But in practice, things have changed very little for the people of Bethlehem. Three years later, the people are more full of vague hopes for the future than a sense of achievement. Many accuse the Palestinian Authority of misrule, incompetence and corruption. In the wider picture, the possibilities of Palestinian self-rule are limited as long as negotiations for a final settlement in the Middle East peace talks are stalled. Bethlehem has many of the problems which affect the Palestinian self-rule areas as a whole.
Unemployment is high.
Apart from tourism, the town has little else to sustain it. Various workshops and cottage industries eke out a living but the complex political situation makes large scale economic development almost impossible. And always, in the background, lurks the threat of violence even after the famous 1993 signing of Middle East peace on the White House lawn.