West Bank city has not held a celebration since 2022
December 7
2025
– 3:10 p.m.
(updated at 3:37 p.m.)
A gigantic Christmas tree adorned with red and gold decorations has been erected and lit up in Manger Square in Belém, West Bank, for the first time since 2022.
The information was published on Saturday (6) by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, which explains that the Palestinian city, revered by Christians as the birthplace of Jesus, had stopped organizing public Christmas celebrations in the last two years due to the war in the Gaza Strip.
But amid the fragile ceasefire in the enclave, thousands of Palestinians from the West Bank and Israel poured into the square, cheering as the lights of the 20-meter-high Christmas tree came on.
“We came to party, watch and have fun, because for several years we did not have this opportunity,” said Randa Bsoul, a 67-year-old Palestinian from Haifa, Israel.
Belém Mayor Maher Canawati stressed that even as the city “turns on its Christmas lights, the deep anguish endured by our people in Gaza does not leave our hearts.”
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