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An installation at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bethlehem depicts an infant Jesus lying amidst the rubble on Christmas Eve, 2023 (Reuters)
In a Christmas message from the occupied city of Bethlehem on Sunday, Palestinian Christian pastor Munther Isaac delivered an address in which he said the current war on Gaza was “the biggest blow”, and that Christians would not accept words of “delayed remorse”.
The sermon, made on Christmas Eve, came after Isaac previously stated that all Christmas celebrations in the birthplace of Jesus would be cancelled, as Israel continues to bombard the besieged enclave for the third month.
Isaac said that, this year, Christ was “under the rubble” due to the bombings in Gaza and as Israeli forces also continued to carry out raids across the occupied West Bank, including in Jenin.
“We are angry. This would have been a time of joy. Instead, we are mourning, fearful. More than 20,000 have been killed. Thousands more are under the rubble,” he said.
He added that close to 9,000 children have been killed by Israel since the start of the war on 7 October and that 1.9 million Palestinians have been displaced.
To a sombre-looking congregation in Bethlehem’s Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church, he called Israel’s bombardment on Gaza an “annihilation” and a “genocide”.
“We are tormented by the silence of the world. Leaders of the so-called ‘free’ world have lined up to give the green light for this genocide against a captive population. They gave the cover. Not only did they agree to pay the bill in advance, they veiled the truth,” he said.
Israel is “weaponising the Bible against us”, Isaac said, and “dehumanising and demonising” the Palestinians.
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