MIDDLE EAST: Tourism officials in the Palestinian city of Bethlehem say new Israeli travel controls are threatening the vital pre-Christmas trade to the biblical birthplace of Jesus.
Intensified security procedures at an Israeli terminal are causing delays of up to two hours for tourist coaches leaving the city for neighbouring Jerusalem, according to tour operators and hoteliers who have complained to Israel's tourism ministry.
For the past three weeks, Christian pilgrims leaving Bethlehem have had to descend from coaches and undergo security screenings and passport checks, while coaches and large items of luggage are searched elsewhere.
Previously, tourist coaches were allowed to move relatively freely to and from the city in the occupied West Bank, with only minor delays for document checks at the crossing into southern Jerusalem.
"It takes a hell of a long time for tourists to get out of Bethlehem and they have to get off and get searched now," said Johnny Kattan, manager of the city's recently re-opened luxury hotel, the Jacir Palace.
"Before, the soldiers would get on the bus and check who they were and that was it. Now the guests complain that it takes a lot of time and it's humiliating, and some don't want to come to Bethlehem anymore."
Carol Dabdoub, from the Open Bethlehem organisation dedicated to improving access to the city, said the so-called upgrading of the "unilateral border crossing is really disastrous for us and it comes at a time when we were starting to sense an increase in tourism".
Bethlehem is sealed off from Jerusalem by an 8m (26.3ft) concrete wall, part of Israel's controversial 680km barrier which has been declared illegal by the International Court of Justice.
The €8.9 million crossing is the only entry and exit point for tourists visiting Bethlehem. It is one of 16 new terminals surrounding Jerusalem.
Insp Mickey Rosenfeld, a spokesman for the Israeli police, who are in charge of the new terminal, said the aim of the crossing was "to let civilians come in and out of the Bethlehem area".
"Terrorism is happening in all Palestinian areas as well as Bethlehem, and we take all the necessary precautions to ensure the safety of individuals."
Insp Rosenfeld said searches of coach parties were necessary because innocent tourists might be used by terrorists to bring out "sensitive equipment".
However, tourist operators question the need to impose a stringent new security regime ahead of Christmas, when most Palestinian militant groups are observing an informal ceasefire after five years of a violent intifada.
Foreign tourists or pilgrims have never been implicated in terror attacks launched from Bethlehem, according to Ms Dadoub.
Tourism to Bethlehem declined dramatically during five years of violence, but has been showing signs of recovery, with 162,000 visitors in the eight months to August this year compared to just 8,045 in 2002, at the height of the intifada.