(24 Dec 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Bethlehem, West Bank – 24 December 2024
1. Convoy carrying Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the top Roman Catholic cleric in the Holy Land, next to Bethlehem separation wall
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Pierbattista Pizzaballa, top Catholic cleric in the Holy Land:
++PART OVERLAID BY SHOTS 1, 3 – 5++
"The war is terrible with all the consequences of division, and we are in the place where divisions are very evident also from the structural point of view. To go through, the meaning is that it is possible even where there are enormous and difficult walls – it’s possible to just pass them if we want. And we want, especially for this Christmas, we want to tell our people not to lose hope. It’s possible also to break down the most difficult wall, the hatred, the division, the contempt, and the lack of justice and dignity that we are experiencing here."
3. People gathering
4. Pizzaballa walking with Palestinian security
5. Pizzaballa speaking to crowds
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Pierbattista Pizzaballa, top Catholic cleric in the Holy Land:
"Don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid (repeated in Arabic). We will not allow the war to cancel our lives."
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STORYLINE:
The top Catholic cleric in the Holy Land visited Bethlehem on Tuesday where he spoke about the sombre mood overshadowing Christmas celebrations in the Biblical city this year.
Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa greeted people in Manger Square and asked them to receive him, before entering the Church of the Nativity.
Bethlehem is preparing to mark its second Christmas under the shadow of the war in Gaza.
Israel’s war against Hamas has been raging for nearly 15 months, and there still is no end in sight.
"Don’t be afraid," Pizzaballa told the crowd in Arabic, adding: "We will not allow the war to cancel our lives."
The yearly Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem — shared among Armenian, Catholic and Orthodox denominations — are usually major boons for the city, where tourism accounts for 70% of its yearly income.
But the streets are empty this season and there are almost no tourists.
There will be no giant Christmas tree in Manger Square, no raucous scout marching bands, no public lights twinkling and very few public decorations or displays.
He is scheduled to mark midnight mass at the Church of the Nativity, which houses the grotto where Christians believe Jesus was born.
AP video shot by Imad Isseid
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