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In Bethlehem, a Christmas darkened for the second year by the war in Gaza
A few hundred worshipers gathered in and around the Church of the Nativity in the Palestinian city of Bethlehem, the cradle of Christianity, where Christmas celebrations are overshadowed for the second year in a row by the war in the Gaza Strip. Vatican, Pope Francis opens the 2025 “Holy Year” of the Catholic Church, a major international pilgrimage for which more than 30 million faithful from around the world are expected in Rome. At 7 p.m. (6:00 p.m. GMT), in the presence of some 30,000 people and in mondovision, the Argentine Jesuit will open the “Holy Door” of Saint Peter's Basilica, in the Vatican, symbolizing the inauguration of this “Ordinary Jubilee”. He will then, as every year, preside over the Christmas night mass in Saint Peter's Basilica and should on this occasion provide an overview of conflicts in the world and renew his calls to a ceasefire in the Middle East, three days after his criticism against the “cruelty” of the strikes in Gaza which sparked protests from Israeli diplomacy. The day before, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had mentioned, with “caution “, “progress” for an agreement on the hostages held in the Gaza Strip since the unprecedented attack by Palestinian Hamas in October 2023 on Israeli soil, one of the conditions for a ceasefire.- “A loophole” -In the meantime, Bethlehem “limits” its joy during the Christmas holidays, explains Anton Salman, the mayor of this occupied West Bank city, located only ten kilometers from Jerusalem, on the other side of the separation wall erected by Israel.”We did not put up a tree, we did not decorate the streets (…) We want (…) to show the world that Palestine is suffering still of the Israeli occupation and injustice”, adds the elected official. A large tree normally stands for Christmas on the adjoining Place de la Mangeoire, but like last year, the local authorities decided not to organize major celebrations. The city is lively in the early afternoon with a parade of scouts, some of whom carried signs with messages such as “Stop the genocide in Gaza now” and “Our children want to play and laugh.” Behind them, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierbattista Pizzaballa.”I arrived yesterday from Gaza. I saw everything that was destroyed, the poverty, the disaster. But I have also seen life, they don't give up. So you must not give up either,” he declared. Despite the war in Gaza, Hisham Makhoul and his partner still wanted to come for the occasion. “What we are going through is very difficult and we cannot completely ignore it,” confides this Israeli Arab at the foot of a statue of Jerome of Stridon, the translator of the Bible. “But it's an escape, in a way.” – “Shadow” – By addressing Tuesday to Christians, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to fight against the “forces of evil.” “You have stood by our side with resilience, constancy and strength as Israel defends our civilization against barbarity,” added Mr. Netanyahu, whose country has been fighting on several fronts since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip. In Germany, Head of State Frank-Walter Steinmeier called in his Christmas greetings for unity and cohesion, evoking the “shadow” cast over the end-of-year holidays by the car-ramming attack which left five dead and more than 200 injured on Friday at the Christmas market in Magdeburg, in the north-east of the country .In Syria, where President Bashar al-Assad was overthrown on December 8, the new authorities dominated by Islamists worked to reassure Christians in a Sunni majority country. “It was not easy to meet in THE current circumstances and to pray with joy, but thanks to God, we did it”, sighs Sarah to AFP, who attends mass in the Syriac Orthodox cathedral of Saint George, in Damascus.Several demonstrations have however, took place on Tuesday in Christian neighborhoods of Damascus to protest against the burning of a Christmas tree near Hama, in central Syria. “If we are not allowed to live our Christian faith in our country, like this was the case, then we no longer have our place here,” Georges, who preferred not to give his last name, told AFP. – “Magic” – New Year's Eve was also marked by moments of joy and lightness. In the United States, the annual tradition of tracking down Santa Claus has been established. For young and old alike, it is possible to follow his great crossing in real time on a dedicated website. As politics and the spirit of Christmas generally go well together, Air Force General Gregory Guillot held to reassure the population marked by drone overflights which recently sowed panic on the American east coast. “I don't anticipate any difficulty with these drones for Santa this year,” he joked on Fox News. In France, many faithful were rushing to attend the traditional Nativity masses at Notre-Dame de Paris, which is celebrating Christmas for the first time since the 2019 fire. “I'm so happy to come back here, it's so magical,” says Daniel James, 46-year-old American steward who lives in Seattle. Since the fire which devastated it on April 15, 2019, the cathedral had no longer hosted these Nativity masses. After five years of colossal work, it reopened its doors on December 7.bur-ila-anr/hme
