Bethlehem: Occupation authorities, following US intervention, reversed their decision on Wednesday evening and permitted Vice President Hussein Al Sheikh entry to the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem to attend Christmas Eve mass. Initially, Vice President Al Sheikh was prohibited by the occupation authorities from entering Bethlehem. His motorcade was barred from accessing the city, impacting his scheduled attendance at the midnight Christmas Mass.
According to Palestine News and Information Agency - WAFA, Vice President Hussein Al Sheikh had been assigned by President Mahmoud Abbas to attend the midnight mass. The mass is set to be celebrated by His Beatitude Card. Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, at the Church of Saint Catherine. This event will be followed by the procession to the Grotto of the Nativity. The intervention by US officials was crucial in reversing the initial prohibition, allowing Al Sheikh to fulfill his role in the significant religious event.