A filmed report from Bethlehem by the BBC Jerusalem Bureau’s Yolande Knell – titled “Christmas eve celebrations in Bethlehem’s Manger Square” – which was broadcast on BBC television news, also appeared on the BBC News website’s Middle East page on December 24th. 

Knell starts off well enough, describing the scene to viewers. However the item takes a different turn when studio presenter Nik Gowing says:

“Yolande, I hope you can hear me. What about security and the practicalities of getting to Bethlehem? After all, emm, there is a significant amount of building around where you are at the moment. The reality has changed quite significantly in recent years.”

Knell replies:

“That’s correct. In the Bethlehem Governorate there are more than twenty Pal..err…Israeli settlements and now Israel’s West Bank separation barrier. It appears as a high concrete wall around Bethlehem and the people here complain that it has strangled…