Middle East Eye: Archbishop of York Condemns Israeli Occupation at Christmas, Barred From Bethlehem
December 27, 2025
CHRISTMAS UNDER OCCUPATION.
The Archbishop of York speaks out after being blocked, silenced, and barred in Bethlehem stopped at checkpoints, denied access to Palestinian families, and confronted by the reality of life under Israeli control.
When even clergy are restricted, when Christmas in Bethlehem is quiet because pilgrims can’t enter, the message is clear: occupation doesn’t pause for peace not even at Christmas.
FREE PALESTINE!
#Bethlehem #ChristmasUnderOccupation #FreePalestine #christmas #fyp
English Script:
I visited Bethlehem just last month. It was very quiet, too quiet because there just aren’t pilgrims visiting at the moment. And the Christian communities who live there and who rely on the income the pilgrims bring, are struggling. Representatives of the local YMCA who do amazing work with persecuted Palestinian communities in the West Bank, gave me a present as I left. It was one of those beautiful olive wood carvings of the nativity scene, Mary and Joseph and Jesus in the stable on one side of the carving, the three kings making their journey to Bethlehem on the other. But a large gray who passed their way separates them from Christ. They are being prohibited from entering. They are being turned away. And it was sobering for me to see this move for real on my visit to the Holy Land. And we were stopped at various checkpoints and intimidated by Israeli militias who told us that we couldn’t visit Palestinian families in the occupied West Bank.
