TEL AVIV – According to reports in the country’s media, Israeli authorities announced their intention during the Christmas season to open the passes from the Gaza Strip to its tiny Christian community to allow them to celebrate Christmas in Bethlehem, which lies in the West Bank.

The Gaza Strip has been under an Israel blockade since the Hamas party seized power there. The decision also bears the hallmark of the urging of Christian churches.

Though varying by different estimates, the Palestinian Christian minority, sizeable in the West Bank, number less than 1,000 in the Gaza Strip, which has a total population near 1.5 million.

(Source: ANSAmed)

(Map Source: Univ of Texas)