Christmas celebrations return to Bethlehem as thousands gather in Manger Square for the first time since 2022.Thousands of people have gathered in Bethlehem on Christmas Eve for the first public celebrations since 2022 after the city cancelled or muted festivities for two years out of respect for the thousands killed during Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.Families filled Manger Square in the occupied West Bank city as a giant Christmas tree returned to the plaza, replacing a nativity display used during the war that showed baby Jesus amid rubble and barbed wire, symbolising the devastation in Gaza.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listThe celebrations were led by Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the top Catholic leader in the Holy Land, who arrived in Bethlehem from Jerusalem in the traditional Christmas procession and called for “a Christmas full of light”. Clergymen and alter boys wait ahead of Christmas service in the Manger Square outside the Church of the Nativity (R) in the biblical city of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank on Christmas eve on December 24, 2025. (AFP)Scout bands from towns across the West Bank marched through Bethlehem’s streets, their bagpipes draped with tartan and Palestinian flags.Since the start of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, its forces have carried out near-daily raids across the West Bank, arresting thousands of Palestinians and sharply restricting movement between cities.Palestinians say the intensified military presence, road closures and checkpoint delays have deterred visitors, paralysing the tourism sector on which Bethlehem’s economy depends.The vast majority of those celebrating were local residents, with only a small number of foreign visitors. Advertisement Une …
