Christmas joy returns to Bethlehem amid Israeli raids across West Bank

Christmas celebrations instrumentality to Bethlehem arsenic thousands stitchery successful Manger Square for the archetypal clip since 2022.

Thousands of radical person gathered successful Bethlehem connected Christmas Eve for the archetypal nationalist celebrations since 2022 aft the metropolis cancelled oregon muted festivities for 2 years retired of respect for the thousands killed during Israel’s genocidal warfare connected Gaza.

Families filled Manger Square successful the occupied West Bank metropolis arsenic a elephantine Christmas histrion returned to the plaza, replacing a nativity show utilized during the warfare that showed babe Jesus amid rubble and barbed wire, symbolising the devastation successful Gaza.

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The celebrations were led by Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the apical Catholic person successful the Holy Land, who arrived successful Bethlehem from Jerusalem successful the accepted Christmas procession and called for “a Christmas afloat of light”.

Clergymen and change boys hold up of Christmas work successful the Manger Square extracurricular the Church of the Nativity (R) successful the biblical metropolis of Bethlehem successful the occupied West Bank connected Christmas eve connected December 24, 2025. (AFP)

Scout bands from towns crossed the West Bank marched done Bethlehem’s streets, their bagpipes draped with tartan and Palestinian flags.

Since the commencement of Israel’s genocidal warfare connected Gaza, its forces person carried retired near-daily raids crossed the West Bank, arresting thousands of Palestinians and sharply restricting question betwixt cities.

Palestinians accidental the intensified subject presence, roadworthy closures and checkpoint delays person deterred visitors, paralysing the tourism assemblage connected which Bethlehem’s system depends.

The immense bulk of those celebrating were section residents, with lone a tiny fig of overseas visitors.

Unemployment successful Bethlehem surged from 14 percent to 65 percent during the genocidal warfare connected Gaza, Mayor Maher Nicola Canawati said earlier this month. As economical conditions deteriorated, astir 4,000 residents near the metropolis successful hunt of work, helium added.

Israeli raids and settler attacks

The instrumentality of Christmas celebrations comes contempt continued raids and large-scale subject incursions crossed the occupied West Bank, adjacent aft a fragile ceasefire successful Gaza, which has been repeatedly violated by Israeli forces, took clasp successful October.

The raids often entail wide arrests of Palestinians, location searches and demolitions, arsenic good arsenic carnal assaults that sometimes pb to deaths.

Attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians person reached their highest level since the United Nations humanitarian bureau began signaling information successful 2006. The attacks person involved killings, beatings and the demolition of property, often nether the extortion of the Israeli military.

Earlier connected Wednesday, much than 570 Israeli settlers entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound successful occupied East Jerusalem nether constabulary protection, the Palestinian quality bureau Wafa reported.

Palestinians accidental specified incursions interruption the longstanding presumption quo governing Islam’s third-holiest site.

Israel’s information furniture has besides signed disconnected connected plans to formalise 19 amerciable settlements crossed the West Bank, successful a determination Palestinian officials accidental deepens a decades-long task of land theft and demographic engineering.

The United Kingdom, Canada, Germany and different countries condemned the determination connected Wednesday.

“We telephone ‍on ⁠Israel to reverse this decision, arsenic good arsenic the enlargement of settlements,” said a associated connection released by the UK, Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway and Spain.

“We ‌recall that specified unilateral actions, ‌as portion ⁠of a wider intensification of the colony policies successful the West Bank, ‌not lone interruption planetary instrumentality but besides hazard fuelling instability.”