Bethlehem cancels Christmas out of 'compassion' during Israel-Hamas war

11 December 2023 , 20:53

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Christmas celebrations are being cancelled in Bethlehem this year (Image: AFP via Getty Images)

Christmas celebrations have been cancelled in the birthplace of Jesus Christ this year due to the Israel-Hamas war.

The city of Bethlehem, located in the West Bank, has been hit hard since conflict broke out following the October 7 attacks.

While located many miles from the centre of fighting in Gaza, and controlled by the Palestinian National Authority rather than Hamas, life in the ancient city has been massively disrupted by the war at a crucial time of year. Streets usually bustling with tourists in the festive period have been left totally deserted, and raids have been carried out on refugee camps to arrest suspected Hamas sympathisers.

Christmas celebrations - usually a focal point of the year - are also being stripped back or completely abandoned.

Streets usually bustling with tourists in the run-up to Christmas are empty following the outbreak of war (AFP via Getty Images)

A Christmas tree will not be put up in the main square this year, and the glittering fairy lights that usually brighten up the streets will be noticeably absent. Issa Thaljieh, a Greek-Orthodox priest at the Church of the Nativity where Jesus is claimed to have been born, told the Times: "We cannot celebrate when our brothers and sisters are dying". In November, the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem have meanwhile advised congregations that they can opt out of traditional celebrations out of "compassion and solidarity" for killed and wounded civilians on both sides.

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The Evangelical Lutheran Church set up an alternative nativity showing baby Jesus 'lying in his manger amid rubble' (AFP via Getty Images)

At other places of worship, Christmas will be marked in a different way to normal. The Evangelical Lutheran Church has set up an installation with a striking alternative interpretation of the nativity of Christ, showing baby Jesus "lying in his manger amid rubble" in reference to the war in Gaza. While Israel's military action is focused in Gaza, a total of 267 people in the West Bank have been killed since October 7, according to Palestine's health ministry.

It comes as Foreign Office minister Andrew Mitchell maintained the UK Government believes a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict is "implausible" and said there is "no possibility" of one taking place, given both sides appear unwilling to agree to one. Mr Mitchell said that Foreign Secretary David Cameron had discussed the idea with US secretary of state Antony Blinken, adding that ministers hoped to say more soon. Mr Mitchell also shared there had been "no new developments" in the release of hostages, with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) conducting unarmed surveillance flights over the eastern Mediterranean, including operating in airspace over Israel and Gaza.

Benedict Tetzlaff-Deas