Preparations are fixed for Christmas in Bethlehem, days before December 25.
Tens of thousands of visitors and tourists are expected in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, on Christmas Day.
Days before the celebration, preparations are in full swing in Bethlehem.
Bethlehem shops, hotels and church officials are getting ready as they are bracing for more visitors than 2015, when violence put a damper on celebrations.
At the Manger Square next to the Church of the Nativity, the annual giant Christmas tree is already in place.
It is covered in gold ornaments and sat on the church, built on the site where Christians believe Jesus was born.
On Wednesday, a handful of Palestinians could be seen taking pictures near the tree while a number of tourists were walking around the city of Bethlehem.
As we know, the city is located a short drive from Jerusalem in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Celebrations in Bethlehem will end with the conduct of midnight mass on Christmas eve, December 24 in the Church of the Nativity.
However, tens of thousands of tourists are expected to visit sites including Bethlehem, Jerusalem and Nazareth over the holidays, even beyond that date.
According to the tourism ministry of Israel, some 120,000 visitors were expected in December, half of them Christians, after the violence which happened last year.
The hotels in Bethlehem booked now, and the Palestinian officials said they were expecting more visitors than last year.
“There is more stability this year and the numbers coming out of the tourism ministry are showing that there will be growth between 2015 and 2016,” said Sami Khoury, who runs the Visit Palestine online tourism portal.
“There are more bookings this year. A lot of people are coming this month and the hotels are booked.”
Khoury, however, was not able to provide specific figures to be elaborated.
After a wave of violence and protests that erupted in October 2015 that sharply reduced visits for Christmas, there is more optimism this year in Israel and the West Bank to encourage more tourists.
Last year, violence included saw knife, gun and car-ramming attacks by Palestinians targeting Israelis.
To recall, many of the Palestinian assailants were killed by Israeli forces while others were shot dead during clashes and protests in the area.
Fortunately, the violence has greatly subsided in recent months, though tourists will still have to cross Israel’s West Bank separation barrier in order to reach Bethlehem.
Israel has occupied the West Bank for nearly 50 years.
