A ring of Israeli settlements is dividing our Lord's biblical landscape

The country of Israel that we refer to as the Holy Land, is a narrow strip of land along the Mediterranean Sea. Above it on the north is Lebanon, while to her right border are Syria and Jordan. At the bottom is Egypt. The stamp-like country is divided into Galilee up north, Canaan, Samaria and Judea in the south.

The Old and the New Testaments

Jesus’ childhood was spent in Nazareth, the hilly part of Galilee. Looking back towards the south from here, one can recall the sorrows and triumphs of the nation. Along the Plain of Esdraelon, are the ghosts of 20 battlefields with thundering chariots from Egypt, Assyria and Babylon. H.V. Norton mentions that on the plain, “Barak smote the Canaanites, Gideon drove the Midianites towards Jordan....”

To the south on the hills of Samaria, the burning words of prophet Elijah were heard. The long calm ridge of Carmel was the site of the pagan priests of Baal and the fire Elijah drew down from heaven to confound them. Thus, Old Testament history lives towards the south, while the New Testament story went through Nazareth and around the great Sea of Galilee.

As twilight settles in Nazareth one can imagine our Lord looking through the Plain of Esdraelon and hills of Samaria, already in shadows. The last thing that fades in sight on the plain below is a white streak — the road that goes through Samaria, through the wilderness of Judea to end far to the south, before the gates of Jerusalem.

Fear lurks among Christians in Bethlehem

Bethlehem, the heart of Christian Palestine, swells with pride every Christmas. Manger Square is transformed into a grotto of lights and stalls. But just a few minutes drive to the north, the festive atmosphere stops abruptly.

A strip of Israeli settlement built on 18 sq kms of what was once northern Bethlehem threatens to cut the city off from its historic twin, Jerusalem. To the Israeli authorities, these have been neighborhoods of Jerusalem since 1967. Har Homa is built on land where angels are said to have announced the birth of our Christ to local shepherds. A narrow strip of land between Har Homa and another settlement, Gilo, still connects Bethlehem to Jerusalem but the construction of Givat Hamatos, a new settlement announced in October will fill this in a matter of years.

The UN and the European Union denounce the geographic divide

One of London’s leading dailies, The Guardian stated, “The European Union and United Nations routinely denounce Israel’s unilateral settlement expansion, but in October, EU high commissioner Baroness Catherine Ashton warned the construction of Givat Hamatos was “of particular concern as it would cut the geographic contiguity between Jerusalem and Bethlehem.”

European concern is not slowing Israel’s progress. Last week, 500 new units were approved for Har Homa and a further 348 in Betar Illit, on Bethlehem’s western boundary. An additional 267 were sanctioned for settlements running up to the edge of the city’s southern suburbs, where the Ministry of Defense also gave settlers permission to start a farm on Palestinian land. This is in addition to the 6,782 new apartments already slated for Har Homa, Gilo and Givat Hamatos.

The separation wall already prevents Palestinians from entering Jerusalem from the town without an Israeli permit. But this ring of settlements will permanently change the geography of the biblical landscape: If a peace agreement razes the separation wall, the two cities will remain divided.

The objective of Israel’s plan

Israeli activist Hargit Ofram, director of Peace Now, reads a clear political intention in Israel’s plans: “These efforts are being made to prevent a possible two-state solution because in order for that to work, you would need a viable Palestinian state with its capital in East Jerusalem.

“If that capital is going to be surrounded by settlements, Israel would have to remove them. The more Israel is building, the higher the price of a Palestinian state is becoming.”

Oxfam and Amnesty warn of further demolition of Palestinian homes

A coalition of 20 rights organizations including Oxfam and Amnesty international warned this month that the number of Palestinian homes demolished in the West Bank and East Jerusalem by Israeli authorities had doubled in the past year.

Under the terms of the Oslo Accords, 13 percent of Bethlehem now falls within Areas A and B controlled by the Palestinian Authority. This area houses 87.6 percent of the Palestinian population. The rest falls in Area C, where Israel controls who builds what.

The al-Makour valley is Bethlehem’s last green space and one of few areas left for urban expansion. It is in Area C and overlooked by Gilo checkpoint at one end and Har Homa settlement on the other. Israel’s separation wall is slated to run through the middle of the valley. No Palestinian has been given a permit to build here since 1967.

Father Shomali’s outlook is more glum: “When I look down my church register, many of the historic family names from the area have already gone. In 20 years, I think we will have no more Christians in Bethlehem.”

Dr. Jad Isaac, an expert in Bethlehem’s demographics and a consultant to the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, says aside from the physical restrictions on development, Bethlehem’s economy is being strangled by the loss of land and restrictions on Palestinian movement.

With work in Jerusalem now impossible to all but the 6,000 granted permits to work inside Israeli, unemployment in Bethlehem sits at 23 percent, poverty levels simmer at 18 percent. Many have little option but to work illegally for £25 a day building the nearby settlements. Dr. Isaac’s forecast is bleak.

If Joseph and Mary were coming to Bethlehem today, the Christmas story would be a little different

If Joseph and Mary were making their way to Bethlehem today, the Christmas story would be a little different, says Father Ibrahim Shomali, a parish priest in the town. The couple would struggle to get into the city, let alone find a hotel room.

“If Jesus were to come this year, Bethlehem would be closed,” says the priest of Bethlehem’s Beit Jala Parish. “He would either be born at a checkpoint or at the separation wall. Mary and Joseph would have needed Israeli permission — or to have been tourists.”

(Ref: Adventures in the Holy Land by Norman Vincent Peale; The Jesus I Never Knew by Philip Yancey)