Bethlehem enjoyed its highest number of Christmas pilgrims in over ten years, according to the Israeli military.
Well over 100,000 people from around the globe gathered in the town famous for being the birthplace of Jesus, which is double the number of visitors from last year.
“This is the first year that Bethlehem has hosted so many people,” said Bethlehem city official George Saade to Agence France-Presse.
This marks the third straight year in a row that Bethlehem has seen record-high tourists during the holiday. Thousands of pilgrims waited in line to view the dimly lit grotto said to be the birthplace of baby Jesus.
Included among these visitors were about 500 Christians from Gaza Strip who were granted a rare holiday entry permit by Israel. There are about 3,500 Christians out of Gaza’s 1.5 million population.
The Middle East’s senior Catholic cleric Fuad Twal traveled to Bethlehem from Jerusalem and held a midnight mass at St. Catherine’s Church, next to the Church of the Nativity. Twal called for peace and reconciliation between Israel and Palestinians.
“Our hope for Christmas is that Jerusalem not only becomes the capital of two nations, but also a model for the world, of harmony and coexistence of the three monotheistic religions,” said Twal.