Photo: Middle East Eye
Locals say the plans by new settlers, protected by the Israeli army, pose a major threat to the ecological landscape of the area…
Source: Israeli settlers erect new outpost on Unesco World Heritage site
Photo: Hazem Bader
Source: Israel continuing to Judaise Ibrahimi Mosque, Palestinians say
Photo: Musa Al Shaer
Christian pilgrimage sites in the Holy Land, including sites in Jesus’ birthplace of Bethlehem, will be inaccessible to foreign Christian travelers again this Christmas due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent surge in the omicron variant.
Source: Jesus’ birthplace closed to foreign Christians this Christmas due to omicron variant
Photo: Nasser Nasser
Christmas is usually peak season for tourism in Bethlehem, where Jesus is believed to have been born, but few travelers are making the trek.
Source: ‘It’s almost Christmas and there’s nobody’ in tourist-dependent Bethlehem
Photo: Nasser Shiyoukhi
The year before the COVID-19 pandemic devastated the globe, the numbers of visitors to the Church of the Nativity was unlike any we had ever seen. The queue went all around the inside of the church, all the way back to Manger Square outside the church, and the wait to get inside was three hours long. This great church must continue to be a light in the darkness for generations to come.
Photo: Eddie Gerald
To seed librarian Vivien Sansour, seeds are living beings, and to see heirloom seeds disappearing is a human tragedy.
Photo: Mamoun Wazwaz
Israeli settlements and checkpoints are encroaching on the only escape from harsh reality available to Palestinians, says Jerusalem writer Jalal Abukhater…
Source: Hiking in the West Bank is bittersweet because its beauty threatened by Israel | Jalal Abukhater
Palestinians in the agricultural village of Battir, in the occupied West Bank, are increasingly encountering armed settlers who are trying to push them off their land.
Source: ‘I want Battir to go to hell’: Settlers move in on Palestinian World Heritage site
Environmental and anti-occupation activists are campaigning against plans to establish an industrial zone near the settlement town Beitar illit, a project they say threatens traditional agriculture and a world heritage site.
Source: Battle rages over Israel’s plan for industrial zone in unique West Bank landscape
Mondoweiss looks back at the past decade and the moments that shaped history in Palestine and Israel.
Source: A decade in review: the moments that shaped the past 10 years in Israel/Palestine – Mondoweiss
Palestinian officials are hoping that the nearly-completed restoration will boost tourism at a time when the West Bank remains under Israeli occupation, plagued by a political stalemate and hobbled by high unemployment.
Source: Jesus’ Bethlehem birthplace gets a makeover. But will it boost tourism?
Festivities over Shabbat were centered around the Tomb of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs, the large edifice built atop the cave by King Herod over 2,000 years ago.
Source: Honoring the life of Sarah: 50,000 Jews gather in Hebron for Shabbat
Other regional entries include Hebron in Palestine and historic Petra, but Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro tops the list…
Source: Al Ain ranked in world’s top 100 Instagram-worthy Unesco sites
Palestinian officials say what they believe to be a new baptismal font has been discovered at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.
Source: Palestinian Officials: Baptismal Font Discovered at Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity
Source: Church of the Nativity renovation lifts Christmas spirit in Bethlehem
Palestine – Birthplace of Jesus: Church of the Nativity and the Pilgrimage Route, Bethlehem
The Church of Nativity in Bethlehem is an important pilgrimage route recognized by UNESCO. Discover tips for visiting jesus’ birthplace on a Nativity Pilgrimage.
Source: Birthplace of Jesus: Church of the Nativity and the Pilgrimage Route, Bethlehem
Palestine – Palestine: Land of Olives and Vines – Cultural Landscape of Southern Jerusalem, Battir
From the World Heritage inscription:
Battir is a major Palestinian cultural landscape, the adaptation of a deep valley system for agricultural purposes as a result of a good supply of water. The complex irrigation system of this water supply has led to the creation of dry walls terraces which may have been exploited since antiquity. The agricultural terraces, exploiting this irrigation system, were the basis for a strong presence of agriculture through the cultivation of olives and vegetables. The area still today has the same use.
The water distribution system used by the families of Battir is a testament to an ancient egalitarian distribution system that delivers water to the terraced agricultural land based on a simple mathematical calculation and a clear time-managed rotation scheme.
The village of Battir is not far from Jerusalem and is right on the Israel/Palestine border. In fact, there are Israeli train tracks which go right past the terraces at the bottom of the hill.
I could not find any organized tours to Battir, which was a shame.
Source: Palestine: Land of Olives and Vines – Cultural Landscape of Southern Jerusalem, Battir
Palestine – Hebron/Al-Khalil Old Town
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Aizudin Zainal
IU7. UNL.
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