The recent violence comes at a time when many Christians travel to Bethlehem, the supposed birthplace of Jesus, for Christmas Eve, making the traditionally joyous celebrations slightly more somber.
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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. The annual yearly festivities in Manger Sq. was held as regular, still different celebrations within the city have been canceled or sculpted down.
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“In Bethlehem, there are 33 hotels, and the booking this year has barely reached 35 percent, while in previous years, bookings in the hotel exceeded 80 percent”, said Abu Eitta, who expected a big loss in the sector of the Palestinian tourism this year.
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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 display in Manger Square, near the site where Jesus Christ was thought to have been born, was adorned with the used cannisters of sound grenades and tear gas and set at the foot of an ancient olive tree that was uprooted by Israeli forces from its home in the nearby village of Beit Jala.
Christmas is the time of year when Bethlehem makes it in the news. “We wish that peace would come to the world and Palestine gets free…so many wishes”.
Today, thousands of people have crowded into Manger Square for Christmas Eve festivities. At the checkpoint, the Palestinians clashed with the Israeli soldiers.
“Despite the grief for the souls of the dead Palestinians, everybody here smiles at your face”, he said. Of the 124 Palestinians, 76 were described by authorities as assailants.
“We are praying for the restoration of peace and security and the return of the displaced to their land”, said Farida, as she arrived at Our Lady of Salvation church in Baghdad.
He said he is one example of 1.9 million Palestinians living in a place that all parties agreed upon to keep it shut down.
Israel built the barrier a decade ago to stop suicide bombings. Palestinians say the structure has stifled Bethlehem’s economy.
“There are two high seasons, Easter and Christmas, but this year none of them worked because of all the trouble you’ve been getting in Jerusalem and Gaza and all that”.
Christmas carols were sung in both Arabic and English.
A wave of violence has led to a sharp decline in the number of 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.
“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.
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He said in his homily that everyone should allow the simplicity of the child Jesus, born into poverty in a manger despite his divinity, to infuse their spirit and inspire their lives.
