Sombre Bethlehem marks Christmas with vigil as Israeli bombs rain on Gaza: ‘We feel sad’
But with Israel’s campaign in Gaza having killed more than 20,000 people according to health authorities in the Hamas-run enclave, the mostly Palestinian population of Bethlehem in the Occupied West Bank are in mourning too.
Bethlehem is a message. It is not a city, it is a message of peace to the whole world. From this sacred place we convey a message of peace … stop the war, stop the blood
This year they decided to have no large tree, the usual centrepiece of Bethlehem’s Christmas celebrations because of the carnage taking place only 50km (30 miles) away.
And in place of the usual nativity scene, as Christians call the traditional display of figurines representing the holy family, Bethlehem churches this year placed the models amid rubble and barbed wire in solidarity with the people of Gaza.
“Bethlehem is a message. It is not a city, it is a message of peace to the whole world. From this sacred place we convey a message of peace … stop the war, stop the blood, the killing and the revenge,” said Father Ibrahim Faltas, a friar at the vigil.
Christians make up around 2 per cent of the population across Israel and the Occupied Palestinian territories, according to Protecting Holy Land Christians, a campaign organised by the Heads of Churches in Jerusalem, with a smaller proportion in Gaza.
Meanwhile, the war, triggered by a Hamas attack on Israeli towns on October 7 that Israel says killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, has kept away most expected foreign tourists hoping to celebrate Christmas in Bethlehem.
When church leaders convened at Bethlehem in early December to mark the start of Advent, as Christians call the weeks before Christmas, there were few people in the usually crowded streets and squares to watch the pared-down display.
“This Christmas comes to Bethlehem in a different shape. Nowadays Bethlehem, as any other Palestinian city, is in mourning. We feel sad,” said the town mayor Hanna Hanania, lighting a candle in Manger Square.