After nearly two years of inactivity, the 228 rooms at the Ararat Hotel in Bethlehem were cleaned last month in anticipation of a reservation exploding in the post-Christmas period, but hopes were dashed again by the coronavirus.
The large Christmas tree and the festive decoration were not enough to brighten with their presence its imposing marble entrance.
Like other hotels in Bethlehem, “Ararat” has no tenants and the Christmas tree sets the mood for only seven of its 105 employees who have not been fired.
“We expected to be 70% full by Christmas but all bookings from abroad were canceled,” said the hotel’s manager, Augustin Somali.
The people of Bethlehem, the Palestinian city located in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and considered the birthplace of Jesus, according to Christian tradition, are accustomed to receiving crowds of tourists every December.
After an almost universal lockdown last year, Bethlehem began to look forward to a Merry Christmas when Israel, which controls all access points to the city, announced in October that it would reopen and allow foreign tourists to enter again. November 1st.
But less than a month later, just as hotels were being refurbished and businesses were replenishing their stocks in anticipation of the holiday season, Israel closed again.
The first case of Omicron, the highly contagious variant of the coronavirus that was first identified in South Africa on November 24, was detected in Israel and foreign tourists were barred from entering.
The only thing Somali can hope for now are a few local tourists and the Christmas weekend bookings are just 12.
The hotel manager is closely monitoring developments in Israel in the hope that a re-opening for tourists will save the business, but Israeli media have reported that with Omicron appearing in much of the West, the government is considering tightening and not the relaxation of restrictions.
While Israeli hoteliers have been compensated by the Jewish state, the same is not true for their Palestinian counterparts, and Somali says his livelihood depends on the policies of a government in a country where it cannot vote.
A customer
Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, more than three million people visited Bethlehem each year.
More than 20% of the city’s population is employed in the tourism sector, but the unemployment rate rose from 23% to 35% during the pandemic.
The Palestinian Authority, the political authority that governs the West Bank, is experiencing an economic crisis and has compensated those who worked in the severely affected tourism sector in Bethlehem with an aid of 199 euros.
“There is no work,” Abram Sahin sits outside his pottery shop next to the Temple of the Nativity, where Jesus is believed to have been born, he told AFP.
“I open my shop, drink a coffee and return home,” he notes, smoking his cigarette.
As Sahin explains, Bethlehem became the first Palestinian city to enter a lockdown in March 2020, and since then he has had only one customer – a Frenchwoman, who bought ceramics worth 20 euros – his total income from his business. so far from the beginning of the pandemic.
“These used to be pocket money for me,” he says, explaining that he smokes three packs of cigarettes a day, which cost him about 24 euros.
Like many tourist shops in Bethlehem, Sahin sells old merchandise. “I did not order anything new, there is no market, there is no demand.”
At the store next door, which sells pictures of olive wood, Nadia Hazbun says shops specializing in handmade wood and mother-of-pearl in the city have completely stopped working.
“Many have sold their businesses,” says Nadia, adding that since there is no government assistance, landlords and employees are facing debts and lawsuits.
“Two years ago Bethlehem was a capital city. I usually closed the store at 9pm and now it is completely destroyed. This lockdown is a disaster.”
Bethlehem has survived two crises – mainly the episodes caused by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which have also hit tourism – and Somali says the only thing that saves the people is hope.
Asked if he hopes for anything next Christmas, he replies: “Next Christmas? I hope for Easter”.
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