Today, Thursday, the Christian Christmas celebrations began in the city of Bethlehem (the southern occupied West Bank), for the sects that follow the Western calendar, in accordance with preventive measures from the Corona virus.
A heavy guard was placed at the entrances to Manger Square to prevent entry into the square´s borders without adhering to safety and preventive measures. Prayers were held since the morning in the Church of the Nativity (which Christians believe was built over the cave in which the Prophet Jesus, peace be upon him, was born). Scouting teams organized performances that roamed the city streets, amid an intense Palestinian security presence, coinciding with the arrival of the Patriarch of the Latin Catholic Church, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, to Bethlehem from occupied Jerusalem. The "Midnight Mass" is scheduled to take place, Thursday / Friday night, in the Church of the Nativity with the presence of clerics only. Celebrations of the Christian denominations that depend on the Eastern calendar will be held on January 7th. The mayor of Bethlehem, Anton Salman, said: “The birthday comes this year at a time when the world is suffering from the spread of the Corona pandemic, which endangers human life and causes great suffering and loss to the peoples of the world.” In turn, the Director General of Bethlehem Governorate Police, Brigadier General Tariq Al-Hajj, said that there will be a mobilization of police personnel in the governorate, in addition to members of other security services, until the end of the midnight mass, to secure the arrival of the celebrations procession.
