BETHLEHEM : A Palestinian Christmas
- Share via
Christians who travel to the birthplace of Jesus to celebrate the traditional Holy Week midnight Mass on Saturday will find Manger Square, outside the Church of the Nativity, bedecked with more Palestinian flags than Christmas trees.
The Israeli army still occupies the West Bank, but the government has handed over certain areas of civilian life, including tourism, to the Palestinians. Bethlehem Mayor Elias Freij, the Palestinian Authority’s minister of tourism, is determined to make this Christmas a Palestinian one. The city has ordered 2,000 Palestinian flags to festoon Manger Square and other locations.
Fatah--the once-outlawed Palestinian guerrilla faction--has gotten into the holiday spirit by placing a Christmas tree and a Santa Claus on the balcony outside its Bethlehem office.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
More From the Los Angeles Times
Podcasts
In Season 2 of “Crimes of the Times,” host Christopher Goffard revisits one of the longest and most bizarre murder trials in U.S. history.
On this week’s bonus, Madison McGhee and Jake Deptula share some of their more controversial takes on today’s true crime beat.
In this episode, Sammy Roth speaks with geography professor James McCarthy, who’s studied how authoritarianism and environmental destruction can be deeply intertwined.
