Shafaqna English- Bethlehem emerged from the shadow of the brutal Israeli war on Gaza to celebrate its first festive Christmas in more than two years.
Throughout the war on Gaza, which started in October 2023, a sombre tone marked Christmases in the biblical birthplace of Jesus Christ (AS).
But on Wednesday (24 Dec 2025) celebrations were in full swing again in the occupied West Bank city, as a fragile truce held in Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of people are facing the winter in makeshift tents.
In Bethlehem, the sound of drums and bagpipes playing renditions of popular Christmas carols filled the air, as Christians young and old made their way to the city’s central Manger Square. Bethlehem residents hope the return of Christmas festivities will breathe life back into the city.
Israeli persecution casts shadow over Christmas in Haifa and the occupied West Bank
Christmas celebrations across Palestine and inside Israel were marked by violence, repression and the enduring trauma of Israeli war on Gaza, as Palestinian Christian communities attempted to observe the holiday under siege, surveillance and occupation.
In the northern city of Haifa, scenes of celebration in the Palestinian Christian neighbourhood of Wadi-al-Nisnas turned chaotic after Israeli police stormed the area, arresting and beating residents, according to footage and eyewitness accounts shared online.
Families preparing for Christmas were met instead with force and arrests, in an incident that reflects the routine targeting of Palestinian communities, even during religious holidays.
The crackdown in Haifa came as Christians across Palestine marked Christmas amid the devastation left by Israeli onslaught on Gaza and the tightening grip of military control in the occupied West Bank.
Jerusalem Latin Patriarch: Gaza carries ‘message of resilience, hope’ despite destruction
The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, said on Wednesday that the Gaza Strip carries “a message of resilience and hope” despite widespread destruction caused by Israel’s two-year war.
“Our hearts today are with Gaza, where there is total destruction,” Pizzaballa said in comments upon arrival in the West Bank city of Bethlehem to lead a midnight Christmas Mass. “Yet despite everything, its people still have a passion for life, a will to rejoice and a refusal to surrender,” he added.
Sources: New Arab, Anadolu Ajansı