Suzy al-Najjar, Samer al-Salfiti and their daughter, Judy, gazed longingly at the Christmas tree being lit by Bishop Alexius, the pastor of the Greek Orthodox church, in the presence of dozens of parishioners from the Gaza Strip there to celebrate the lighting of the Christmas tree on Dec. 22.

Suzy, 22, and Samer, 30, wished that they could travel to Bethlehem and spend Christmas there. Suzy told Al-Monitor, “We were hoping to spend Christmas at the Church of the Nativity. But this seems impossible. There is very little festive spirit here in Gaza because of the economic situation and the limited scope of celebrations.”

Two weeks ago, the couple applied for permission to travel through the Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing, but their application was rejected by the Israeli occupation forces. Samer told Al-Monitor, “It is every Christian’s dream to spend the holiday in Bethlehem. Geographically, we are very close to the city, yet it is impossible to go there.”

The Israeli authorities impose conditions that prevent Christians between 16 and 35 years of age from leaving the Gaza Strip for West Bank cities to pray, celebrate religious feasts or visit relatives.