ACT Palestine Forum - APF

🎄 Christmas Under Fear 🎄
Movement restrictions continue to prevent thousands from reaching Bethlehem, even during Christmas.
Added to this, many people avoid the main roads due to rising settler attacks, making travel unsafe and filled with fear.
For Palestinian Christians, the road to Bethlehem is blocked not only by checkpoints, but by violence and intimidation.
✨ From the birthplace of Christ, we call for freedom of movement and an end to fear.

✨ Christmas Under Siege – 2025 ✨
The Christmas season traditionally begins with the lighting of candles in our churches—a symbol of hope, peace, and the promise of light in darkness.
But this year in Palestine, the light struggles to break through.
From the birthplace of Jesus, we launch our Christmas 2025 campaign: “Christmas Under Siege.”
Bethlehem and its surrounding communities face hardship like never before:
– Escalating settler violence
– Ongoing devastation in Gaza
– Severe movement restrictions across the West Bank
Yet even in these shadows, we hold onto the promise declared long ago:
“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.” — Isaiah 9:2
🕯️ Photo from the Lutheran Church of the Reformation (ELCJHL), Beit Jala – November 30, 2025.
May our light shine despite the siege. May justice and peace be born anew this Christmas.

MAJIDA’S STORY — A Mother’s Courage, A Child’s Second Chance

In the midst of Gaza’s destruction, where daily life is a struggle for survival, Majida found hope for her daughter Sabah when everything else had collapsed.

Forced from their home and left without income, Sabah’s health deteriorated rapidly due to lack of food, clean water, and basic needs. By the time Majida reached the DSPR-NECC clinic on October 16, 2024, Sabah was suffering from acute malnutrition.

Through weeks of dedicated care, nutritional supplements, and close medical follow-up, Sabah slowly regained her strength. Six months later, she is no longer malnourished — she is growing, thriving, and full of life.

Majida says:
“DSPR didn’t just provide for my daughter — they gave her a future. And for me, as a mother, they restored hope.”

This story is featured in the DSPR Annual Report 2024, reminding us why humanitarian work in Gaza is essential, now more than ever.

“This Christmas, the world celebrates, but the land of Jesus is still hurting. Stand with Palestine. Stand with hope.”