As the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza continues unabated, Church leaders and city councils in Israel and the West Bank have decided to call off large-scale public Christmas celebrations and not to decorate public spaces with Christmas trees, the Jerusalem Post reports. The decision affects Bethlehem, Jesus’ birthplace (now controlled by the West Bank Palestinian Authority), Nazareth in northern Israel, where Jesus grew up, and Jerusalem, where He was crucified and rose again.