On May 18, Palestinians in Bethlehem joined millions across the West Bank, Gaza, Jerusalem, Israel, and surrounding regions in the historic “Strike for Dignity”, which called for an end to Israel’s “campaign of violence and ethnic cleansing against our people.”

In the city of Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus Christ, Christmas is the biggest day of the year. The holiday typically draws thousands of Palestinians and foreigners alike to the city, which adorns its streets and churches in beautiful lights and decorations for the season. But this year, COVID-19 has changed all of that. Manger Square and the Church of Nativity have been emptied of their usual visitors, and Palestinian Christian families have been forced to spend their most precious day of the year under lockdown.

For 51 years Philip Farah’s father took a six-mile walk from Jerusalem to Bethlehem every Christmas. Today, that walk would be impossible.

Construction bids for a new Israeli settlement cutting off Palestinian access to their supposed capital of Jerusalem will come in days after Biden takes office. The EU and Palestine have decried Givat Hamatos as the death of the two state solution. Experts say Biden will likely do nothing to prevent construction in February.

Despite being been stuck living between COVID-19 and the Israeli occupation, Palestinians have come up with unique and creative solutions to the problems that they’ve faced because of the coronavirus. In this final episode of our COVID-19 series in Palestine, we’re showcasing Palestinians who responded to the coronavirus pandemic using innovation and creativity as a way to help their communities adapt to the crisis around them.

Like the rest of the world, Palestine has been hit hard with the coronavirus. The city of Bethlehem in particular has perhaps been impacted the most by the pandemic. At any given time of year the streets of Bethlehem’s Old City are filled with tourists from all over the world, but now shops have been closed and the streets are empty. According to local experts, short-term losses as a result of COVID-19 have reached up to 500 million dollars in Bethlehem alone, and people here are wondering if life will ever return back to normal.

“We must remember that George Floyd didn’t die due to a lack of oxygen. He died because of a lack of justice,” Palestinian artist Taqi Spateen tells Mondoweiss.

The peaceful serenity of the cover image of the Trump administration’s “Deal of the Century” glosses over the Israeli theft and control of Palestinian land and resources.

Data on coronavirus in Palestine reveals a context of structural racism and apartheid, a reliance on military solutions, and a disregard for the health and lives of Palestinian people who matter less than their Jewish cohorts in the eyes of the Israeli government, Alice Rothchild writes.

Two Palestinians have died of COVID-19 related causes, far fewer than the 222 Israelis who have died from the virus.