Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – The fighting between Israel and the Hamas fighter group in Gaza, Palestine, in fact also has an impact on the Jerusalem area, West Bank. This is because the second war has reduced tourists’ interest in coming to the city of three religions.

On the shopping streets around the city’s holy sites, most businesses remain closed, nearly four weeks into the war. The few remaining shop owners were brave enough to open their shops day after day waiting for tourists who had not yet returned.

“There is no tourism industry anymore,” Marwan Attieh (48), a third-generation tour guide and souvenir shop owner, told AFPFriday (3/11/2023).

“We have families, we have children… (No) business, no income, no income, no life. How can you spend money, if you don’t have money?”

Jerusalem is home to some of the holiest sites for Christians, Jews and Muslims. The city has attracted pilgrims and travelers for centuries.

But Jerusalem’s lucrative tourism sector has collapsed since October 7, when Hamas militants from Gaza invaded Israel and killed 1,400 of the Jewish state’s citizens.

After the onslaught, Israel hit back hard at the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip with a relentless bombing campaign that has killed more than 9,000 people, mostly civilians.

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where most Christians believe Jesus was crucified and buried, appeared empty on Thursday. The only people who liven it up are the priests who occasionally move around in the large hall.

“Before, this place was really lively, full of people praying and offering their problems to God and generally very spiritual,” said Pietro Mazzocco, a 31-year-old Italian seminary student studying in Jerusalem.

Meanwhile, apart from tourism, daily life is also affected. The number of Friday prayer worshipers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque has decreased, while checkpoints and patrols in Israeli-occupied east Jerusalem have been increased.

Many residents of the predominantly Palestinian Old City are afraid to leave their homes, citing harassment and physical violence by Israeli security forces.

In the West Bank, the number of Palestinian deaths has risen amid a flurry of Israeli operations, with more than 130 people killed in clashes with the military and settlers.

On Wednesday, a general strike was called in solidarity with the besieged residents of the Gaza Strip. This also ultimately resulted in many businesses closing in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

“It’s a dangerous time. It’s not safe,” said Emad Sideyyi, a shopkeeper in the Old City.

“The soldiers, they kicked everyone. They didn’t treat people well.”

For most people, it was felt that the war would not end any time soon. Especially since Israeli Prime Minister (PM) Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that a ceasefire with Hamas would not be implemented if the group was not destroyed.

“We hope for peace for everyone,” Sideyyi added. “We don’t want to kill each other like animals. We have to live.”

[Gambas:Video CNBC]

(luc/luc)