Once bustling Jerusalem Old City ‘like a desert,’ says Palestinian shopkeeper

Over more than 100 days of the Israel-Hamas war, Rami Nabulsi’s antique shop in the Old City of Jerusalem has been virtually empty of customers. Still, he walks the cobblestoned alleyways to open it every day.

The Old City, surrounded by ancient walls and home to sites sacred to Judaism, Christianity and Islam, is usually bursting with activity, crammed with worshipers and tourists from around the world.

Since the fighting started, the area has become “like a desert,” says Nabulsi, a Palestinian resident of the Old City in East Jerusalem.

“Jerusalem was meant to be a city of joy,” he said. “Now, when you walk in the city, even the walls are crying.”

Israeli authorities have since increased security checks around the Old City amid fears of unrest spilling over, particularly around flashpoint holy sites.

And tourists have been staying away across the country – traffic at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv was down 78% from the previous year in November and 71% in December, figures from Israel’s airport authority show.

In the biblical West Bank town of Bethlehem, hotels and other tourism businesses say they had one of their worst Christmases on record.

In Jerusalem’s Old City, Jews, Muslims and Christians used to pass through the gates every day to and from prayers, or to pick up a bit of shopping.

Now, whole rows of stores have shut their doors. They would rather save expenses, says Nabulsi, a jeweler.

His shop is still open, but doing next to no business.

He sits outside reading the newspaper, feeding the neighborhood’s cats and dusting the wooden shelves, waiting for customers.