Overview
- Thousands packed Manger Square on Christmas Eve for parades, music and decorations in the city’s first full celebrations in over two years, with the towering tree reinstated.
- Jerusalem’s Latin Patriarch, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, led the traditional procession to Bethlehem after holding a pre‑Christmas Mass in Gaza and brought greetings from the enclave’s Christians.
- Local officials say the ceasefire that began in October has enabled a limited return of pilgrims and tourists, though crowds were largely local and visitor numbers remain modest.
- Bethlehem’s tourism‑dependent economy was devastated during the war, with unemployment rising from 14% to 65% and roughly 4,000 residents leaving to find work, according to the mayor.
- Security and humanitarian strains persist, with Israeli raids and a UN‑reported record of settler attacks in October in the West Bank, and Gaza’s Christian community reduced to about 500 people after at least 23 deaths.