With no Christmas tree or decorations adorning the Church of the Nativity, revered as the birthplace of Jesus Christ, holiday cheer was absent in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem on Tuesday.
But for some, like Jerusalem resident Hisham Makhoul, spending Christmas in the holy city provided an "escape" from the Israel-Hamas war raging for more than 14 months in the Gaza Strip.
"What we're going through is very difficult and we can't completely forget about it," said Makhoul of the plight of Palestinians in the besieged territory, which is separated from the West Bank by Israeli territory.
"It's an escape... for a few days, a week or so, no more than this."
In central Bethlehem, the Terra Sancta Scout Troop, donning red scarves, marched down the main shopping street where vendors were selling nougat and shawarma.
The sweet sound of children singing Christmas carols filled the air, a sharp contrast to sombre messages on the banners they held: "We want life, not death", and "Stop the Gaza genocide now!"
For the second year in a row, Christmas festivities in Bethlehem are overshadowed by the war.
A large Christmas tree usually stands in Manger Square, opposite the Church of the Nativity which is built atop a cave where Christians believe Jesus was born more than 2,000 years ago.
But like last year, Bethlehem's municipality had decided to opt for modest celebrations out of respect for Palestinians suffering in Gaza.
Makhoul said it was still important for him to spend Christmas time in Bethlehem, which is located about 10 kilometres (six miles) from his home in Jerusalem, beyond the separation wall built by Israel.
"Although this year is very different from other years, it still means a lot to us to be here," said Makhoul, who was visiting with his partner.
Next to a statue of Jerome of Stridon, an early Christian priest who translated the Bible from Hebrew into Latin, Makhoul said he was glad to see "the happy kids around and Christian families celebrating".
For Christians in the Holy Land, who number about 185,000 in Israel and 47,000 in the Palestinian territories, prayer can offer solace and hope for a better future.
"We're going to pray and ask God to end our suffering, to give this part of the world the peace that we expect, the peace that Jesus brought to the world," said Anton Salman, the mayor of Bethlehem.
Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem who led mass in Gaza on Sunday, shared a similar message of hope as he prepared to preside over midnight mass in Bethlehem.
"I just arrived yesterday from Gaza. I saw everything destroyed, poverty, disaster," he said.
"But I also saw life -- they don't give up. So you should not giver up either. Never," Pizzaballa added in a speech outside the Bethlehem Peace Center, a cultural venue.
"We are stronger, we belong to light, not to darkness," he said, standing beside a Palestinian flag.
"Next year we want to see the biggest Christmas tree ever".
With hopes for a ceasefire in Gaza on the rise in recent days, Bethlehem residents await calm that could see tourists return in 2025.
Christiana von der Tann, a German woman visiting her journalist daughter who is based in the region, said it was impossible for her to completely escape the conflict, even as a tourist.
"Last night, there was a rocket attack in Tel Aviv and it was a little scary," she said.
Air raid sirens sounded overnight in Israel's commercial hub, with the military saying it had intercepted a projectile fired from Yemen.
"We had to go to a shelter room," said von der Tann, who was travelling with her husband.
"That was a special experience. You don't forget that you are in a country at war".
© 2024 AFP
10 Comments
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RichardPearce
It's not 'the Israeli-Hamas war' anymore than it's 'the war in Gaza'.
It is the genocide of Palestinians by an American supported extremist cult.
Oh, and despite the efforts to obfiscate and deny, neither the Geneva Conventions definition of Genocide, or the Geneva Conventions clauses that make ANY act by an occupying force against an occupied people an ATTACK, never self defense, have been rewritten or reinterpreted, the Scofflaw regime's violent oppression lead to an UPRISING, and it INCREASED the brutality, the scale, and the indiscriminate nature of its ATTACKS to the point where even the efforts to obfiscate and deny meet the definition of participation in a Crime Against Humanity.
Dr.Cajetan Coelho
May love and peace fill the hearts of one and all. “The day the power of love overrules the love of power, the world will know peace.” - Mahatma Gandhi
WoodyLee
The Zionists have finally succeeded in destroying the Spirt of Christmas.
WoodyLee
Israel is killing the children of Ibrahim even on Christmas EVE and Day, Christians and the rest of the world are watching the IDF kill women and children even on the Holiest day.
Zaphod
It is been that way for years already, as the Christian minority in Bethlemen gets driven out my muslim residents, who reject any open show of Christianity, not to even mention Judaism.
Zaphod
WoodyLee
The "Zionists" have nothing to do with what happens in PA controlled Bethlemen. In Israel, Christians can celebrate openly without fear of repression.
Fos
This terrible conflict would end the first 24 hours the US administration stops shipping lethal weapons to Israel. Over $20 billions (officially) since January 2024. But, as we know, there is too much at stake for the US lobbies in Wall Street.
There is a wrong assumption that the siege on Gaza and Lebanon by Israel’s IDF would end once the hostages are released by Hamas. Netanyahu is aiming to consolidate his gains and to expand the mass killings of Palestinians, regardless.
What is going on in Gaza is the most documented genocide in history committed by Israel's IDF.
The demise of rule of law, a prelude to the hand of humanity
Zaphod
Fos
Completely false. A victory to the islamists does not stop the conflict, it blows it up. You might want to take the time to read the Hamas charter, besides reading anti-Israel propaganda.
RichardPearce
Someone says the problems for the Christians of Palestine are caused by the Muslims of Palestine.
But the Christians of Palestine have spoken on that years ago in the Kairos Palestine letter.
So, what do you call someone who claims to champion the cause of people, yet ignores their calls, ignores their lived experience, and substitutes his own hatred for their love?
Fos
Zaphod
How can you be so sure since Israel army has completely locked the access to Gaza? No foreign media can enter the battleground to report, only embedded (American double dealing companies) are authorized. So the IDF effectively controls what information release. This has never happened before in any war, no event the most terrible the Americans incited, like the Falluja battle or Afghanistan. And we all know the credibility of Netanyahu regime, spreading lies and made up stories.