317 Christian Palestinians from the Gaza Strip have thus far received permits to go to Jerusalem and the West Bank during Christmas, Saleh al-Ziq, a senior Gaza-based official in the PA Civil Affairs Commission, tells The Times of Israel.
The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, a Defense Ministry body responsible for liaising with the Palestinians, said on Sunday that Israel would grant permits to Christian Palestinians from Gaza to visit Jerusalem and the West Bank during the holiday “in accordance with security assessments.”
COGAT’s announcement came some 10 days after its spokeswoman told Reuters that Christian Palestinians from the coastal enclave would not be permitted to go to Jerusalem and the West Bank for the holiday.
The COGAT spokeswoman’s initial statement to the news agency was blasted by Christian Palestinian leaders, as well as by Gisha, an Israeli human rights group that monitors the movement of people into and out of Gaza.
Ziq says that 183 other Christian Palestinians from Gaza would receive permits to visit Jerusalem and the West Bank tomorrow.
— Adam Rasgon
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, December 24, 2019
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
