CRI听力:Bethlehem Celebrates Christmas in Shadow of Occupation

At Manger Square in front of the Church of the Nativity, where Jesus is said to have been born, locals and visitors of many faiths are enjoying the festive holiday atmosphere.

"Actually we are Muslims, but we would like to see all the occasion here. My kids also like to see the tree each year. We wish that peace would come to the world and Palestine gets free…so many wishes."

Known to locals as the city of peace, Bethlehem is actually far from peaceful. Surrounded by Israeli settlements and a barrier wall, the people here are struggling.

Vera Baboun is the mayor of Bethlehem.

"We are celebrating today with a very critical situation in Palestine. Martyrs, injured, still remaining walls, checkpoints, and mostly, still the message of peace and the political solution of justice and peace is so away from the horizon. As long as the city of peace, the city of Bethlehem is walled, peace is walled. Liberate peace, unwall peace, in order to live peace."

Despite the increasing number of visitors coming to Bethlehem, it is not easy for locals to benefit from tourism.

Nabil Giacaman is the owner of a souvenir shop at Manger Square and says business has been bad this year, even on Christmas Eve.

"I don't have a lot of sales. It's a very bad day. As you can see it's empty, no one around. Tour guides and bus drivers keep controlling tourists, no free time for them to go around. Second reason you are talking about the political situation that's going on at the moment, even if it's not that dangerous in Bethlehem. Inside Bethlehem you can see we are celebrating, it's very safe."

Tensions have been mounting in Israel and the Palestinian territories for about three months. Since the beginning of October, fierce clashes have resulted in the deaths of more than 20 Israelis and more than 130 Palestinians.

Rula Ma'ayah, Palestinian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, says many people have delayed visits to Palestinian territories out of fear. And as the Israeli occupation hinders Palestinians from developing tourism, she hopes tourists who do arrive can stay for a longer time.

"We want the tourists to see as much as possible and to get to know also the Palestinians. When they stay in Palestine, they can walk in the street in the evening after they finish their schedule, see all the souvenir shops, everything they want and they need, this will help to overcome the problem."

Despite the difficulties, Christmas is celebrated, and many tourists say they wish to come again for a deeper visit.

"It's very nice. We went to church service earlier, to the mosque. It's like connected to the place. There's a nice energy. It's very exciting. It's much nicer than I expected. It could be very interesting to go on a tour and see some of the other things that normally you wouldn't just know by walking around."

For CRI, I'm Luo Bin.