Ramallah, Palestinian Territories — Christmas mass in Bethlehem, normally attended by Christian congregations in the West Bank village, will be closed to the public this year due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Palestinian president said Thursday.
Each year, hundreds of believers attend midnight mass at the Saint Catherine Church next to the Church of the Nativity, built on the site where Christians believe Jesus was born.
“Due to the pandemic and for the security of all, the midnight mass will be reserved for clerics and the mass will be broadcast on Palestine TV worldwide,” Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said.
He was speaking in an interview with church officials in Ra…
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