No room at the inn as Bethlehem booms for Christmas (Feature)

By Jeff Abramowitz and Sara Lemel Dec 19, 2010, 10:52 GMT

Bethlehem, West Bank - It's Christmas time in the West Bank town of Bethlehem and once again there's no room at the inn.

The little town is packed to overflowing, a reflection of a new tourism boom which is defying the continuing Israeli occupation of the West Bank.

'You won't find a room in Bethlehem,' says George Saadeh, Bethlehem's deputy mayor.

With Christmas only a few days away, the city is already dressed in its festive clothes. Green garlands hang above the narrow streets and silver stars are fixed to the walls.

The giant Christmas tree has already been placed in Manger Square, outside the Church of the Nativity, which marks the spot where tradition has it that Jesus was born.

Nearby, shopkeepers hawk their wares - traditional souvenirs from the Holy Land, including olive wood-carved Madonnas and Manger tableaus.

Sellers also stand outside the stores, insistent, imploring.

'Please help me feed my family,' one man pleads, refusing to take 'no' for an answer.

The Palestinian Authority estimates that by year's end, up to 2 million visitors will have passed through the biblical city.

Moreover, about half of them will have stayed in the city and eaten at its restaurants and cafes, thus aiding the local economy.

Despite its enduring centrality to Christianity, Bethlehem is actually very small, with a population of about 28,000 people, only 27 per cent of whom are Christians.

But the city now has 31 hotels, a five-fold increase from 1995, and more are being built.

The West Bank has undergone something of an economic boom in recent months, but not everyone has been affected. Small children with hands outstretched dog the heels of visitors and residents of Bethlehem continue to be affected by the Israeli occupation.

Saadeh describes his city, a large part of which is surrounded by a high concrete wall, as 'an open prison.'

Israel built the wall - part of its controversial West Bank barrier - following a spate a suicide bombings in its cities by militants from the West Bank.

The grafitti and slogans painted on the wall bear eloquent - and not so eloquent - testimony to the ways locals feel about it.

But, says Khouloud Daibas, Palestinian Minister of Tourism, once you cross the wall into Bethlehem, you are in for 'a very unique experience.'

Although thousands have emigrated in the last decade - for economic reasons, because of growing pressure from radical Islamists, and because of the Israeli occupation - Daibas insists that Christians are an integral part of Palestinian society and Christmas in Jesus' birthplace is 'a source of joy and pride.'

'It started here, but it is still very challenging to promote tourism to Palestine,' she says.

For her, tourism could be a major tool to promote peace. 'There is great potential, but it is still untapped,' she notes, pointing out the interest in the city in Arab countries.

'Imagine Bethlehem if Bethlehem were open, free!' she enthuses.

For local residents, that cannot happen soon enough.

'Hopefully next Christmas we will be celebrating without occupation,' says Bethlehem Governor Abdel Fatah Hamayel as he stands in the shadow of the wall.

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