http://www.arabamericannews.com/newsarticle.php?articleid=7128

Christmas may be harsh this year in occupied, embattled Palestine. Some organizations are scrambling to help.
On December 8, the United Palestinian Appeal, Inc., a charity established in 1978, announced an emergency food drive to help feed families and give the ailing economy a small boost.
The campaign is aimed at providing money to Palestinian farmers for food to be distributed using coupons or vouchers by the local Palestinian NGO Welfare Association.
Director of the UPA in Washington, Makbula Yasin, said the appeal was made in hopes of gathering support as the holidays, including Christmas, Hajj season, and Eid Al Adha, as well as the end of the tax year approach.
Yasin and the UPA hope to gather $500,000 to provide $100 worth of food per month to150,000 Palestinian families, while supporting farmers and the economy, over the next three months.
“They need every penny,” Yasin said. “The situation there is unbelievable.”
On Tuesday the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees made its largest aid appeal ever, requesting $246 million for 2007.
The U.N. Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA, recognized a "deep, unprecedented crisis" as a result of violence and the withholding of international aid since Hamas was elected to lead the government last January.
Last week, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh was prevented by Israel from entering the Gaza Strip with $35 million in international aid.
Filippo Grandi, UNRWA’s deputy commissioner-general, has told reporters that the economic sanctions have had "an unbearable effect on the most vulnerable - the sick, the old, the poor, and the children."
The West Bank city of Bethlehem, the traditional birthplace of Jesus, will not see its usual massive tourist turnout this Christmas.
The city’s mayor, Victor Batarseh, told reporters "This year, the birthplace of Jesus, though its history is full of inspirational stories, is living one of its history's darkest chapters."
"There will be no clothes for the employees' children this year and Santa will not visit them."
Batarseh said that Israel’s separation barrier has cut the city off from farmland, laborers, and tourists from Jerusalem and other surrounding cities.
Some local Detroit Palestinians have said that family members who live either in the Occupied Territories or within the Israeli border will not make the dangerous, stressful trip to Bethlehem they usually make for annual Christmas parades and celebrations.
They said the “apartheid wall,” as many call the concrete barrier, along with other security measures has turned transportation between close villages into long ordeals.
As Bethlehem’s tourism dwindles and farmers are denied access to their lands to harvest, or to markets to sell produce, charitable aid may be the only source of support available to the city as well as to the rest of the West Bank, Gaza, and refugee camps across borders. Yasin of the UPA said that funds sent by that organization reach the Palestinians with little difficulty because the group is “clear from any political affiliation ... We don’t deal with anything to do with politics."
We keep holding deep faith in peace," said Bataresh. "We pray that the star of the nativity will shine on Bethlehem once again."
To donate to the United Palestinian Appeal, Inc.’s Emergency Food Drive, or to learn more, visit helpUPA.com.