Bethlehem Christmas tree lit up for first time since Gaza war

Christmas cheer returned to the traditional birthplace of Jesus Christ as Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank lit up a tree for the first time since the war in Gaza began over two years ago.

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Covered in red and gold baubles, the Christmas tree standing metres away from the Church of the Nativity on Manger Square has become a symbol of hope.

At the end of a two-hour ceremony, the tree was illuminated to cheers, its yellow lights twinkling and a bright red star on top shining against the clouded night sky irradiated by a luminescent, almost full moon.

The crowds lined with heavily armed police cheered following a prayer calling for peace, and fathers hoisted children onto their shoulders as a towering Christmas tree lit up Manger Square.

It is the first time the city has held the usual celebrations since the outbreak of the war in Gaza.

"It's like a symbol for resilience," said 27-year-old Abeer Shtaya, who works at Al Zaytoonah University of Science and Technology in Salfit in the West Bank.

She had travelled IOO kilometres with a group of the university's students because “we want to celebrate and be with our brothers and sisters in Bethlehem to enjoy this day.” “It’s a message for the world that it’s calm,” Mike Shahen, 43, said at his ceramic store on the square, after a handful of visitors came in for purchases.