Bethlehem profits from peaceful Christmas

By Rebecca Harrison

BETHLEHEM, West Bank (Reuters) - Bethlehem souvenir store owner Mike Canawati is gearing up for his merriest Christmas in years.

A steady stream of pilgrims are trickling into his shop, snapping up olive wood crosses and nativity scenes as keepsakes from the town revered as Jesus's birthplace.

Business isn't booming. But sales are brisk, which is good enough for Canawati, who was forced to shut up shop altogether for two years when tourism slumped during the early years of a Palestinian uprising -- or Intifada -- that erupted in 2000.

"More peace means more tourists," said Canawati, wrapping a plastic cherub for a customer as a jazzed-up version of "O Come All Ye Faithful" filtered through the loudspeakers with its message of pilgrimage to Bethlehem.

"During the Intifada there were no tourists. They would have seen tanks and soldiers out here," he said, pointing to the main high street which snakes through the hilly town in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Bethlehem is about to celebrate its most peaceful -- and profitable -- Christmas since 2000.

Tourist levels are the best in seven years, with more than 60,000 people visiting last month compared to about 20,000 a year ago. Many hotels are fully booked for Christmas.

Local leaders are cautious: few pilgrims stay overnight, tourism numbers still hover at just 60-70 percent of pre-Intifada levels, and many Western governments still warn against non-essential travel. But they detect a glimmer of hope.