Unidentified gunmen shot at The Bethlehem Hotel after a video on social media associated the hotel with a display that included cardboard cutouts of a Star of David and a Menorah. The video, posted on Monday by a guest of the hotel, showed the display in the conference room of the hotel which also included cardboard cutouts of sheep and a wine chalice.
تحت رعاية سلطة الجواسيس
فندق في مدينة بيت لحم عاملين تجهيزات للإحتفال بعيد العرش “عيد الصهاينة” !!#ابن_الخليل pic.twitter.com/7KBADvEyL3
— ابن الخليل (@abn_alkhalil) October 10, 2022
Elias al-Arja, the manager of the hotel, told the Palestinian news outlet Watan that the display had been put up by a group of Filipino tourists without the consent of hotel management.
“A group of 300 Filipinos came to the hotel for an 8-day stay and asked on Thursday to put on a party. Hotel management agreed and the group started prepping the hall. After the hall had been prepped for the party, I was surprised by the presence of the Star of David and the Menorah. I opposed that completely and asked them to remove [the Star of David and the Menorah], which is in fact what happened,” al-A’rja said.
Al-A’rja accused the person who posted the video of trying to “defame the hotel” and “sow chaos,” adding that he personally opposes all actions aimed at “normalizing relations with the Occupation [i.e. coexistence]”.
“We do not allow Jews to enter. We never did,” al-Arja insisted.
The (Star of David and Menora cardboard cutouts – Abu Ali) were placed for a Christian Filipino conference. I refused to host them following the matter.”
Attached are pictures of bullet holes in the windows of the hotel. (2/2) pic.twitter.com/Yl1nAkfX62
— AbuAliEnglish (@AbuAliEnglishB1) October 10, 2022
Palestinian social media users claimed that the Bethlehem Hotel was preparing to host a group of Jews for the Sukkot holiday.
A statement by Fatah, the leading political faction in the Palestinian Authority, 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.”
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
Shortly before the shooting, the Ministry of Tourism & Antiquities of the Palestinian Authority had publicly announced the closure of the conference hall and promised an investigation into the reasons behind the presence of Jewish symbols in the Bethlehem hotel.
The face of the hotel suffered some damage but no injuries were reported. The Palestinian Police arrived in response to the shooting but no arrests have been made.