The Bethlehem mass commemorating the birth of Jesus will be dedicated to victims of violence and their families, Twal said, with celebrations “moderate” due to violence in the Palestinian territories, Israel and the world. While the annual festivities in the city’s Manger Square were set to go on, other celebrations in the city were cancelled or toned down because of the violence. Two other Palestinians were killed in two other incidents, including an attack by a motorist on Israeli troops, with one soldier lightly wounded.
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Clashes between Israeli security forces and Palestinian demonstrators erupted following his departure from the city, known as the birthplace of Jesus, the news site said.
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Amid tight security measures, thousands of Christians are expected to attend Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem on Thursday night, The Jerusalem Post reports.
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Still, pilgrims who were at Manger Square in the heart of Bethlehem were proud to have made the trip.
Christmas Day in Bethlehem was marked by Palestinian rocks and iron bars hurled at the vehicle of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fouad Twal as he drove out of Bethlehem after celebrating Christmas Mass. The prelate was not hurt, but the rear of his auto was smashed.
“I feel safe in Bethlehem”, she said.
Christian pilgrims pray inside the Grotto of the Church of… But not in the Holy Land where darkness and death still pervade every corner of the Israeli-occupied, Palestinian lands.
Israel built the barrier a decade ago to stop a wave of suicide bombings. Palestinians view the structure as a land grab that has stifled Bethlehem’s economy.
In a recent sermon, he said: “Christmas is approaching…it’s all a charade”.
In Ramallah, the seat of Palestinian government, a committee of Christian leaders decided that there would be no tree, and no decorations on the streets this year.
The plight of embattled Christians in the Middle East, especially where they have been threatened by the advance of Islamic State group, has been thrown into the spotlight this year, and in Iraq, the mood was also sombre.
Twal, who let a cleric read his statement, called for peace in the region before starting the mass.
But in his only public Christmas Mass, in the splendor of St. Peter’s Basilica, the pope counterweighted his joy with a lament for people’s excesses and what he described as a “culture of indifference, which not infrequently turns ruthless”.
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“In a world which all too often is merciless to the sinner and lenient to the sin, we need to cultivate a strong sense of justice, to discern and to do God’s will”, the Argentine pontiff said.
