This year, Christmas will not really be celebrated in Bethlehem. Because of the war in Gaza and the tensions in the occupied West Bank, around 30 leaders of Palestine's main Christian churches have decided to cancel the celebrations that traditionally mark the end of the year in the town located around 10 kilometers from Jerusalem. There are decorations in the streets, no illuminated parade, and no Christmas tree in the Old City.

On Friday, December 22, most of the shops were closed in this place that welcomes 1.5 million people every year who come to visit the birthplace of Jesus, according to Christian tradition. "It's worse than during the Covid-19 pandemic," deplored the few shopkeepers still present. Very few foreign visitors made the trip. Of the $200 million in losses estimated by the Palestinian Authority's Ministry of Tourism as a result of the conflict, $120 million directly affect the major Christian city.

Regularly targeted by Israeli army raids, Bethlehem is preparing to spend Christmas under lock and key. As communicated by Israeli authorities, Checkpoint 300, the main entry point to the north of the city, was only to be opened for a few hours on the evening of December 24 and the morning of December 25. Since the October 7 attack by Hamas and the start of the war, access to the town has been difficult, and the Israeli authorities have closed part of it off.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church, which caused a stir on social media with a nativity scene depicting a baby Jesus lying in the ruins, decided to celebrate its first Christmas mass on December 23. The poster for it reads "Christ in the rubble," in reference to the deaths of nearly 20,000 people in the Gaza Strip as a result of Israeli bombardments. On the façade of the Center for Peace, opposite the Church of the Nativity, a large banner also proclaims in red letters on a black background: "Stop the genocide, stop the displacement, lift the blockade. The Christmas bells of Bethlehem ring out 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 18 people were killed in the Israeli bombardment of an annex of the Church of St. Porphyrius, the oldest in the blockaded Palestinian enclave. More recently, on December 17, a woman and her daughter, both Christians according to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, were shot dead by an Israeli sniper outside the only Catholic place of worship in Gaza City. Pope Francis deplored the tragedy, denouncing "war and terrorism." According to Politico, the coordinates of four churches in the Palestinian enclave sheltering civilians had been passed on to the Israeli army.

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