The signage for the Bahamas restaurant in Bethlehem indicates that it sells fresh seafood, a rather tall order for an eatery in a place that has no sea access. The majority of the customers at this outdoor establishment on June 28 had not, however, come in search of seafood. Instead, they were there to watch World Cup soccer match from Brazil and to enjoy a "hubbly bubbly" (water pipe). During the global football event, such scenes can be found all over the Arab region in part because of the high cost of cable TV. The Bahamas restaurant, however, has no ordinary TV.

The owner, Joseph Hasboun, woke one day to the sight of the tall concrete wall built deep inside Palestinian territory and literally in front of his business. Thinking that if life gives you lemons, make lemonade, Hasboun decided to turn this calamity into something positive. Screening World Cup games on the Israeli-built wall has turned his restaurant's location into a political bazaar, with locals mixing regularly with international visitors, tourists and solidarity activists.

World Cup screenings on the separation barrier are not the only example of Palestinian society finding ways to live despite the presence of the occupation and its various manifestations. The Bet Lahem Live Festival, a four-day celebration of music and arts, has become an annual event. Festival organizers dedicated this year's gathering to reviving historic Star Street, which has suffered from neglect since the outbreak of the second intifada in 2000. During the festival, Star Street — part of the 1,500-year-old pilgrimage route from Jerusalem to the Church of the Nativity and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site — came alive with music, art and folklore as thousands of Palestinians flocked to the old town of Bethlehem in solidarity and a show of resilience.

Speaking at the opening of the festival, Sami Awad, director of the festival organizer the Holy Land Trust, said that Palestinians continue to insist on celebrating life in spite of the pain and oppression all around them. Awad told the crowd, “The Bet Lahem Live Festival is not a party, it is a message — from the city of peace and from this Holy Land — saying that the Palestinian people love life.”