Christmas is not necessarily the optimal time to visit Bethlehem. Not, at least, this year, after the mayor announced that Christmas is cancelled as a result of Israel’s onslaught on Gaza.

Map locates the West Bank city of Bethlehem in Israel, southest of Jerusalem. It also locates the Gaza Strip to the west. The ministry says about 20,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war ...

"Now the tourism sector is dead." Drawn by historical sites in Jerusalem and Bethlehem, and Tel Aviv's white sandy beaches, some three million tourists flocked to Israel in the first nine months ...

BETHLEHEM, West Bank — In the little town of Bethlehem, Christmas this year is barely a whisper. Palestinian scouts paraded ...

Around half of the population in the Bethlehem area, including nearby villages, works in either tourism or in jobs in Israel. The unemployment rate in Bethlehem is roughly 50%, said Salman.

Christmas morning in Bethlehem is somber, not the usual joyful town with parades and bands in Manger Square. Church leaders canceled celebrations there because of the Israel-Hamas war. Some ...

as Christmas Eve celebrations in Bethlehem were called off due to the Israel-Hamas war. The festive lights and Christmas tree that normally decorate Manger Square were missing, as were the throngs ...

He did so, too, under the guidance of one of Jerusalem’s most eccentric rabbinic figures, Rabbi Mordechai Elefant, who introduced himself as the ‘Rabbi of Bethlehem, and look how great the ...

the Church of Jerusalem, without pilgrims is not complete”. “I have to say that Christmas in Bethlehem is always nice, but this time is the second year we have a sad Christmas in Bethlehem ...

Even before the latest war the fortunes of Christians in the West Bank, including Jerusalem, were fast declining. Gaining permits from the Israeli authorities to travel in and out of Bethlehem and ...

We must be peaceful in the Holy Land.” Bethlehem would normally be full of visitors at this time of year (Bel Trew/The Independent) Israel has launched a crippling siege and a ferocious aerial ...