The sun rises over the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on December 24, 2025

The sun rises over the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on December 24, 2025 [Yosri Aljamal_Reuters]

Easter celebrations have been canceled in the birthplace of Christ - an act of solidarity... "We lift up prayers to the Risen Christ, the Lord of peace, that this Feast of the Glorious Resurrection may be an occasion for peace and healing for our wounded hearts and for this sorrowful city. We also extend our warmest congratulations to our Christian brothers and sisters on this blessed feast, and we ask the Risen Christ to lift the oppression from this Holy Land, and to grant everyone safety, peace, stability, and a just and lasting peace."

 Statement from the Greek Orthodox Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem: 

“In light of the tragic circumstances, and in the shadow of the brutality of war and the dire situation affecting our Palestinian people in the homeland, it has been decided to cancel all celebrations and traditional festive appearances for this holy occasion, and to limit the observance to prayers and strictly religious rituals only. 

On Holy Saturday, the Holy Fire will be received at the Church of the Nativity and delivered to His Excellency the American Consul General, Mr. Gregory Thome, in accordance with the protocol followed inside the church. 

We also affirm that we have no connection to any unofficial festive appearances that take place outside the church’s jurisdiction. These are not part of the church’s official program for this holy season. 

We lift up prayers to the Risen Christ, the Lord of peace, that this Feast of the Glorious Resurrection may be an occasion for peace and healing for our wounded hearts and for this sorrowful city. 

We also extend our warmest congratulations to our Christian brothers and sisters on this blessed feast, and we ask the Risen Christ to lift the oppression from this Holy Land, and to grant everyone safety, peace, stability, and a just and lasting peace.” 

Fayyad: UNESCO decision a victory for rights, humanity

  [AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=499812 

 BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) -- The prime minister in Ramallah welcomed a decision by UNESCO on Friday to include several Christian holy sites to the UN agency's world heritage list.

Salam Fayyad called the decision an affirmation of the international importance of the holy city of Bethlehem and said it gave hope to the Palestinian people of the inevitability a victory for their cause.

“It’s time for UN agencies to uphold its political, legal, cultural, and ethical responsibilities and put an end to what the Palestinian people are suffering, and (rescue) its cultural heritage from the Israeli occupation’s aggression.”

He added that “the international community should take serious responsibility to ensure ending the Israeli occupation on our land since 1967 and to enable the Palestinian people to achieve self-determination.”

Fayyad stressed that Bethlehem, Jerusalem and all Palestinian lands are symbols of coexistence and tolerance.

CSM: UNESCO designates Church of the Nativity as endangered site... "Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who heads a self-rule government in charge of 38 percent of the West Bank, says negotiations with Israel remain his preferred choice, but wants global recognition to improve his leverage [for negotiations]."

A nun walks outside the Church of the Nativity, the site revered as the birthplace of Jesus, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem June 28.

Ammar Awad/REUTERS

Palestinian leaders consider the designation a political victory.

By Dalia Nammari and Karin Laub, Associated Press / June 29, 2012 

Bethlehem, West Bank

The Palestinians on Friday persuaded the U.N. cultural agency to list the Church of the Nativity — the place where Christians believe Jesus was born — as an endangered World Heritage site despite misgivings by churches in charge of the basilica.

The Palestinians hailed the nod by UNESCO as a step forward in their quest for global recognition of an independent Palestine in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem, captured by Israel in 1967.
The centuries-old basilica is located in a part of the Israeli-occupied West Bank where the Palestinians have self-rule. UNESCO's decision was seen by them as validation of their rights to the territory.

IN PICTURES: Unsettled: Jewish settlements in the West Bank

"We are ecstatic," Palestinian spokeswoman Hanan Ashrawi said of Friday's 13-6 by UNESCO's World Heritage Committee, meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia.

The Palestinians had argued that the shrine faces imminent danger, both because of overdue repairs and Israel's continued occupation of the West Bank....READ MORE

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http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Latest-News-Wires/2012/0629/UNESCO-designates-Church-of-the-Nativity-as-endangered-site

CNN: UNESCO grants Bethlehem church 'world heritage' status

Christian pilgrims visit the Church of Nativity in the Palestinian city of Bethlehem on June 28, 2012.

"Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Malki, in St. Petersburg for the vote, thanked all those who voted in favor of including Bethlehem's holiest sites on the world heritage list.

"The victory of Palestine in international organizations is the beginning of the end of the Israeli occupation," Malki said in a statement.

Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization's executive committee who heads the group's Department of Culture and Information, told CNN from Ramallah that the vote affirms the Palestinian identity and is one step toward Palestinian self-determination.

"Now we are responsible for our cultural and historical sites as part of human civilization as a whole," Ashrawi said.

"Politically it is important, because it is the beginning of the loosening of the control of the Israeli occupation on our land, on our lives, on our culture and at all attempts of confiscation and distortion of our cultural heritage and reality," Ashrawi said....READ MORE

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http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/29/world/meast/palestinian-bethlehem-heritage-site/index.html

LATimes: Palestinians hail World Heritage listing of Bethlehem holy sites

RAMALLAH, West Bank -- A United Nations panel voted Friday to include holy sites in the biblical city of Bethlehem  on the World Heritage list, to the applause of Palestinian officials and the anger of their Israeli counterparts

A committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) voted 13 to 6 with two abstentions to include the ancient Church of the Nativity, the reputed birthplace of Jesus Christ, along with the city's Pilgrimage Route on the World Heritage list of endangered sites. The panel met in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Palestinians saw the World Heritage Committee's decision as international recognition of their jurisdiction over Bethlehem and its holy sites, in addition to making the church eligible for UNESCO funding for badly needed repairs and renovations.

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad quickly praised the vote as "a victory for righteousness, justice and humanitarian principles."...READ MORE

[AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/world_now/2012/06/bethlehem-world-heritage-site-palestinians-israel.html

The Palestinian Authority is struggling to raise funds for a planned renovation to Bethlehem's iconic Church of the Nativity

Palestinians plan to coordinate with churches, UNESCO, everybody with an international criteria: "The renovation itself will have to comply with international standards for cultural heritage protection..."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=444727
Greek Orthodox clergymen clean the floor of the Nativity Church, believed
by many to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, ahead of Orthodox and Armenian
Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem (MaanImages/Luay Sababa, File)

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The Palestinian Authority is struggling to raise funds for a planned renovation to Bethlehem's iconic Church of the Nativity, a Palestinian official said Monday.

Ziad Bandak, presidential adviser for Christian affairs and head of the Nativity Church restoration committee, says the PA has raised about $1.6 million of the nearly $15 million needed for a major roof renovation.

"The major issue is the issue of funding," Bandak told reporters in Bethlehem. He says the government and local businesses have offered the bulk of the money secured so far, along with a $100,000 grant from Hungary in response to an international appeal for assistance.

"The first who paid $1 million was the Palestinians, from the Palestinian treasury," after President Mahmoud Abbas established a committee in 2009 to carry out work on the church's leaky roof, he says.

The problem with the roof has been exacerbated for centuries, as one authority after another ignored it. Under Ottoman, British, Jordanian and Israeli rule, only cosmetic improvements were made. Now that Palestinians have nominal control of Bethlehem, the PA wants to prove it is up to the challenge.

"The Church of the Nativity is part of our history," Bandak says.

"At the end of it we are going to have the Palestinian Authority's renovation ... which reflects the respect of the Palestinian people for their history."

Asked if he was disappointed with the response so far, Bandak said, "I am maybe a little disappointed, but not pessimistic. I'm sure the majority of the countries want to know the official numbers and figures."

He said support would come through once the committee was able to present a comprehensive plan, in early 2012. "We asked for more study on certain issues" related to the renovation, he said. "We didn't want to ask for money from other countries (in case) there was a miscalculation."

Also, the PA wants "to coordinate this issue with churches, UNESCO, everybody with an international criteria. The renovation itself will have to comply with international standards for cultural heritage protection.

'A very sensitive line'

"The Church of the Nativity is one of the most magnificent and holiest places in the world for the Christians, and also for the Palestinians and Arab countries in general."

There is some precedent for taking it slow. The Nativity Church was built in 330 AD and since that time, there have not been any comprehensive renovations, Palestinian officials say.

"I'm talking about 1,700 years," Bandak points out.

"Earthquakes, wars, changing authorities. So, this is the first time in the history of the church, which is the cradle of Christianity, that a comprehensive renovation is taking place."

The main obstacle to the undertaking is apparent to visitors. Built over the historic birthplace of Christ, the building is strictly divided between the Greek, Latin and Armenian churches.

Finally in 2009, Bandak managed to secure approval from all three groups.

"We have to be very careful not to harm the status quo (agreements)," he says. "We have to coordinate any step with them because they are, at the end of the day, the owners.

"We don't want to harm this understanding, so we have to walk on a very sensitive line and respect their rights and reach the renovation at the end of the day."

Israeli barriers in Bethlehem are weighing heavily on holiday cheer.

Christian nuns watch a large Christmas lit at Manger Square, outside the Church of the Nativity in the biblical West Bank town of Bethlehem, Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2010. Tourists from all over the world are expected to flock to Jesus' traditional birthplace to celebrate the Christmas holiday this month. (AP Photo/Nasser Shiyoukhi)

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-ml-palestinians-bethlehem,0,973270.story?track=rss

Bethlehem mayor lights town's Christmas tree, criticizes Israeli limits as holiday approaches

By Associated Press

2:00 p.m. EST, December 15, 2010

BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) — Bethlehem's mayor has lit up his town's main Christmas tree while complaining that Israel's limitations on access to his West Bank town are weighing heavily on holiday cheer.

Mayor Victor Batarseh and a Palestinian official threw a switch to light white bulbs strung around a tall, star-topped fir tree in front of the Church of the Nativity, marking the traditional birthplace of Jesus.

Part of Israel's West Bank separation barrier cuts through southern Bethlehem, blocking the road to Jerusalem, 3 miles (5 kilometers) away.

At his pre-Christmas news conference Wednesday, Batarseh said traditional carols call for peace and good will, but this is hindered by the Israeli barrier "that has cut the 2,000-year-old relation between Bethlehem and its twin city Jerusalem."

Franciscan monks pray inside the Grotto where many Christians believe the Virgin Mary gave birth to Jesus Christ, in the Church of the Nativity, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2010. Tourists from all over the world are expected to flock to Jesus' traditional birthplace to celebrate the Christmas holiday this month. (AP Photo/Tara Todras-Whitehill) Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity Play Slideshow