Holy Week arrives in a Jerusalem empty of tourists and marked by the war in Gaza

AND Holy Week and the Old City of Jerusalem It is practically empty due to the impact of the war on the Gaza strip: shops with few customers and few pilgrims, while Christian Palestinians, many residing in West Bankthey did not obtain permits to visit the holy city.

Some stores are closed, also because it is the month of Ramadan, and vendors leaf through the newspaper or drink coffee while shouting at the few tourists who walk down the street to buy them something.

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The war between Israel It is Hamas at the Gaza stripwhere around 32,500 Palestinians have died, has meant that Christian tourism and pilgrimages to the Holy Land, which have not fully recovered after the pandemic, have been reduced to a minimum.

“Our main objective is to regain the pilgrim’s trust. And that takes time.”explains to EFE Dolores Perezdirector of Israel National Tourist Office in Spain. Israel controls much of tourism in the Old City of Jerusalemlocated in the occupied eastern half of this city called to be the capital of an eventual Palestinian state.

In February, the last month for which there is data, 67,500 tourists arrived in Israel, 78% less than in the same period in 2023 and 80% less than in 2019, before the covid-19 pandemic.

During a recent mass in Holy Sepulcheronly a dozen tourists gathered at the religious benches, while a few steps further back a guard waited patiently inside the empty tomb of Jesus.

However, Pérez highlights that the prospects for the fall are better. “Reserves for the last quarter of 2024 are exponentially higher than those for Holy Week and even in the summer”, it says. His office is already working on plans for the Holy Week 2025. Meanwhile, the Spanish who want “experiencing the emotion where everything happened will connect you”streaming‘”.

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No queues or crowds

But for the few Christians who They decided to make the trip on these datesthe lack of crowds and lines to visit sacred sites more than makes up for the uncertainty.

“At the Holy Sepulcher we had a person in front of us” he says (with emphasis on the “one”) Seawho came with her husband to visit her son Sancho, a student at a university on the outskirts of Tel Aviv.

The woman admits that they thought about it a lot before coming, but once in the country they didn’t feel unsafe or have any problems getting around.

Something similar counts Marcos Peredadirector of Pilgrimages in The Haguewhich between March 4th and 11th organized the first collective pilgrimage of Spaniards since the beginning of the war.

Pereda highlights that even to cross Bethlehemwhich is located in territory administered by Palestinian authorityThey never had any problems.

“O Front desk that occurred both on the part of the Palestinians and the Israelis It’s been really good”guarantees, and recommends to anyone thinking of traveling to Jerusalem Do it now to take advantage of low prices and the absence of crowds.

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Pilgrims from Asia

Among the few pilgrims who dared to visit the city these days, the majority come from Asian countries, such as Philippines any Indonesia.

Carlosin Manila, had been planning the trip with his wife for some time, but the pandemic forced them to postpone it. When the war broke out they thought that if they didn’t do it now they would never come again, so they decided to take a chance and hired a guide along with a group of Filipinos.

The man was surprised by the city’s emptiness, but admits that it is very special to be able to visit sacred sites, such as the Painful way or the Holy Sepulcherwithout having to wait in lines.

But stop Hansthat came from Germany to visit friends, the lack of people on the streets reminds us of the painful situation that exists just a few kilometers away.

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A different reality

The tourists’ relief also contrasts with the difficulties of the vendors who fill the streets of the Christian Quarter.

“We opened the store because we were bored at home,” to confess Emad Sidawiwho runs a gift shop at number 16 in this neighborhood of Jerusalem’s old city.

The salesman explains that, after six months of war, they no longer believe in Europe, nor U.S, Neither does anyone. “We only believe in God“, ensures.

However, for Christian Palestinians in the West Bank busy who wants to celebrate Holy Weekthe Israeli Government has considerably reduced the number of special permits it grants to travel to Jerusalem At this time, Christian leaders denounced him without providing concrete data.

Source: Elcomercio

jack

I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.