Bethlehem cancels Christmas as Israel-Hamas war rages on
NY Post
It will be a sad, silent night in Bethlehem.
The city of Jesus’ birth has canceled its annual Christmas celebrations out of respect for the ongoing siege of the Gaza Strip, nearly three months into the war between Israel and Hamas.
Bethlehem – or Beit Lechem, located in what is now the Israeli-occupied West Bank – is typically flooded with pilgrims and other celebrants in late December, NPR reported.
This year, however, the festivities are pared back to a razor wire-protected nativity scene at the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church of an infant Jesus wrapped in a keffiyeh, surrounded by rubble, NPR reported.
A similar installation will also be placed in Manger Square before Sunday, which is Christmas Eve.
Meanwhile, the Church of the Nativity – which dates back to the sixth century – is practically empty as the usual 6,000 daily visitors that descend on Bethlehem at Christmastime has trickled down to less than 1,000 in one month, the Washington Post reported.
