Overview
- Public festivities returned to Manger Square for the first time since 2022, with carols, markets and modest international visitors restoring a measure of normal life.
- Bethlehem’s tourism-dependent economy is seeing a limited rebound after the Gaza war drove unemployment from 14% to 65%, according to the city’s mayor.
- The Israeli Cabinet approved a proposal to authorize 19 additional West Bank settlements, which the United Nations and the International Court of Justice say violate international law.
- UN data show 271 settler attacks in October, the highest monthly total since record-keeping began in 2006, with dozens injured in the Bethlehem area this year.
- Taybeh reported recent arson attacks on vehicles and a landowner’s complaint over encroachment near a settlers’ outpost under review, as the Israeli military said it deployed forces but found no perpetrators and local clergy noted families leaving the village.