E.A storm swept over Israel and Palestine at the beginning of the week. It caused floods on the coast, climbed seven hundred meters into the Judean Mountains without worrying about borders, walls or checkpoints, and also whistled the people in Bethlehem mightily on the ears. Its foothills can still be felt on Tuesday, drizzle and sun alternate on the square in front of the Church of the Nativity. It’s three days until Christmas Eve. How is the mood at the birthplace of Jesus, so shortly before Christmas?
Anton Salman, the mayor, leans forward from his desk chair and first gives a diplomatic answer. “When we talk about Christmas, we talk about joy – no matter what the situation is.” From his office Salman looks at the Krippenplatz – “one of the most important places in the world,” he says. As every year, a huge Christmas tree was set up there, with a huge nativity scene in front of it. Behind it, almost inconspicuously, is the Church of the Nativity, where everything is said to have happened.
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