Referring to Christ as "a Palestinian messenger," Abbas said that "as we Palestinians strive for our freedom two millennia later, we do our best to follow his example. We work with hope, seeking justice, in order to achieve a lasting peace."
He criticized Israeli restrictions on the entry of Palestinians living abroad into the West Bank, as well as Israel's controversial West Bank security barrier, which cuts off Bethlehem, which he charged "steals land."
"We celebrate Christmas in Bethlehem under occupation," he said in the Christmas statement from Ramallah.
Abbas, scheduled to attend Christmas in Bethlehem on the southern West Bank Tuesday, Christian Arabs were not a minority in Palestine, but "an integral part of the Palestinian people."
He expressed hope that the upcoming visit of Pope Francis to the Holy Land in March would be "a good opportunity for Christians from all over the world to come closer to their sisters and brothers in Palestine, and for His Holiness to spread the message of justice and peace for the Palestinians, as for all peoples of the world."
Abbas said he was committed "to bringing a just peace to the region" through negotiations with Israel by ending the occupation and the establishment "of a fully independent and sovereign Palestinian State on the 1967 border with East Jerusalem as its capital."
The annual traditional Christmas procession from the Christian Quarter in Jerusalem's Old City to Bethlehem, led by Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal, is scheduled to leave shortly after 12 A.M.
The traditional Christmas mass is scheduled to start at 11:30 P.M.
Meanwhile, a video posted on YouTube on Monday by a user called PLOMEDIA1 depicts what appears to be the pope travelling through Israel and the West Bank. With a mournful version of Silent Night playing in the background, the pontiff passes by scenes of Palestinian suffering.
The end credit says that the video was created by NAD - possibly a reference to the PLO's Negotiations Affairs Department.
Source: Deutsche Presse-Agentuur
Comment: Actually, no: 'Jesus' was Julius Caesar [pronounced Yoo-lius Kai-zar], aka Divus Iulius:
The Gospel of Caesar: Documentary reveals true origins of the 'Passion of Christ'
'As important as the scientific discoveries of Darwin and Galileo': Linguist Francesco Carotta proves real identity of 'Jesus Christ' to be Julius Caesar
Ancient confession found: 'We invented Jesus Christ'
SOTT Talk Radio - Who was Jesus?
There may indeed have been another figure at the time whose philosophical teachings were subverted when they were moulded together with Caesar's story to create the required political narrative for social control, someone who would indeed have more likely been a 'Palestinian' or Arab, and certainly not a white European Jew: