Church leaders in Jerusalem are appealing to Israeli authorities to reverse a decision that prohibits the Christmastime travel permits that usually allow a few hundred Christians from the Gaza Strip to visit Bethlehem, Nazareth, and Jerusalem. Israeli officials, citing security concerns, have broken with their usual practice and declined to grant the permits, Reuters reports. Gaza Christians may travel abroad but not to Israel and the West Bank.
Wadie Abu Nassar, an adviser to local church leaders, criticized the policy.
“Other people around the world are allowed to travel to Bethlehem. We think Gaza’s Christians should have that right, too,” he told Reuters.
One Gaza woman lamented the decision. “Every year I pray they will give me a permit so I can celebrate Christmas and see my family,” Randa El-Amash, 50, told Reuters. “It will be more joyful to celebrate in Bethlehem and in Jerusalem.” The Gaza Strip is a 141 square mile area under Palestinian control in the west of Israel. It is home to about 2 million people. Since 2007, it has been ruled by the Islamist movement Hamas.
In 2018, Israel granted nearly 700 Gaza Christians travel permits allowing them to go to Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Nazareth and other sites of pilgrimage. While Israel’s population is predominantly Jewish, about 20 percent of the country’s 8.5 million people are Arab. About two percent are Christians, though their numbers have sharply declined after decades of emigration.
CNA contacted the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops for comment but did not receive a response by deadline. CNA
