In pictures: Bethlehem marks Christmas Eve amid Covid measures

Musicians banging drums and playing bagpipes have marched through the biblical town of Bethlehem in Christmas celebrations, to the delight of smaller than usual crowds due to the pandemic.

The scenes from Bethlehem on Friday were reflected in celebrations around the world on the second Christmas Eve dampened by the coronavirus.

Travel restrictions imposed by the Zionist regime, the main entry point for foreign visitors heading to the occupied West Bank, home to the traditional birthplace of Jesus, kept international tourists away for a second year. 

Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the top Roman Catholic clergyman, also joined the celebrations, waving to well-wishers as his motorcade made its way through town.

The loss of international tourism, the lifeblood of Bethlehem's economy, has hit hotels, restaurants and gift shops especially hard.

Over 200,000 Christians, a small but tight-knit community, makes up an estimated 1% to 2% of the population in the occupied territories of Palestine.