Israel's Ban On Gaza Christians Celebrate Christmas In Bethlehem And Jerusalem

JAKARTA - Christians in the Gaza Strip have been forced to abandon their intention to celebrate Christmas in holy cities such as Bethlehem and Jerusalem. Because, this year, the Israeli authorities did not give permission for Gaza Christians to visit Israel and the West Bank, where there are Christian holy sites.

The regulations that the Israeli authorities have just passed violate the previous ones. In 2018, Israel still gave permission for nearly 700 Gaza Christians to travel to Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth and other holy cities, which thousands of pilgrims visit each holiday season. In the Gaza Strip, there are about 1,000 Christians, most of them Greek Orthodox.

The Spokesperson for the Israeli military group said Gaza Christians would still be granted permits to travel abroad, but were not allowed to pass through areas of Israel and the West Bank.

The Israeli military said the ban was carried out as a form of Israel's tight guard against the movement of the people of the Gaza Strip. The Gaza Strip territory is controlled by Hamas, an Islamic group which Israel considers a terrorist group.

The Israeli military spokesman also said Gaza Christians were still allowed to travel abroad via the West Bank's Allenby Bridge border with Jordan. The Allenby Bridge is the only point of access to Jordan.

Christian leaders in Jerusalem condemned the new regulations. They asked the Israeli authorities to immediately lift the ban.

"Other citizens around the world are allowed to visit Bethlehem. We think Gaza Christians also have the same rights," said Wadie Abu Nassar, a local church adviser.

The sadness of not being able to get together with the family at Christmas was conveyed by a woman. The woman voiced her hope that Israel would immediately change its policies so that she could visit her family who live in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

"Every year I pray that they (Israel) give me permission to celebrate Christmas and visit my family. It will be even more fun to celebrate Christmas in Bethlehem and Jerusalem," said Randa El-Amash, the woman.

For a long time Israel has been aggressively defending its borders against Gazans traveling through the West Bank. They reasoned that they did this because many Palestinians from Gaza were staying illegally when they were granted short-term permits.