O little town of Bethlehem
How still we see thee lie:
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by;
The festive time of year is upon us. It is a time when Christians worldwide celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem.
Bethlehem is a Palestinian town in the occupied West Bank. Israel has imposed restrictions on movement within that area – in fact the highest number in The West Bank.
On 2 September 2025, the Israeli government announced measures to completely close the city of Bethlehem through military gates and checkpoints. This was followed on 10 September 2025 by plans to impose military annexation on the village of Al-Walaja, west of Bethlehem, incorporating it administratively into the Jerusalem municipality.
Under this plan, all homes lacking official Israeli documentation would be deemed “illegal,” leading to the demolition of dozens of homes and the displacement of hundreds of families. Residents would also be issued new Israeli identity papers designed to reshape the demographic reality in the area.
These measures are accompanied by settlement expansion around Al-Walaja and plans to link it with West Jerusalem through a network of settler roads. – Advancing Isolation for Annexation: Bethlehem Between E1 and Additional Movement Restrictions
This month Christians across Orkney will be singing of places now wracked by military occupation, indiscriminate killings, and existing under an apartheid system imposed by the State of Israel.
It is not the Peace that Jesus preached : ‘Blessed are the Peacemakers for they will be called children of God.’
Jesus and his family were refugees. Those who know the story will remember that not long after his birth the family had to flee. King Herod had heard that the ‘King of the Jews’ had been born and in his fear set in place the ‘Massacre of the Innocents’, the killing of all baby boys. It’s what today one prominent Christian in Orkney, refers to as ‘collateral damage’ when commenting on the thousands of babies killed in Gaza , but which any decent person, regardless of faith, finds truly shocking. The family found refuge in Egypt. It is a story we now see repeated in the 21st century. In the land of Jesus’ birth millions of Refugees are living in dire conditions.
Shu’fat is located on the outskirts of Jerusalem. It is a massive refugee camp of over 24,000 people. That’s more than the population of Orkney. Shu’fat was established by the United Nations organisation, UNRWA, in 1965. In 1967 it was illegally annexed by Israel and today residents have to pass through a crowded checkpoint to access Jerusalem where many of them work.
Orkney’s Gaynor Jones has visited Shu’fat in past years, and islanders here continue to support the work of agencies working there. Gaynor has provided us with an update on the worrying situation unfolding.
Readers may find it surprising that although Shu’fat is a refugee camp, people there still have to pay taxes. Residents hold Jerusalem IDs but Shu’fat is completely enclosed by a high wall, cutting it off from the rest of Jerusalem.
Arnona tax is an annual tax covering the period from January 1st to December 31st. It is levied on property owners and owners of buildings and land in Jerusalem, and is collected by the Jerusalem Municipality. For 2025, amendments to the tax were implemented, including a new classification for new apartments registered for the first time after 2020. Eligible residents can apply for a tax reduction based on certain circumstances, such as low income, through the municipality or assistance centers.
The taxes imposed on church institutions directly affect their ability to carry out their religious and social mission and to safeguard Christian heritage in Jerusalem.
These taxes impact the upkeep of historic buildings and ancient churches, the running of schools and hospitals, and the provision of community services.
In a recent move that sparked strong protest, Israeli municipal authorities froze the bank accounts of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem and imposed high tax demands on its properties. The Palestinian Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs denounced the measure as an “attack on the authentic Christian presence in Palestine.” – Sanad, Sahelia, Jerusalem churches face mounting tax pressures under Israel’s ‘Arnona’ property levy
In changes put in place for 2025 new apartments registered for the first time after January 1, 2020, were classified in category “A”, resulting in an increase in the tax amount. The new fees mean that apartments that were taxed for the first time as of January 1, 2020, now have fees of (105.93) NIS per square meter per year (for an apartment less than 120 square meters), and (127.84) NIS per square meter per year (for an apartment larger than 120 square meters).
People living as refugees in their own land pay taxes to the occupying military power but always under the threat that their homes could be bulldozed and demolished.
Despite paying taxes the residents have to undertake many repairs to infrastructure in Shu’fat.
Gaynor Jones commented that what is happening in The West Bank can be accurately described as a slow displacement process and a gradual redrawing of the political and demographic landscape through tools that are not always presented as direct displacement, but which produce the same result in the long run.
These include:
- Expanding settlements and creating a suffocating urban sprawl
- Building new settlements and expanding existing ones, especially around Jerusalem, Hebron, and the northern West Bank.
This expansion creates isolated Palestinian enclaves within a sea of settlements, making daily life, travel, and work extremely difficult.
Israel has also imposed policies to control how people can move around such as: closing roads, erecting new checkpoints, and converting main roads into settler-only routes. Imposing policies of extreme movement restriction makes villages less livable and less attractive for investment.
There is a sustained campaign to prevent the construction of new Palestinian homes and demolishing existing ones.
Israel also confiscates Palestinian land under a variety of pretexts : “State land”, “Military training zones”, and even “Nature reserves”.
Gaynor says these are all seemingly legal tools used to empty Palestinian land and later transform it into settlements or closed military zones.
The geography of the West Bank is being redrawn. It is being fragmented into cantons. Israel is working to create separate, geographically disconnected Palestinian “cantons” by dividing the Palestinian heartland into three or four areas.
The roads between the north and south are vital connections. Illegal Israeli settlements are carefully planted in these locations to ensure that the control remains in the hands of the occupying power. The control of these key roads remains with Israel and separates Palestinian communities from each other.
It creates a geography of fear that, says Gaynor, over time, fosters a constant feeling that remaining in threatened villages is a daily risk, making leaving them an understandable and expected decision.
While the Palestinian presence remains in the cities, marginal areas such as the Jordan Valley, Masafer Yatta, and the northern West Bank are being emptied. These areas constitute the geographical reserve of the Palestinian state, which is why they are targeted first.
The ultimate goal of this strategy is to prevent the establishment of a geographically contiguous Palestinian state and to solidify the presence of settlements as permanent facts on the ground, paving the way for the eventual annexation of Area C.
This also involves altering the demographic map to create vast areas devoid of Palestinian inhabitants, pushing Palestinians into overcrowded cities and making their presence in rural areas virtually impossible.
This is a process of invisible displacement, designed to conceal the reality of mass expulsions from the world.
What is happening is not a coincidence, nor is it a series of isolated decisions. Rather, it is a comprehensive project operating through slow, cumulative measures and a new geographical engineering that prepares the ground for the annexation of large parts of the West Bank, while simultaneously diminishing the Palestinian presence there.
It does seem odd that when our schools, churches, and even shops are filled with songs about ‘Jerusalem’ and ‘Bethlehem’, that in those same places so many abuses are happening to those that live there today.
‘O Little Town of Bethlehem’ is one of the most popular Christmas carols – and it was the sight of Bethlehem itself that inspired Phillips Brooks, an Episcopal priest, to write it. – Classic FM.
O little town of Bethlehem
How still we see thee lie
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting Light
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight
Fiona Grahame