The biblical town of Bethlehem marks its second straight Christmas Eve under the shadow of the coronavirus, with small crowds and gray, gloomy weather dampening celebrations.
“I hope that this COVID will finish,” Pizzaballa said as he left Jerusalem, saying there needs to be a balance between public health and community life.
By midday, several hundred people, nearly all of them Palestinians, milled about behind the barricades to celebrate the occasion. “Under normal conditions for this time of year, I usually have a 20-meter queue outside,” said Adil Abu Nayaf, owner of an empty food stall in Manger Square.
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