Gazan Christians celebrate Christmas tree lighting

(10 Dec 2021) Members of the tiny Christian community in the Gaza Strip attended the lighting of the Christmas tree on Friday. Hundreds attended for the event at a yard inside a Christian youth centre. Since the militant Hamas group took control of the Palestinian enclave in 2007, there have been no celebrations marking Christian holidays in public. Last year, the event was cancelled for the Gaza's Christian population of nearly 1,000 due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. This year saw an devastating 11-day war between Hamas and Israel and many in Gaza were relieved to gather for the end of year festivities. "The past year in the Gaza Strip was a difficult one in which we have seen a war and the corona pandemic," said Samer Tarazi, a Gazan Christian. "I hope next year will be better, with peace prevailing all over the globe and the world helping us to get our rights and allow us, the Palestinians, to visit the Holy Land in the West Bank and Bethlehem." Last month, Israel said it would permit 500 Christians from Gaza to enter Israel and the occupied West Bank to celebrate Christmas. Gaza's Christians are a tiny fraction of the territory's two million people. Most are Greek Orthodox, with Catholics making up about a quarter of the small community. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...