Christmas Midnight Mass celebrated in Bethlehem

Dozens of Bethlehem residents and a small entourage of religious officials attended Christmas Midnight Mass overnight on Thursday. It was a subdued Christmas Eve because the global coronavirus pandemic and a strict local lockdown put a damper on the normally joyous celebrations in the traditional birthplace of Jesus.

The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem led the Mass. Thousands of foreign pilgrims usually flock to Bethlehem for Christmas celebrations. But the closure of Israel's international airport to foreign visitors kept them away.

Most celebrations were cancelled due to virus measures. Last week, the Palestinian Authority banned intercity travel in the areas it administers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, keeping even Palestinian visitors away.