BICOM

Israeli security chiefs have agreed to relax travel restrictions for Palestinian Christians ahead of the Christmas festivities.

A joint decision was taken between Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon, IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot and Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, who heads the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), which is responsible for Palestinian movement in and out of Gaza and the West Bank. A joint statement said that the restrictions were eased “in light of the security assessment of the Central and Southern Commands.”

Some 400 people will be permitted to travel out of Israel’s Ben Gurion International Airport for the holiday period. Palestinians are usually required to travel abroad via Jordan. Meanwhile 400 visitors from Arab countries will be allowed to travel into Israel, in order to visit family in the West Bank. 500 West Bank Palestinians will be able to travel to the Gaza Strip, while 800 Gazans will move in the opposite direction to visit Jerusalem and the West Bank. A small number will also be permitted to enter Jordan via the Allenby Bridge crossing and Egypt via the Taba crossing.

Meanwhile, in the run up to Christmas, various Israeli municipalities have distributed Christmas trees free of charge for the benefit of local Christian residents. Around 200 trees were delivered by the Jerusalem Municipality to the Old City’s Jaffa Gate, while the Tel Aviv Municipality also made the trees available to local residents, with a significant Christian community in Jaffa. Similar distributions took place in northern cities such as Nazareth and Shfaram.

Although the numbers of tourists visiting Bethlehem is reportedly down on those arriving for the festive season in recent years, many are still expected to travel into the West Bank city this evening via Israel, in order to attend Midnight Mass at the Church of the Nativity.