Christmas Day in the West Bank town of Bethlehem saw hundreds of Christians and tourists from around the world gather to celebrate mass at the Nativity Church, where Christians believe Jesus was born.
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Israeli soldiers inspect the vehicle of a Palestinian, who Israeli army said drove into three Israeli soldiers and a paramilitary border policeman, near the Israeli Tapuach checkpoint south of the West Bank city of Nablus.
Two killed in Israeli-Palestinian violent tension
At least 127 Palestinians have died in the same period, of whom 87 Israel says were attacking or attempting to attack Israelis. A man tried to stab an Israeli police officer on Saturday near Jerusalem’s Old City and was killed, a police spokeswoman said.
Israeli forces or armed civilians have killed at least 124 Palestinians.
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He managed to climb inside and fetch some Christmas gifts that had been under his tree, but his neighbours weren’t so fortunate. Details are still sketchy, Holmes said, and nightfall is making it hard for storm spotters to identify tornado activity.
They listened to holiday music played by marching bands and scout troops.
“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”, he said.
Travelling from nearby Jerusalem, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Fouad Twal, a Jordanian, would have had to pass the Israeli separation wall, part of which divides the two cities, with Bethlehem located in the occupied West Bank. Israel built the barrier a decade ago to stop a wave of suicide bombings.
As Jesus was born in Bethlehem, thousands of pilgrims every year visit the city every year to celebrate one of the most important holiday seasons in the holy land of Palestine.
Following the verbal altercation, Palestinian officials contacted the Israeli Civil Administration, which handles all non-military aspects of connected to the West Bank.
Christians from Gaza hope that their celebration of the feast will help them alleviate and forget their suffering in the wake of the eight-year-long Israeli blockade on the coastal enclave.
His concerns were playing out in countries including Libya and Syria, where Christians have been threatened by the advance of Islamic State (IS) group.
Christmas carols were sung in both Arabic and English.
A wave of violence has led to a sharp decline in pilgrims visiting Bethlehem and the rest of the Holy Land this year, and only a sparse crowd was on hand to welcome Twal’s procession.
In his homily, Twal expressed sympathy for the plight of Palestinians, Syrian refugees and “victims of all forms of terrorism everywhere”, according to a transcript issued by his office.
“It’s my first time in the Holy Land”, said the 30-year-old from Toronto.
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146-r-16-(Sound of singing, during festivities Christmas Eve in Manger Square in Bethlehem)-Sound of singing during festivities Christmas Eve in Manger Square in Bethlehem. 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.
