Unidentified gunmen on Monday fired shots at a hotel in Bethlehem that was accused of displaying the Star of David and a menorah in one of its meeting halls.
No one was injured in the shooting attack.
Palestinian social media users claimed that the hotel, Bethlehem Hotel, was preparing to host a group of Jews for Sukkot. They accused the hotel and the Palestinian Authority of “promoting normalization” with Israel.
مصادر محلية: "مشهد لقاعة فندق في بيت لحم تتضمن رموزاً للاحتفالات اليهودية". pic.twitter.com/9L227yB5y1
— وكالة شهاب للأنباء (@ShehabAgency) October 10, 2022
The Palestinian Authority Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced in a statement on Facebook that it has closed the meeting hall and launched an investigation into claims that the hotel was preparing to celebrate the Jewish holidays.
The ministry did not provide further details.
Denial of claims
Elias al-Arja, the owner of Bethlehem Hotel, denied the claims. He said that a group of tourists from the Philippines was preparing to hold a Christian religious conference in the meeting hall.
“I was surprised to see that they installed the Star of David,” al-Arja told the Palestinian radio station Mawwal. “I removed it and told them that they are not permitted to hold the conference in my hotel. I don’t want any problems.”
The hotel owner said that those who leaked the photos from the meeting hall want to “destroy” the city.
“We don’t allow Jews to come here,” al-Arja said. “We never held parties for Jewish holidays. The event was organized by a church from the Philippines.”
“We never held parties for Jewish holidays. The event was organized by a church from the Philippines.”
Elias al-Arja
After the shooting attack, PA security officers rushed to the scene and cordoned off the area of the hotel.
Several masked gunmen from the ruling Fatah faction in Bethlehem also arrived at the scene and announced that they oppose any attempt to host Jews in the city’s hotels.
One of the gunmen told reporters that his group strongly condemns any form of normalization with Israel. “We won’t allow anyone to hold any suspicious party,” he said. “We will strike with an iron fist against anyone who holds a normalization meeting, whether in Bethlehem or any other part of the homeland. The revolution will continue until the liberation of all the Palestinian lands.”
#شاهد || مقاومون يغلقون فندق بيت لحم بعد استضافة حلفة للمستوطنين pic.twitter.com/etTj1NABd4
— إذاعة صوت القدس (@qudsradio) October 10, 2022
A statement issued by the Fatah leadership in Bethlehem condemned the attempt to hold a “Zionist party” in the hotel, dubbing it a “stab to Bethlehem and a betrayal of the traditions and values of the Holy Land.”