Dozens of Palestinian protesters, some of them festively dressed as Santa Claus, clashed on Tuesday with Israeli security forces in Bethlehem, a day before the beginning of Christmas celebrations in the West Bank city revered as the birthplace of Jesus. The demonstrators gathered at the Bethlehem checkpoint to protest against "an occupation that controls our lives, and surrounding us with the apartheid wall," a press release by the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee said. Israel started building the security fence in 2002 in response to a wave of Palestinian suicide bombings. It says the barrier has kept its citizens safe from terrorists. Around 50,000 Palestinian Christians, including 17,000 Catholics, live among 4 million Muslims in the West Bank and Gaza. They claim Israel's checkpoints and security barrier cut them off from their neighbors and holy places in Jerusalem. The issue of Palestinian movement restrictions comes to the fore every year in the run-up to Christmas, when tens of thousands of religious tourists make their way to Bethlehem, other parts of the West Bank and Jerusalem to celebrate the birth, life and death of Jesus. When it comes to Bethlehem, a city of 25,000 just 8 kilometers (5 miles) south of Jerusalem, the critical issue is getting foreign tourists past Israeli checkpoints and convincing them to stay the night. Many now choose to stay in Jerusalem and make a day trip. Palestinian officials claim the growth of Israeli settlements -- there are now 22 around Bethlehem -- is steadily strangling access, prompting tourists to stay away. On the morning of Christmas Eve, Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal will leave Jerusalem in the head of a festive motorcade toward Bethlehem, where he will lead Christmas Eve mass in the Church of Nativity.
Credit: Reuters
The Israeli army spokesperson unit said that approximately 80 protesters hurled rocks at security forces, who responded with riot dispersal means.