Palestinian dressed as Santa Claus arrested by Israeli police during raid on Christmas party in Haifa
General view of the home of Palestinian Malik Salim, demolished by Israeli army bulldozers in the village of Bazariya, north of Nablus, in the West Bank. Salim was killed by Israeli army fire on July 10, 2025. Photo: SOPA Images / SOPA Images Limited / Alamy / Profimedia
Israeli police arrested a Palestinian man dressed as Santa Claus during a raid on a Christmas party in Haifa, the Mossawa Center, an organization that defends the rights of Palestinian citizens in Israel, announced, according to The Guardian.
According to her, Israeli police interrupted a Christmas event on Sunday, confiscated the equipment and detained the man dressed as Santa Claus, as well as a DJ and a street vendor. In a video, agents can be seen knocking the three to the ground and handcuffing them as bystanders watch.
The Israeli police said in a statement that the man dressed as Santa Claus resisted arrest and assaulted a policeman.
The civil organization claims that the police used excessive force and that the intervention in the concert hall took place without a legal basis.
The arrests came as Palestinians mark Christmas in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, despite constant restrictions on daily life by Israeli forces.
In Bethlehem, the celebrations were held for the first time since the beginning of the war in Gaza. The brass band marched through the streets of the city considered to be the birthplace of Jesus, playing bagpipes. The faithful attended the service at the Church of the Nativity, and children performed carols, while the city was festively illuminated.
In the war-torn Gaza Strip, where more than 70,000 people have been killed and much of the infrastructure destroyed by Israeli bombardment, the small Christian community celebrated its first Christmas since a fragile ceasefire took effect. Christmas trees and glittering decorations brought splashes of color among the ruins covering the Gaza Strip
Israeli attacks continued despite the holidays. Israeli settlers uprooted olive groves in the town of Turmus Ayya, near Ramallah, and Israeli soldiers raided homes and seized vehicles in the Hebron area, according to the Palestinian WAFA news agency.
Attacks by Israelis against Christians are on the rise. A report published in March documented 32 attacks on church property and 45 physical attacks against Christians.
In his first Christmas message as sovereign pontiff, Pope Leo condemned the “deplorable” humanitarian situation in Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of people live in tents and makeshift shelters in poor conditions, in the cold and rain. He referred to the birth of Jesus in a stable, saying that this story shows that God has “pitched his frail tent” among the people of the world.
“How can we not think, then, of the tents in Gaza, exposed for weeks to rain, wind and cold,” said the Pope, lamenting the fate of “defenseless populations, tried by so many wars.”
