Christian communities throughout Palestine which follow the Western calendar have canceled Christmas celebrations and confined themselves to religious rituals and the Midnight Mass in protest against US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
This comes amid a marked decline in the number of Palestinians who have come to Bethlehem to celebrate Christmas due to the Israeli roadblocks surrounding Bethlehem.
Hundreds of Palestinians poured in from other West Bank cities and from the Green Line to Bethlehem until Sunday evening for Christmas celebrations held under tight Palestinian security.
The first and last message at this year’s Christmas ceremony is that Jerusalem is an occupied Arab city and the eternal capital of the state of Palestine.
