Manger Square in Bethlehem is a ghostly car park. The streets surrounding it are lined by shuttered shops. At the centre, the Church of the Nativity, feted as the birthplace of Christ which more than a million pilgrims visit every year, is virtually empty.
The only sign of life is the toll of church bells for a mass that no one will attend. One of Christianity’s most holy cities is in deep and painful mourning.
