This year, Christmas will not really take place in Bethlehem. Due to the war in Gaza and tensions in the occupied West Bank, around thirty leaders of the main Christian churches in Palestine have decided to cancel the celebrations which traditionally mark the end of the year in the city located around ten kilometers from Jerusalem : no decorations in the streets, no illuminated parade, and even fewer Christmas trees erected in the old town.
Friday, December 22, most of the shops are closed in this place which welcomes a million and a half people each year, who come to visit the place where Jesus was born, according to Christian tradition. “It’s worse than during the Covid-19 pandemic”, deplore the few traders still present. Very few foreign visitors made the trip. Of the 200 million dollars (181.5 million euros) in losses estimated by the Palestinian Authority’s tourism ministry due to the conflict, 120 million would directly concern the large Christian city.
Regular target of raids by the Israeli army, Bethlehem is preparing to spend a Christmas under a bell. According to information provided by the Israeli authorities, the “300” checkpoint, the main entry point to the north of the city, will only be open for a few hours on the evening of December 24 and the morning of the 25th. Since the Hamas attack on October 7, and the start of the war, the city is difficult to access, partly cordoned off by the Israeli authorities.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church, which caused a sensation on social networks with a nativity scene representing a child Jesus lying in ruins, has decided to celebrate its first Christmas mass on December 23. “Christ in the Rubble”, indicates the poster, in reference to the death of nearly 20,000 people in the Gaza Strip as a result of Israeli bombings. On the facade of the Peace Center, opposite the Church of the Nativity, a large banner also proclaims in red letters on a black background: “Stop the genocide, stop the displacement of populations, lift the blockade. Christmas bells in Bethlehem ring for a ceasefire in Gaza. »
Places of worship bombed
The approximately 35,000 Palestinian Christians in the West Bank are also suffering from the violent conflict between Israel and Hamas. On October 19, at least eighteen people were killed in the Israeli bombing of an annex to the Saint-Porphyry church, the oldest in the blockaded Palestinian enclave. More recently, on December 16, a woman and her daughter, both Christians, according to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, were shot dead by an Israeli sniper in front of the only Catholic place of worship in Gaza City. A tragedy deplored by Pope Francis who denounced “war and terrorism”. According to the media Politicothe coordinates of four churches in the Palestinian enclave protecting civilians had been transmitted to the Israeli army.
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