Beit Sahour Expatriates Week opens its first edition
The first edition of Beit Sahour Expatriates Week, 22–28 July 2026, was organised by Beit Sahour Municipality and the Beit Sahour USA Association, with support from Arab Bank.
The week opened in partnership with the Wasata Centre for Youth Work, the Shepherds Scout Group, the Arab Orthodox Cultural Club and the Baqoun Folklore Dance Group, attended by clergy, representatives of the Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs, local institutions and Beit Sahour’s diaspora.
Events began by inaugurating the roundabout near the Shepherds Secondary School as the “Beit Sahour USA Association Roundabout”, honouring the association’s support for the city’s people, institutions and projects.
At the official ceremony at the Arab Orthodox Cultural Club, Mayor Laith Hazim Qumsiyeh welcomed the city’s sons and daughters from abroad, hoping the week would become an annual tradition. In a symbolic gesture, he presented the key to the city to Mr. Munir Bannoura, president of the Beit Sahour USA Association: Beit Sahour’s doors will always be open to its people, wherever they are.
The programme included a poem presented through video conference by Dr. Mazen Badra, a traditional dance performance by the Baqoun Folklore Dance Group, a song by local singer Mrs. Safa’ Qumsiyeh, and a documentary film about the city, its Old Town, and its local institutions and events, directed by Mr. Rami Rishmawi.
