Christmas hope twinkles in Bethlehem, PLO chief attends mass (English)

BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AFP)
Muslims and Christians thronged the streets of Bethlehem united in Christmas celebration and in the hope that this festive season would herald a new dawn after four years of violence.

PLO chairman Mahmud Abbas journeyed from Ramallah for the annual Christmas Eve mass, the first time in four years Israel has allowed a Palestinian leader to attend and a sign of the changed attitudes since the death of Yasser Arafat.

After his arrival late afternoon accompanied by Rawhi Fattuh, the interim president of the Palestinian Authority, Abbas said prayers in the Omar Ibn Khattab mosque opposite the Church of the Nativity.


Most here were holding their breath that this Christmas season would be peaceful after four years of the Palestinian intifada, or uprising, have all but killed off Bethlehem‘s fledgling tourist industry.

Israeli travel restrictions and the West Bank barrier have turned the celebrated birthplace of Jesus Christ into a ghost town for much of the year.
Christmas brings momentary relief to those suffering from the tourist dearth. Muslims and Christians flock from nearby villages joining pilgrims from afar to celebrate the birth of Jesus in his hometown.

In the hours leading up to the big event, the traditional Christmas Eve mass, buses continued to flow into town with numbers looking to far exceed the two or three thousand that made the trip in 2003.
Several thousand were already in place earlier Friday to greet the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Michel Sabbah.





He was due to give the sermon at a midnight mass at the Church of the Nativity, where Christian tradition says the Virgin Mary gave birth to Jesus more than 2,000 years ago.
Opposite the church, on the other side of Manger Square, flashing letters on the town hall spelt out in green neon “Merry Christmas” next to a large poster of a smiling and waving Arafat.

The late Palestinian leader was a regular guest at midnight mass after his return to the Palestinian territories in 1994 but was confined by Israel to his offices in Ramallah from early December 2001.
Abbas is the firm favourite to succeed Arafat as president of the Palestinian Authority in elections to be held on January 9.

Arafat’s death and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s plan to pull out completely from the Gaza Strip have prompted a new-found optimism that things are changing.
“It’s time for us to have a normal life like everybody else and we pray to God that he will make it easier for us,” said Joseph, 38, standing at the entrance to his falafel shop.

Joseph, a Palestinian Christian, blamed the Israelis for strangling the local economy with army checkpoints and the West Bank barrier, which the Jewish state maintains is necessary for security.
“The Israeli troops have to remove all these barriers and sanctions and make it easier for people to come here and enjoy the festivities and meet up with their friends and their families,” he told AFP.

Despite these impediments, Joseph said the mood was definitely more hopeful this year than previously during the intifada.

“People are hoping for the best, you can see it in their eyes. You can feel the spirit,” he said.
Behind him several people in traditional Muslim clothing were mixing in with Christians wearing red Santa Claus hats as Christmas songs blared out from a stage in Manger Square.
Israeli police detained nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu Friday as he headed to Christmas Eve mass in the West Bank town of Bethlehem carrying a Santa hat, a spokesman said.

“We arrested him when he travelled to Bethlehem despite the restrictions imposed on him,” said spokemsan Shmuel Ben Ruby. “He had with him a Father Christmas hat.”
Vanunu, 50, converted to Christianity during 18 years’ imprisonment imposed after he leaked details of Israel‘s secret nuclear arsenal to a British weekly newspaper.

Since his release last April, he has spent most of his time at Jerusalem‘s St. George’s Anglican cathedral.

24-12-2004

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