Bethlehem prepares for Christian pilgrims

A Christian pilgrim prays Thursday inside the Grotto of the Church of the Nativity in the West Bank town of Bethlehem on the…

Thousands of Christian faithful gathered in Bethlehem’s Manger Square Thursday to celebrate Christmas amid heightened tensions after 100 days of violence between Palestinians and Israelis.

Palestinian stone throwers run to take cover after Israeli security forces fired tear gas canisters during clashes following a demonstration next to the Israeli controversial separation wall in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Dec. 18, 2015.

Since the beginning of October 2015, more than 130 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli Occupation Forces, and thousands injured. The annual yearly festivities in Manger Sq. was held as regular, still different celebrations within the city have been canceled or sculpted down.

“We are praying for the restoration of peace and security and the return of the displaced to their land”, said one worshipper, Farida, as she arrived at Our Lady of Salvation church in Baghdad, one member of a dwindling Christian community trickling in to churches.

Tourists from across the globe had travelled to Israel and the Palestinian areas for the holiday season via Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, Israeli Tourism Ministry spokeswoman Lydia Weitzman said.

Shortly afterward, the Israeli military said a Palestinian wielding a screwdriver was shot dead after he tried to stab security forces in the West Bank city of Hebron, a frequent flashpoint for violence.

One visitor from Jerusalem said she’s relieved to escape the threat of attacks there, and that she feels safe in Bethlehem.

Christmas is the time of year when Bethlehem makes it in the news.

It seems the Palestinian agitators dressed in Santa Claus outfits were hoping to show the world that Israeli soldiers were deliberately attacking Christians and their symbols.

“It hasn’t been this bad since the Second Intifada”, she said, referring to the violent Palestinian uprising of the early 2000s.

That’s why we created The Bethlehem Report and for many years now, bring it to the radio audience in San Diego on Christmas Eve.

Israel built the barrier a decade ago to stop suicide bombings. Palestinians view the structure as a land grab that has stifled Bethlehem’s economy.

On Thursday night, PA President Mahmoud Abbas and the authority’s prime minister, Rami Hamdallah, participated in a midnight mass at Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity, Ma’an reported.

“The number of those who are in need for urgent travel through Rafah crossing and officially registered in the interior ministry has reached 25,000 people, a lot of them are students who need to continue their education overseas and patients who need urgent medical treatment”, said Abu Madi.

Bethlehem is considered as the holy city for Christians across the world. “This is the land of peace”, she said, “Bethlehem is the birthplace of the king of peace, and all we want is peace”.

Still, pilgrims who were at Manger Square in the heart of Bethlehem were proud to have made the trip. Then he and his fellow pilgrims sang When a Child is Born.