FACT CHECK: Video Showing Fighting At Bethlehem Church Is Old

A video shared on X claims to show Palestinians assaulting a church in Bethlehem.

This is how Palestinians tried to break into a church in Bethlehem during scout rehearsals for Christmas.

The church was attacked with stones and shots were also fired at it.

Under Palestinian Authority, Christians are not safe in the birth town of Jesus! pic.twitter.com/60eKrJbbzZ

— Dr. Maalouf ‏ (@realMaalouf) December 24, 2024

Verdict: Misleading

The video is from 2022 and is unrelated to Christmas. It appears that the fighting was due to an argument between groups of men.

Fact Check:

Social media users are claiming to show Palestinians trying to break into a church around Christmas. One user wrote, “This is how Palestinians tried to break into a church in Bethlehem during scout rehearsals for Christmas. The church was attacked with stones and shots were also fired at it. Under Palestinian Authority, Christians are not safe in the birth town of Jesus!”

This claim is misleading. Through a keyword search, Check Your Fact found that the video was from Oct. 2022, meaning it is unlikely related to Christmas. The Jerusalem Post reported that “church leaders said the attack came after a ‘quarrel between some young men.’

Tal Hagin, an open-source intelligence analyst, debunked the claim in a Dec. 24 post. (RELATED: Did Taylor Swift Say Elon Musk Was’ Radicalized By His Own Algorithm’?) 

This isn’t recent, and it wasn’t due to an assault on a scout rehearsal in a church.

The video is from 2022, and based on reports from that period the assault came after a “quarrel between some young men.” https://t.co/dRS9qU7rtO pic.twitter.com/JIUERuyxSv

— Tal Hagin (@talhagin) December 25, 2024

“This isn’t recent, and it wasn’t due to an assault on a scout rehearsal in a church. The video is from 2022, and based on reports from that period the assault came after a ‘quarrel between some young men,’” Hagin tweeted.