Little cheer in Bethlehem for Christmas

BETHLEHEM - Seasonal celebrations in Bethlehem were but a ghost of Christmas past last night, as only a handful of pilgrims braved warfare in the Holy Land to visit the biblical birthplace of Jesus.

"There is no singing, no Christmas lights, no Christmas decorations," lamented Theresa Dalmau, 46, from Puerto Rico. "It's Christmas because we know it's Christmas, not because you can feel it. They are mourning their dead and wounded."

Only about 200 people stood in a windswept and rainy Manger Square for the arrival from Jerusalem of an annual Christmas Eve procession headed by Michel Sabbah, Latin Patriarch of the Holy Land, who will celebrate Midnight Mass.

A rainbow formed an arch above the square, providing a splash of colour in the gloomy atmosphere pervading the West Bank town.

At least 343 people, most of them Palestinians, have been killed in almost three months of violence.

Jewish, Muslim and Christian leaders noted that the three faiths' midwinter holidays - Hanukkah, Eid el-Fitr and Christmas - fall on the same days this year, a coincidence that occurs only every few decades.

"It seems to me that it is from the heavens... here the three holidays come together... together on the same day, almost at the same hour," said Abdullah NiMr. Darwish, the head of the Islamic Movement in Israel.

"I think that the supreme fate gives us this gift and this opportunity. It seems to me our leaders must learn from the supreme fate - how to let their people be happy."

Israeli-Palestinian violence has this year deterred all but a few outsiders from venturing near Bethlehem, where in recent years Christmas lights shone like a stars guiding the way for thousands of visitors encouraged by the prospect of peace in the Middle East.

In a morale-boosting holiday visit, Palestinian President Yasser Arafat flew into town by helicopter to attend, as he does annually, Midnight Mass in Saint Catherine's Church off Manger Square.

It was his first visit to the West Bank since the Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation erupted on September 28.

Israeli army checkpoints regulate access to Palestinian-ruled Bethlehem. The military said the roadblocks would be open for the holiday "only as far as the security situation allows."

Bethlehem Mayor Hanna Nasser said Christmas festivities would be confined to religious ceremonies, including Midnight Mass, and children's' festivals and choirs.

"It's a sad Christmas this year because of the absence of peace in the city of peace and joy," he said.

Many souvenir shops remained shuttered and hotels were largely empty except for a handful of tourists.

The Christmas tree in Manger Square, adorned with plain lights this year, was a pale imitation of the colourfully lit arbor that provided the background for countless holiday snapshots in previous years.

"Tourism? There is nothing. Business? There is nothing," said Joseph Giacaman, who owns a souvenir store on the square.

"For almost two months we haven't seen anybody," he said. "This is the worst business has been in 20 to 25 years. Nobody feels that this is a holiday."

- REUTERS

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