In Manger Square, local activists placed an olive tree they said was uprooted by the Israeli army in a nearby village, and surrounded it with barbed wire and decorated it with spent tear gas canisters fired by Israeli troops and photographs of Palestinians killed or arrested in recent violence.
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The four separate incidents came as revelers were gathering in the West Bank city of Bethlehem for Christmas celebrations, festivities that are being dampened by the latest outburst of violence.
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Since October, violence between Palestinians and Israelis has been constant, with 20 Israelis killed by Palestinians and 124 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces or citizens, Reuters reported. A fourth Palestinian was killed in clashes with Israeli troops, according to a Palestinian hospital official.
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The 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.
Before today’s celebrations began, Israeli authorities said three Palestinians involved in attacks against Israelis were killed in violence across the west Bank. Merely being a Palestinian has huge ramifications since they are not subject to laws that Jewish Israelis enjoy, but live under a set of military lawsthat relegate them as a second class group with no political or civil rights.
Yet the symbolism of Bethlehem – the place where Christians believe Jesus was born to Mary – never seems to disappoint.
“I feel safe in Bethlehem”, she said.
In his Christmas message earlier this month, Twal said “a deadly ideology based on religious fanaticism and obstinacy is spreading terror and barbarism amidst innocent people”. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah are expected to attend.
But although Bethlehem’s Christmas tree has been lit, other parts of the town are less festive. “The world continues to go to war”.
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The US and British embassies in China also issued an unusual warning about possible threats against “Westerners” in a popular Beijing neighbourhood ahead of the Christmas holiday.
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The Beatles, the top-selling band in musical history yet a persistent holdout on new technology, announced they would end a boycott of streaming in time for Christmas.
