BETHLEHEM/VATICAN, December 25, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus Christ, is celebrating its calmest Christmas in years as Israeli occupation forces eased their usual watertight restrictions, while Pope Benedict XVI made an impassioned plea for peace in the Middle East.

"Leaving all violence, all vengeance, freeing political prisoners and putting the past behind can create a new land in which we can assure security for Israelis and give Palestinians liberty and an end to occupation," Palestine Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah told a mass on Sunday, December 25, reported Reuters.

Struggling with umbrellas against gusts of icy, pelting rain, Christian worshipers dashed from tour buses to the candle-lit warmth of the grotto in the Church of the Nativity.

"God created you not to fear or to kill each other but to love each other, to build and to cooperate together," Sabbah said.

The patriarch called on politicians to help peace prevail in the Holy Land and to be "builders of life, not of death."

The mass was attended by Christians from across the globe joined by a cohort of dignitaries, including Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

"In our bitter and painful reality, we use this spiritual and religious occasion to send a message of peace to our Israeli neighbors," he said in his Christmas message.

"We wish to pray for peace in the Holy Land," Pope Benedict XVI told thousands of faithful. (Reuters)

Patriarch Sabbah asserted that barriers and separation walls need to be replaced by bridges of understanding, peace and love.

"Our Holy Land thirsts to recover its peace and holiness," he told the worshipers.

Bethlehem Governor Salah Tamari complained the town had been transformed into a "big prison" by the separation wall Israel is building in the West Bank.

Christian pilgrims taking the road from Al-Quds (occupied East Jerusalem) now have to pass through an iron gateway in an eight-meter concrete barrier.

The controversial wall put a damper on the Christmas milieu, preventing tourists from walking into the town on a biblical-era route likely used by Christ and Virgin Mary.

Instead, they were forced to enter through an Israeli checkpoint.

Israel claims the 700km-long separation wall is only meant to stop Palestinian attacks.

The International Court of Justice has asked Israel to tear down the barrier, which resulted in the confiscation of 11,4000 dunums (2,850 acres - 1,140 hectares) of privately-owned Palestinian land, and compensate Palestinians affected.

Palestinians maintain the controversial barrier denies them a viable state and serves to inflict collective punishment on them.

Despite suffocating Israeli measures in the Palestinian territories, this year's Christmas witnessed a calmer atmosphere.

The Israeli army has eased restrictions to allow foreigners as well as Israeli and Palestinian Christians from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to visit Bethlehem.

Khaled al-Bandak, an employee in one of Bethlehem's hotels, told the London-based Al-Quds Press news agency that the influx of tourists has witnessed moderate improvement this year.

He voiced hope that the coming years would witness more improvements and the prevalence of peace.

Bethlehem, which is dependent on tourism, is expecting some 30,000 visitors on Saturday and Sunday, far more than any year due to customary Israeli instigations.

In the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI made an impassioned plea for peace in the Middle East early Sunday, celebrating the first Christmas mass of his pontificate, reported Agence France Presse (AFP).

"On this night, when we look towards Bethlehem, let us pray in a special way for the birthplace of our Redeemer and for the men and women who live and suffer there," the pontiff said in his homily at the traditional midnight mass in St Peter's basilica.

"We wish to pray for peace in the Holy Land," he told thousands of faithful, government officials and diplomats who attended the mass.