Today, Saturday, Bethlehem Municipality launched the Christmas message on the occasion of the glorious Christmas holidays, during the traditional annual Christmas press conference held at the municipality headquarters.

Bethlehem Mayor Anton Salman said, “From Bethlehem, the capital of Christmas, and in this glorious Christmas season, we light the candle of hope once again, calling on the peoples of the world to adopt the values of Christmas, peace, justice and love.”

He added, "Despite the pain and injustice, we remain a living people who love peace, adore life, and cling to our roots in this holy land. We remain witnesses to the birth and salvation, and bearers of a message of hope and peace, believing in the justice of heaven that will inevitably come."

The letter stated, “The city of Bethlehem is not far from what is happening around it in the Palestinian cities. Since the beginning of the Israeli aggression on Gaza, the city has suffered from isolation as a result of the restrictions imposed on it by the Israeli occupation. Tourism has stopped, doors have been closed to its pilgrims, resources have dried up, barriers have spread at its entrances, the occupation has tightened restrictions on movement to and from it, and stagnation has spread in its markets, which has had a severe impact on the lives of its citizens. The economic crisis has worsened, the suffering of its citizens has increased, and the sense of isolation has deepened.”

Salman strongly condemned the continued brutal Israeli aggression against our people in the Gaza Strip, expressing his dissatisfaction with the silence of the international community in the face of the massacres being committed against our people in Gaza and the rest of the Palestinian territories.

He called for serious and immediate intervention to put an end to Israeli violations of the rights of our people and human rights in the Palestinian territories.

He said that the Bethlehem Municipality decided to limit the Christmas activities this year to prayers and religious rituals, in confirmation of the rejection of the injustice inflicted on our people in Gaza and all of Palestine and the genocide to which they are being subjected, stressing that the true essence of Christmas does not lie in appearances and festivals, but in worship and prayers.

He called on the peace-loving peoples of the world to "draw inspiration from the values of Christmas, and instill them in the consciences of humanity and decision-makers in this world, hoping that our message will reach their hearts and that they will be a voice to stop the atrocities that have been committed against the Palestinian people for many years, which have reached their peak these days."

For his part, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Hani Al-Hayek, said, "We meet today to launch the Christmas message in light of the continued barbaric aggression targeting everything Palestinian, and seeking to liquidate our cause and end our historical presence on this land, but our people have proven, as every time, their steadfastness and their roots in their land."

He stressed that our people will remain committed to their legitimate right to freedom and independence, standing firm behind their leadership, which has stood as an impregnable barrier against all attempts to undermine their steadfastness.

Al-Hayek added that in light of the ongoing aggression and Israeli measures represented by the intensification of barriers, the separation of Palestinian cities and villages from each other, their siege, the repeated invasions, the prevention of work within the 1948 territories, and the seizure of clearance funds, the Palestinian economic sectors, including tourism, face fateful challenges, as foreign incoming tourism, which did not exceed 3% of incoming tourism before the aggression, has stopped, and the tourism sector has incurred huge losses estimated at more than a billion dollars since the beginning of the aggression, of which about 600 million dollars were lost by Bethlehem alone, in addition to indirect losses.

He pointed out that the unemployment rate has risen to more than 36%, and the poverty rate has increased, as about 30% of Bethlehem's population has no source of income.

Al-Haik pointed out that despite all the challenges and scarcity of financial resources, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities did not stop working diligently. It worked in cooperation with local and international community institutions, and in partnership with the private sector, to preserve the Palestinian tangible cultural heritage in the northern governorates, monitor and document the destruction in Gaza, and address international institutions specialized in global tangible cultural heritage. It also worked to preserve Palestine’s global tourism status to ensure the return of tourism when appropriate conditions are available.

Al-Hayek called on the world to work to lift the siege imposed on Palestine by visiting it and its religious and cultural sites, attending through Palestinian offices, staying in Palestinian hotels and shelters, communicating with the Palestinian people and enjoying their hospitality and getting to know their lives and legitimate struggle to establish peace and achieve freedom, stressing that supporting the Palestinian economy and participating with our people in their struggle for freedom represent a message of solidarity with deep meaning.

In turn, Bethlehem Governor Mohammed Taha said, “On this day, I address the silent world that does not move a finger and I say to it, is it not time to move and stand up to this latest occupation in the world and the genocide it is committing?”

Taha added, "Limiting the occasion of the birth of Christ to performing religious rituals is a clear indication that we are one people in the homeland and the diaspora, and that the occupation has failed in all its plans to undermine our unity, as we live in common pain and suffering."

For his part, the Director General of Bethlehem Police, Brigadier General Murad Qandah, announced the completion of all police preparations in all its departments, in order to secure the glorious Christmas holidays and provide an appropriate atmosphere for the national religious occasion.