Overview
- Bethlehem lit its Christmas tree on Dec. 6 and restored markets and concerts under the ceasefire, drawing pilgrims and offering a modest boost to shops and hotels.
- Israel’s Cabinet approved a plan to authorize 19 additional West Bank settlements as UN data recorded a peak of 271 settler attacks in October, intensifying insecurity for Palestinian communities.
- Bethlehem’s tourism crash drove unemployment from 14% to 65% and pushed about 4,000 residents to leave, with the cautious return of visitors now a vital but uncertain lifeline.
- In Taybeh, clergy cited recent settler assaults including cars set ablaze and farmland damaged, and noted a slow exodus of Christian families despite calls for nonviolent resilience.
- Gaza’s small Christian community, largely sheltering in church compounds, kept celebrations to liturgies after deadly strikes on church sites, with a pastoral visit by Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa offering encouragement amid worries over demographic decline.