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Palestinians hurled two improvised grenades at Israelis in Bethlehem on Monday evening in two attacks, injuring one civilian. An explosive was thrown at Rachel's Tomb, causing injuries to one man, who was evacuated to hospital by paramedics. Earlier, an explosive was thrown at an IDF base in the area. No injuries were reported in that attack. Monday's events are the latest indication that Palestinian violence is on the rise, though Israeli policymakers and defense experts remain doubtful that we are on the cusp of a third intifada. Last week, news outlets learned of a secret report by one of the...

Alice C. Linsley There is a beautiful psalm of David concerning the Ark's removal to Zion. Not many are aware that the Ark rested in David's royal city of Bethlehem. Psalm 132:1-7 makes this clear. O Lord, remember in David's favor his extreme self-denial, how he swore to the Lord, vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob, 'I will not enter my house, nor will I mount my bed, I will not give sleep to my eyes, or slumber to my eyelids until I find a place for the Lord, an abode [mishkanot- footstool] for the Mighty One of Jacob.'...

Palestinian Authority Muslims, who have been fully in charge of life in Bethlehem since the 1993 Oslo Accords were implemented, have successfully hounded most of the city’s Christians into leaving the city—but a London exhibition shows that their overseas propaganda in the West still manages to blame Israel for the Christians’ alleged suffering from Jewish “occupation.” The “Bethlehem Unwrapped” festival opened Dec. 23 at St. James’ Church, London, and its centerpiece is a reproduction of a section of the security wall Israel built several years ago, as protection from a horrific onslaught of Muslim suicide bombers who targeted Israeli civilians....

- FrontPage Magazine - http://frontpagemag.com - Israeli Christians Moving in a New DirectionPosted By Joseph Puder On October 21, 2013 @ 12:22 am In Daily Mailer,FrontPage | 22 Comments Israeli Christians surveying the current situation faced by Christians throughout the Arab Middle East have come to the realization that the Jewish State of Israel is the only country in the region that protects its Christian minority.  It prompted a recent conference in Jerusalem titled, “Israeli Christians: Breaking Free? The Advent of an Independent Christian Voice in Israel,” that took place on Monday, September 23, 2013. The speakers included Father (Fr.)...

A mysterious First Temple-era archaeological find under a Palestinian orchard near Bethlehem is increasingly gaining attention — despite attempts to keep it quiet. In February, a tour guide leading a group through an underground tunnel in the rural West Bank, not far from Jerusalem, was surprised to stumble upon the remains of a unique carved pillar. The pillar matched monumental construction from the 9th or 8th centuries BCE — the time of the First Temple in Jerusalem. That signaled the presence of an important and previously unknown structure from that period. Buried under earth and rubble, the pillar was now...

Bethlehem’s PA governor, Abdel Fattah Hamayel, on Sunday issued an order banning Palestinian institutions in his district from having any direct contact with Israel. The order applies to all municipal and village councils in the Bethlehem area, as well as Palestinian NGOs and trade institutions. The governor justified the ban by arguing that Israeli authorities have been avoiding dealing with Palestinians through the Palestinian District Coordinating Office [DCO]. “In wake of repeated Israeli calls to deal directly with Palestinian municipalities and institutions and hold meetings and conferences with the Israeli side, it is forbidden to have direct contact or coordination...

A song I wrote for Christmas.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Isuu9EiFU_E

Every Christmas I make the 15-minute drive from my Jerusalem home to Bethlehem for a reality check on the beleaguered town five miles away. This year, contrary to the customary gloomy reports from the international media, things were bustling in Bethlehem on Christmas Eve. Bright blue skies and comfortable temperatures help make things more pleasant than in previous years when a cold, grey drizzle dampened spirits. Driving up to the Rachel’s Passage checkpoint in my car with Israeli plates, a quick check of my press credentials is all that’s needed to get waved through. Tour buses and private cars get...

The Patriarch of Jerusalem's Roman Catholic Church declared Christmas is also a celebration of … the birth of the state of Palestine.” The leader of the Roman Catholic Church in Jerusalem has added something new this year to the liturgy: Patriarch Fouad Twal declared the holiday of "Christmas is also a celebration of … the birth of the state of Palestine.” The Jordanian-born Twal made the statement during a procession to Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, where he is due to lead midnight mass at the Church of the Nativity. The church in Manger Square and Bethlehem itself are today...

The Foreign Ministry has launched a probe into the posting of a Facebook message by the Israel embassy in Ireland that said if Jesus and Mary were alive today in Bethlehem, they would probably be lynched by local Arabs. Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said, "We all agree that it was improper, inappropriate." He said Tuesday that it wasn't clear who posted the message. The post included a picture of Jesus and Mary accompanied by a message saying, “A thought for Christmas ... If Jesus and Mother Mary were alive today, they would, as Jews without security, probably end up being...

An Italian study carried out on the Basilica’s wooden beams has revealed that the cedar was carved between the 6th and 7th centuries In the next few days, as is the case every year, all eyes will be on the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem. But the deeper the studies on this ancient church go, the more surprises it seems to have in store. This is what transpires from a report published yesterday in the last edition of the Journal of Cultural Heritage and on Terrasanta.net.The report presents the results of a long study carried out on the Basilica’s...

There is more to the story of Nakoula Basseley Nakoula than what we are told by the media. Court documents reveal that Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, producer of the movie Innocence of Muslims, partnered in a scheme with Eiad Salameh, my first cousin, a Palestinian Muslim from Beit Sahour in the Palestinian district of Bethlehem. To prove my claim, I revealed Eiad Salameh long before this whole fiasco erupted—in 2008 and the first real reportage of Eiad and Nakoula was revealed on September 14th, 2012. Now do I have your attention? The narrative that circulates the media fails to answer crucial...

There is more to the story of Nakoula Basseley Nakoula than what we are told by the media. Court documents reveal that Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, producer of the movie Innocence of Muslims, partnered in a scheme with Eiad Salameh, my first cousin, a Palestinian Muslim from Beit Sahour in the Palestinian district of Bethlehem. To prove my claim, I revealed Eiad Salameh long before this whole fiasco erupted—in 2008 and the first real reportage of Eiad and Nakoula was revealed on September 14th, 2012. Now do I have your attention? The narrative that circulates the media fails to answer crucial...

Islamo-"Christian" anti-Jewish "Palestinian" Hannan Ashrawi, racist-Arab, ugly liar #OpPalestine @FoxNews what is this nonsense by Geraldo & Ashrawi that the #Palestinians have 1000 year history? They formed in 1964! - http://twitter.com/PatriotJackiB/statuses/222161526239399937 http://friendfeed.com/oppalestine/31baafbe/foxnews-what-is-this-nonsense-by-geraldoFact, "Palestinians" were formed as a "distinct" group, no earlier than in the early 1960s. And as author warned in 1964 as the "Palestine entity" was stil forming... Noted 1940's Jurist: "the Arabic-speaking inhabitants of Palestine... are not the descendants of the conquerors." Ernst Frankenstein in "Justice for my people," (Dial Press, 1944), p. 88 Even most anti-Israel sect, the Islamic Arab Hamas, admits: "Half of the Palestinians...

The Palestinians on Friday persuaded the U.N. cultural agency to list the Church of the Nativity—the place where Christians believe Jesus was born—as an endangered World Heritage site despite misgivings by churches in charge of the basilica.The Palestinians hailed the nod by UNESCO as a step forward in their quest for global recognition of an independent Palestine in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem, captured by Israel in 1967. The centuries-old basilica is located in a part of the Israeli-occupied West Bank where the Palestinians have self-rule. UNESCO's decision was seen by them as validation of their rights to...

JERUSALEM – Israeli archaeologists have discovered a 2,700-year-old seal that bears the inscription "Bethlehem," the Israel Antiquities Authority announced Wednesday, in what experts believe to be the oldest artifact with the name of Jesus' traditional birthplace. The tiny clay seal's existence and age provide vivid evidence that Bethlehem was not just the name of a fabled biblical town, but also a bustling place of trade linked to the nearby city of Jerusalem, archaeologists said. Eli Shukron, the authority's director of excavations, said the find was significant because it is the first time the name "Bethlehem" appears outside of a biblical...

Casinos are not like Starbucks stores: You really can’t have one on every corner. That’s the word from David Cordish, whose company is opening a huge new casino next month in Maryland. Yet Cordish warns that the expansion of casino gambling can’t go on unchecked forever. A big problem is the attitude of politicians nationwide who view casinos as free money. “I don’t know how we can control the politicians; they certainly don’t understand the word ‘oversaturation,’” Cordish said Thursday. “They think you can have casinos like Starbucks.”If that attitude continues, Cordish said, “it’s going to implode on them.” That...

Ten years have passed since the end of the 39-day IDF siege of the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem, where 39 terrorists had holed up. The siege was ended through an agreement that involved exiling the terrorists to other countries. Bethlehem-based news agency Ma'an says the terrorists now feel "abandoned by the Palestinian Authority and all political factions." They have not been allowed to return to their families in Judea and Samaria, the agency notes. Deportees had planned to demonstrate on Thursday but canceled the protest to support the terrorists on hunger strike in Israeli jails, a spokesman for the...

The governor of Bethlehem signed an order, on Sunday, banning the entry of Israeli agricultural products into the city, effective from May 1, Ma’an News Agency reported. Abdul-Fattah Hamayil gave orders to security services to enforce the ban and monitor all agricultural imports. Hamayil has also sought to ensure PA produce is not brought into the 47-year-old St. George Landmark Hotel in eastern Jerusalem. The decision follows the ban on Israeli-grown watermelons, onions, strawberries and potatoes implemented by PA Minister of Agriculture Ahmad Majdalani earlier this month, a press statement said. The ban, only the latest in a series of...

A writer tells the members of the Christ at the Checkpoint organization that they really must be more consistent - and also accept the resulting conclusions. Dear Committee of “Christ at the Checkpoint” Conference, I recently read the written materials of your latest conference in March and was thunderstruck by the assumption (...it is not an assumption any more, but a dogma, in which everyone in your community has to believe) that Jewish people never lived here, and that the whole history of this land is Palestinian history. Mitri Raheb, in his article, plays with the idea of DNA matching:...