BETHLEHEM: Missing for a second consecutive year were the decorations, bustling tourists and crowds of pilgrims that were staples of Christmases past, reflecting the sombre mood as the war between Israel and Palestinians in the Gaza Strip drags on.
"This year we limited our joy," Bethlehem mayor Anton Salman said. "We want to focus on the Palestinian reality and show the world that Palestine is still suffering from the Israeli occupation, still suffering from the injustice." Prayers, including the church's famed midnight mass, will still be held in the presence of the Catholic Church's Latin Patriarch, but the festivities will be of a more strictly religious nature than the festive celebrations the city once held. Despite the gloomy mood, some Christians in the Holy Land are finding refuge in prayer. "Christmas is a feast of faith... We're going to pray and ask God to end our suffering," Salman said. — AFP
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