朝圣者涌入西岸城市伯利恒欢庆圣诞

“By seeing the places I had read [about] in the Bible, it gives me joy. The birthplace of Jesus Christ is a wonderful feeling, so it gives me a sense of fulfillment,” said Mericy.

她说：“看到了我在圣经中读到过的这个地方，让我感到喜悦。耶稣基督的出生地给人无限美好的感觉，给我带来的是一种满足感。”

For Palestinian Christians, like Noel Yaakoub Yasser, the holiday is bittersweet.

对巴勒斯坦的基督徒来说，圣诞节的到来让他们感到又喜又忧。

“I feel so happy. I love to be here on Christmas,” said Yasser.

基督徒诺埃尔.亚瑟说：“我感到喜悦，我喜欢在圣诞节到这里庆祝。”

But Bethlehem is surrounded by Israel’s separation barrier, which was built about eight years ago after a wave of Palestinian suicide bombings. Yasser said the wall is collective punishment.

但是伯利恒被以色列的隔离墙包围着，这些高高的围墙是大约8年前修建的，之前发生了一波巴勒斯坦人制造的自杀式炸弹攻击。亚瑟说，这些高墙是对集体的惩罚。

“What can we do? They built the wall and nobody can stop them. It feels like a prison,” said Yasser.

他说：“我们怎么办？他们筑起这些高墙，没人能阻挡他们。让人感觉好像是座监狱。”

Bethlehem Mayor Victor Betarseh said he hopes that Christmas next year will be celebrated in an independent Palestinian state.

伯利恒市长维克多.巴塔尔萨说，他希望明年的圣诞庆祝活动在一个独立的巴勒斯坦国内举行。