Bethlehem skips Christmas celebrations for second time over Gaza

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People in Bethlehem for a second year in a row were not celebrating Christmas because they were looking in pain at what was happening to their fellow Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip, Al Jazeera correspondent Nida Ibrahim reports.

“That’s why they didn’t put any decorations here in the city,” Ibrahim reported from Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank.

“Even Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem (Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa) entered the main square silently and the scout members did not play any musical as the usually do to mark the beginning of the Christmas celebration,” Ibrahim said.

“Some of those scout members were carrying pictures showing what is happening in Gaza,” Ibrahim added.

 An inside view of the Church of the Nativity, believed to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, as the preparations for Christmas continue on Tuesday in Bethlehem, occupied West Bank. Due to Israel’s ongoing airstrikes on Gaza, this year’s celebrations will be limited to religious services and prayers, with public festivities kept to a minimum. — Anadolu
An inside view of the Church of the Nativity, believed to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, as the preparations for Christmas continue on Tuesday in Bethlehem, occupied West Bank. Due to Israel’s ongoing airstrikes on Gaza, this year’s celebrations will be limited to religious services and prayers, with public festivities kept to a minimum. — Anadolu

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