Bethlehem

Palestinian Greek Orthodox Christians attend a Christmas Eve Mass, led by Greek Orthodox Archbishop Alexios at St. Porphyrios Church in Gaza City, January 7, 2022. (Atia Mohammed/Flash90)

Palestinian Christians in Gaza fear being ‘swept under the rubble or into the desert’

Hundreds of Gaza’s Christian families are either sheltering in a church or have fled south, marking Christmas only as another day of Israel’s deadly assault.

By Fatima AbdulKarim December 28, 2023

Palestinians watch the lighting of a Christmas tree at Manger Square, outside the Church of the Nativity in West Bank town of Bethlehem, December 4, 2021. (Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90)

Bethlehem’s Christmas celebrations marred by Israel’s COVID orders

Israeli travel restrictions have crippled Bethlehem's biggest tourist season, with Palestinian Christians criticizing their occupier's decisions as political.

By Samah Salaime December 27, 2021

A general view of the construction work on the Tunnel Road, as seen from the Gilo settlement, December 15, 2020. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

How Israel’s road projects are ensuring apartheid is here to stay

The expansion of settler bypass roads in the West Bank has been central to turning Israel's 'temporary occupation' into a permanent one-state reality.

By Ahmad Al-Bazz and Edo Konrad December 31, 2020

Latest

Israeli soldiers check the ID of Palestinian drivers as they inspect a vehicle at a checkpoint in the West Bank city of Hebron, December 23, 2017. (Wisam Hashlamoun/Flash90)

‘That’s the point of the checkpoint, to remind you they’re always there’

The scariest thing about 'The Container,' which divides Palestinian areas from each other, is not knowing when — or if — you will make it to the other side.

By Mya Guarnieri Jaradat July 6, 2020

A Palestinian shepherd near the Israeli settlement of Efrat. March 22, 2017. (Gershon Elinson/Flash90)

Israel’s ‘strangling’ of Bethlehem tightens as world debates annexation

West Bank settlements are expanding around Bethlehem despite annexation pushback, cutting off Palestinians from their land and from each other.

By Judith Sudilovsky June 18, 2020

Live from quarantined Palestine, it’s Radio Alhara

An online radio station playing from the occupied West Bank wants to connect Palestinians — and the world — during a pandemic.

By Henriette Chacar March 27, 2020

Palestinians walk on a street in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, March 19, 2020. (Wisam Hashlamoun/Flash90)

‘If we can overcome coronavirus, we can overcome the occupation’

Thousands of volunteers and donations to support locked-down Bethlehem are reviving a sense of Palestinian solidarity reminiscent of the First Intifada.

By Suha Arraf March 26, 2020

Carol Janine takes a video of her son Milan at their home in Bethlehem as he recites his homework, to send it to his teacher on March 11, 2020. (Samar Hazboun)

Coronavirus lockdown turns Bethlehem into a ghost town

A vendor struggles to sell his rotting produce. A mother juggles working from home while homeschooling her children. Stories of how the city is coping under the coronavirus lockdown.

By Samar Hazboun March 13, 2020

A Palestinian municipal employee disinfects a street at the entrance to the West Bank city of Bethlehem, March 12, 2020. (Wisam Hashlamoun/Flash90)

Palestinians were a security risk. Now we’re a health hazard, too

Measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus seem dystopian to the world. For Palestinians, they are only slightly worse than business as usual.

By Karim Kattan March 13, 2020

Palestinian security forces wearing face masks block the entrance to the West Bank city of Bethlehem, March 8, 2020. (Wisam Hashlamoun/Flash90)

West Bank lockdowns didn’t start with the coronavirus pandemic

The principles that have guided Israeli governments through 52 years of occupation seem to be informing the response to coronavirus in the occupied territories.

By Lior Amihai March 11, 2020

A Palestinian police officer wears a mask to protect himself from coronavirus stands outside the closed Church of the Nativity in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, March 8, 2020. (Wisam Hashlamoun/Flash90)

‘A virus that doesn’t respect borders’: Life under lockdown in Bethlehem

With the outbreak of COVID-19 in Bethlehem, an Israeli-imposed lockdown has left the city's streets and stores deserted at the height of tourist season.

By Judith Sudilovsky March 10, 2020

From Gaza to Bethlehem: Celebrating Christmas under occupation

Photographer Samar Hazboun captures the subtle, intimate moments of Palestinians celebrating Christmas under siege and occupation, following three families from the Gaza Strip to Bethlehem in the West Bank.

By +972 Magazine December 27, 2018

Israeli forces arrest Munthar Amira during a demonstration in support of Nariman and Ahed Tamimi. Bethlehem, West Bank, December 27, 2017.

My father was jailed for believing Palestine must be free

The Israeli occupation thinks that my father, non-violent organizer Munther Amirah, is a threat to its apartheid system because he radiates hope to our community. By Ghaida Amirah I was born at a time when people believed the Israeli occupation would soon be over. Following the signing of the Oslo agreement, my father was confident there…

By +972 Magazine February 21, 2018