LIVE: Bethlehem Marks Sombre Christmas Under Shadow of War | Nativity Church in Bethlehem | N18G скачать в хорошем качестве

LIVE: Bethlehem Marks Sombre Christmas Under Shadow of War | Nativity Church in Bethlehem | N18G

LIVE: Bethlehem Marks sombre Christmas Under Shadow of War | Nativity Church in Bethlehem | Christmas Mass | CNBC TV18 BETHLEHEM, WEST BANK- Palestinians and foreigners attend midnight mass at the Nativity Church. Bethlehem marked another somber Christmas Eve on Tuesday in the traditional birthplace of Jesus under the shadow of war in Gaza. The excitement and cheer that typically descends on the West Bank during Christmas week were nowhere to be found. The festive lights and giant tree that normally decorate Manger Square were missing, as were the throngs of foreign tourists that usually fill the square. Palestinian scouts marched silently through the streets, a departure from their usual raucous brass marching band. Security forces arranged barriers near the Church of the Nativity, built atop the spot where Jesus is believed to have been born. Bethlehem is an important center in the history of Christianity, but Christians make up only a small percentage of the roughly 14 million people spread across the Holy Land. There are about 182,000 in Israel, 50,000 in the West Bank and Jerusalem and 1,300 in Gaza, according to the U.S. State Department. After nightfall, the golden walls of the Church of the Nativity were illuminated as a few dozen people quietly milled about. A young boy stood holding a bunch of balloons for sale, but gave up because there were no customers to buy them. #Nativitychurch #bethlehem #christmas #christmasmass #merrychristmas #cnbctv18