Several
thousand were already in place to greet the Latin Patriarch of
occupied Jerusalem Monsignor Michel Sabbah after his annual procession
from the neighboring holy city.
He
addressed several thousand pilgrims, tourists and onlookers at a
midnight mass at the Church of the Nativity, where the Virgin Mary
gave birth to Jesus over 2000 years ago.
“Our
situation continues to be a situation of conflict, violence,
insecurity, fear, military occupation, the wall of separation, of
imprisoned cities and demolitions,” he told his audience.
“Palestine
and Israel must conquer the evil of violence ... and give birth to a
new society of brothers and sisters in which no one controls the
other, no one is occupied by the other, no one causes insecurity for
the other, no one takes liberty from the other,” he was quoted as
saying by the Israeli daily Haaretz.
Eager
for Normal Life
Opposite
the church, flashing letters in green neon on the town hall read
“Merry Christmas” next to a large poster of a smiling and waving
Arafat.
Joseph,
38, blamed the Israelis for strangling the local economy with army
checkpoints and the West Bank separation wall.
“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.
“We
are eager to have a normal life like everybody else and we pray to God
that he will make it easier for us,” said Joseph, who withheld his
last name.
Israel's
West Bank separation wall has effectively cut Bethlehem in half and
dealt a further blow to the town's already listless economy.
Rania,
28, and her friends made the journey from a nearby town in the
Bethlehem district, but left earlier before the mass due to the perils
of Israeli checkpoints late at night.
Ryan
and Samantha, two married teachers living in the West Bank town of
Jenin but originally from the US, were amazed by the participation of
the ordinary Palestinians in the festivities.
“This
is very unlike normal Palestinian life to be celebrating so much. It's
just a very festive atmosphere,” said Ryan 26. “They can't act
like this on a normal basis.”
There
are 144,000 Christians living in the occupied Palestinian territories
and Israel, according to a report released Thursday, December 23, by
the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS).
Approximately
98 percent of the Christian community live in urban settlements, with
20 percent in Nazareth, 12 percent in Haifa and 10 percent in occupied
Jerusalem. Sixty percent of all Christians live in northern Israel.
Of
the community, 117,000 are Arab and 27,000 are new immigrants,
according to the report.
Isolated
Town
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Roman Catholic nuns pass by Israeli occupation soldiers en route to Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem
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Israeli
occupation authorities have eased travel restrictions to allow
Christians from the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and Israel to visit
Bethlehem.
The
move comes after a United Nations' report on December 20 slammed
Israel for isolating the city.
“Urban
Bethlehem, with a population of about 61,000, is now surrounded by
nine Israeli settlements, roads restricted to Israelis, a multitude of
checkpoints, 78 physical obstacles, and an Israeli barrier nearing
completion on two sides of the town,” said the report entitled
“Costs of Conflict: The Changing Face of Bethlehem.”
“As
a result, Bethlehem has become isolated from the rest of the West Bank
and most importantly from (occupied) Jerusalem which is only a few
miles away.”
The
economy of Bethlehem, once a hub of tourist activity, has been
devastated by the impact of travel restrictions imposed by Israel in
the wake of the September 2000 start of the Intifada, said the report.
Tourism,
the lifeblood of the city, has plummeted from a monthly average of
91,726 visitors in 2000 to 7,249 in the first 10 months of 2004, a
slight increase over 2003, according to the UN report entitled
“Costs of Conflict: The Changing Face of Bethlehem.”
The
report by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
and the UN Office of the Special Coordinator for the Peace Process in
the Middle East required Israel to give free access to Christian and
Muslim holy sites in Bethlehem and occupied Jerusalem.
“Restricting
access to Jerusalem's and Bethlehem's holy sites runs the risk of
aggravating religious divisions in an area that has historical and
religious importance for those of the Christian, Muslim and Jewish
faiths alike.”
