“Christians in the Gaza Strip will not be allowed to visit holy cities such as Bethlehem and Jerusalem to celebrate Christmas this year, Israeli authorities said on Thursday. Only some 100 Gazan Christians will be granted permits to travel abroad but none will be allowed to go to Israel and the West Bank, home to many sites holy to Christians, a spokeswoman for Israel's military liaison to the Palestinians said.”

“Israel has announced a controversial plan to construct a new settlement in the heart of the West Bank city of al-Khalil (Hebron) that will purportedly accommodate as many settlers as are currently housed in the city. Israel’s Minister for Military Affairs Naftali Bennett announced the decision on Sunday, saying he had ordered officials to notify the al-Khalil municipality of the decision to build the new Israeli settlement, which is planned to be constructed in a wholesale market complex.”

“Israeli forces have killed a top Islamic Jihad commander in an air raid on his home in Gaza City, unleashing a new spiral of violence. Shortly after the attack on Tuesday morning that killed Bahaa Abu al-Ata and his wife, salvos of rockets were launched from Palestinian groups in the besieged Gaza Strip into Israel. In response to the rocket barrage, Israel launched dozens of air raids on Gaza. So far, 32 Palestinians have been killed in the bombardment, according to health officials and medics.”

“Canada, traditionally an ally of Israel, has shocked Israel and its supporters by voting for a United Nations resolution calling for the establishment of a Palestinian state, an “end to the Israeli occupation.” The unexpected departure from its usually reliable support for Israel on such measures called into question Canada’s Mideast policy. There was no official reaction from the Israeli Foreign Ministry, but an Israeli diplomatic official was quoted by The Times of Israel as saying, “We are very disappointed by Canada’s vote. Israel and Canada are friends and our relations are close and strong. We hope it will continue this way,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.”