that there is no “no one. Even during the “coronavirus”, there were more people”describes Frédéric, guide.
On the shop fronts, there are signs everywhere saying “closed”. This is also the case for many hotels and restaurants, although for the city’s traders, it must have been high season.
“Business? There is no business, zero”
Antonio, owner of a store outside Bethlehemat franceinfo
Just outside Bethlehem, Antonio runs a souvenir store. He sells rosaries, plates, photos of the Pope and all kinds of religious objects. Failing to welcome customers, he is currently doing some renovation work. “There are no tourists. Bethlehem depends 95% on pilgrims and tourism. It’s causing a lot of damage. We’re losing millions of dollars”estimates this trader.
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Next to the Omar mosque, Sayed has a travel agency in normal times: “We expected hundreds of thousands of people to visit the Holy Land. But one day we woke up to bad news: it’s war. The price to pay is too high now on both sides.”. This month, Sayed was to take care of 20 groups of pilgrims from Eastern Europe, notably from Romania, Poland, but also from the United States. All canceled after October 7.