Christmas celebrations return to Bethlehem after 2 years of war in Gaza

Authorities cancelled major Christmas celebrations during Israel’s offensive

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For the past two Christmases, John Juka’s family restaurant looked about the same as any business in Bethlehem: shuttered and eerily empty.

But on Saturday evening, it bustled with families and was lit by strings of red lights, a hopeful change in the Palestinian city that’s been reeling since war broke out in Gaza.

Christmas celebrations are slowly returning to the traditional birthplace of Jesus in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

While a shaky ceasefire holds in Gaza, Palestinians hope the festivities are a step toward a more peaceful future in a region shaken by tragedy.