"As all of you turn your attention to Bethlehem these days, please remember Our Little Town in your prayers". This is what Bethlehem Bible College writes in its Christmas Newsletter.

"Bethlehem is now very sad. All its people are struggling under very strict curfew since the 22nd of November. It may be hard to imagine being under curfew".

"It is very cruel, because no one is allowed to leave his or her home for any reason. All shops and schools are closed, as well as pharmacies and work places. There is no possibility for Christmas shopping, there are no decorations, and one cannot go to church. Being a "closed military area" we are even denied the usual flood of Christian pilgrims".

The Israeli army re-occupied Bethlehem, after a suicide bomber who is a resident of the Bethlehem Area left 11 Israelis dead on a Jerusalem commuter bus.

The newsletter urges Christians to pray: "I pray that you will sing this beautiful song and that its meaning will bless you Christmas, but before you do please think of the suffering Church in Bethlehem and say a prayer that the curfew will be lifted and the siege on Bethlehem will end. You may want to also write to your nearest Israeli representative and your own government officials about these cruel acts done against the people of Bethlehem by the Israeli army - May Immanuel Bless You This Christmas".