As Bethlehem lit up again, Palestinian-American Christians reflect on Christmas Two years ago, more than two months into what became Israel's genocide in Gaza , Reverend Munther Isaac of Bethlehem's Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church proclaimed that "Christ is under the rubble". The nativity display next to him, which lasted through 2024, said as much. The figure of a newborn Jesus Christ, swaddled in a Palestinian keffiyeh, lay in a pile of rubble. No Christmas tree was lit, and the celebrations slated for Christ's birthplace were cancelled. On 10 October 2025, a US-brokered ceasefire went into effect in Gaza. While there have been nearly 1,000 violations by Israeli forces since then, according to the Gaza Government Media Office, Palestinians have found reprieve from round-the-clock air strikes, and a suffocating blockade of food and medicine. Now, Bethlehem has turned its Christmas lights back on, and its Palestinian leadership prayed the tourists, with Israel's permission, would return. You can read more here .