"Hamas" and two other Palestinian groups said that the agreement on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and a prisoner exchange is "closer than ever", BNR reported.
"This is only on condition that Israel stops setting new conditions", specified "Hamas", "Islamic Jihad" and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine in a rare joint statement, published shortly after talks in Cairo yesterday.
Against this backdrop, the Bethlehem municipality announced that this year Christmas will be limited to prayers and religious ceremonies such as "rejection of injustice" towards the Palestinian people.
"In light of the ongoing brutal aggression against our people and land, the Bethlehem municipality has decided to limit this year's Christmas celebrations to prayers and religious ceremonies. This is an expression of our rejection of the injustices inflicted on our people in Gaza and all of Palestine, and the massacres to which they are subjected. The true essence of Christmas lies not in appearances or festivities, but in worship and prayer," said Bethlehem Mayor Anton Salman.
During the Christmas season, pilgrims from all over the world have filled the square in front of the 4th-century Church of the Nativity, the site believed to be the birthplace of Jesus.