Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateBETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) — Business is bouncing back in Bethlehem after two years in the doldrums during the coronavirus pandemic, lifting spirits in the traditional birthplace of Jesus ahead of the Christmas holiday. A giant Christmas tree sparkled in the adjacent Manger Square, and tourists packed into shops to buy olive wood crosses and other souvenirs. Christmas is normally peak season for tourism in Bethlehem, located in the Israeli-occupied West Bank just a few miles southeast of Jerusalem. The Israeli Tourism Ministry is expecting some 120,000 Christian tourists during the week of Christmas. Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war.

Source: Ethiopian News December 15, 2022 06:20 UTC