<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really hard to celebrate while our people are dying,\u201d says an 18-year-old student in Bethlehem’s Manger Square.<\/p>\n
Sadness over the relentless Israeli bombing in Gaza subdued the holiday cheer in Bethlehem on Christmas Eve, when the biblical town would usually be decked out in festive finery.<\/p>\n
There was no revelry on Sunday, with few worshippers or tourists on the streets of the Palestinian town in the occupied West Bank, which according to Christian tradition was the birthplace of Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n
Celebrations in the Holy Land have mostly been cancelled in solidarity with the people of Gaza, who are living through the deadliest conflict ever to engulf the besieged Palestinian territory.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of people are dying for this land,\u201d says Nicole Najjar, an 18-year-old student in the city\u2019s deserted Manger Square.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really hard to celebrate while our people are dying.\u201d<\/p>\n
A work of art evoking the tragedy of the war has been installed on the ground opposite the Church of the Nativity, taking the place of the life-size nativity scene and colossal Christmas tree that would normally be there.<\/p>\n
On the building next door, a large banner reads: \u201cStop the genocide, stop the displacement, lift the blockade.\u201d<\/p>\n Israeli forces began its bombardment on Gaza after Hamas fighters attacked Israel and killed about 1,140 people and seized 250 hostages, according to an AFP<\/em> tally based on Israeli figures.<\/p>\n Israel has vowed to eliminate Hamas in response and its military campaign, which has included massive aerial bombardment, has killed 20,424 people, mostly women and children, according to Gaza\u2019s health ministry.<\/p>\n