Tourism to Bethlehem, Israel — ordinarily a bustling attraction during the Christmas season — is far below normal after a year of battle between Israelis and Palestinians. "Tourism is the only lifeline for the city, so if you care about sustaining Bethlehem's livelihood it is very very key — economically, politically and culturally," said the founder of a tourism organization there. Tens of thousands of pilgrims normally visit the site of Jesus' birth each December, but around 60 percent of accommodation bookings for the Palestinian territories were cancelled after the Gaza war that left 2,000 people dead, a tourism minister said.
