Alleged Israeli disruption to tourist flow into Bethlehem

The fact that Israel controls access to Bethlehem is made much of by the complainers:

The fate of Bethlehem as a tourist destination is inevitably linked to Israel. There is no Palestinian airport, which means visitors either have to land in Tel Aviv or arrive from Jordan and cross an Israeli-controlled border. [Minister] Daibes says one of the consequences is that Israeli operators dominate the tourist itineraries.

The implication here, made by The Observer's Ana Carbajosa, is that if tourists could fly straight to the West Bank, they would do so, allowing Palestinian tour operators to persuade them to stay longer in Bethlehem. Given that Bethlehem currently only has 2,750 hotel rooms, it is doubtful that a Palestinian airport would assist here. The fact is, Bethlehem lacks the infrastructure to accommodate the very tourism which it claims Israel steals.

Furthermore, most of the sites of Christian interest are in Israel and Israeli-controlled east Jerusalem, making it unlikely that this constituency would opt for a West Bank tour operator if presented with the option.

Again, these mundane practicalities do not make it into the narrative.

Also on the issue of Israeli-controlled access, the Independent's Catrina Stewart quotes a Bethlehem hotelier complaining that Israeli restrictions at the border crossing prevent "permanent access for tourists" — this in spite of the fact that an unbelievable 1.4 million people seem to have managed to overcome the Israeli crossing point this year.

At least an Israeli response was inserted at this point, citing "a 'record-breaking year' for tourism in Bethlehem, thanks in large part to Israel's confidence-building measures."

The Christian predicament in the Middle East and the Bethlehem exception

Following news in mid-December that in the last four months more than a thousand Christian families have fled persecution in Baghdad, journalists paid some attention to the plight of Christians across the Middle East. However, the plight of Christianity in Bethlehem was ignored by journalists filing stories less than a fortnight after the Iraq story.