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    Thousands visit Bethlehem on Christmas Eve

    By DALIA NAMMARI | Associated Press – Sat, Dec 24, 2011

    BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) — Thousands of pilgrims, tourists and local Christians gathered in the biblical West Bank town of Bethlehem on Saturday to begin Christmas Eve celebrations in the traditional birthplace of Jesus.

    Visitors gathered near the 50-foot (15-meter) Christmas tree at Manger Square Saturday morning, taking pictures and enjoying the sunshine.

    The main event will be Midnight Mass at the Church of the Nativity, built over the location where Jesus is believed to have been born.

    Israel's Tourism Ministry said it expects 90,000 tourists to visit the Holy Land for the holiday. Ministry spokeswoman Lydia Weitzman said that number is the same as last year's record-breaking tally, but was surprisingly high considering the turmoil in the Arab world and the U.S. and European economic downturns.

    Bethlehem Mayor Victor Batarseh said he hopes this year's celebrations will bring Palestinians closer to their dream of statehood. With peace talks stalled with Israel, Palestinians this year made a unilateral bid for recognition at the United Nations and were accepted as a member by UNESCO, the U.N. cultural agency.

    "We are celebrating this Christmas hoping that in the near future we'll get our right to self-determination our right to establish our own democratic, secular Palestinian state on the Palestinian land. That is why this Christmas is unique," Batarseh told The Associated Press.

    Bethlehem is today surrounded on three sides by a barrier Israel built to stop Palestinian militants from attacking during a wave of assaults in the last decade. Palestinians say the barrier damaged their economy.

    Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal, the Roman Catholic Church's head clergyman in the Holy Land, crossed through a massive metal gate in the barrier, in a traditional midday procession from Jerusalem on Saturday.

    "We ask the child of Bethlehem to give us the peace we are in desperate need for, peace in the Middle East, peace in the Holy Land, peace in the heart and in our families," Twal said before heading to the Church of the Nativity, where he was to celebrate Midnight Mass.

    The number of Christians in the West Bank is on the decline. Their fragile status in a majority Muslim society, ongoing Israeli-Palestinian violence and better economic opportunities abroad have led many of them to leave for the United States, South America and Europe.

    Christians have even lost their majority in traditionally Christian Bethlehem, where more than two-thirds of the 50,000 Palestinian residents are now Muslim.

    The biblical town was bustling on Saturday, however, with Christian tourists and pilgrims.

    "This is my first time in Bethlehem and it's an electrifying feeling to be here at the birthplace of Jesus during Christmas," said 49-year-old Abraham Rai from Karla, India.

     
    • Steven W
      Steven W  •  Chicago, Illinois  •  5 mths ago
      I would love to go see Bethlehem and Nazareth,and Jerusalem.I'm probably not able to afford documentary of these places.Just placing your person in these areas that Christ was in would be simply amazing.
      • L
        L 5 mths ago
        Agreed
    • Seriously
      Seriously  •  5 mths ago
      Been there, 1983. It gives one pause. Peace on Earth; Good Will Towards All, Merry Christmas.
      • darkride1actual
        darkride1actual 5 mths ago
        I was in lebanon in 83 - didn't get the same feeling
    • Veronica
      Veronica  •  5 mths ago
      Happy, Healthy Holidays to one and all. World Peace for the New Year would be nice, too. Stop all the bigotry and hatred.
    • Human
      Human  •  Traverse City, Michigan  •  5 mths ago
      All religions have a message of peace at their heart... so this holiday season I would like to wish all humanity, regardless of what faith, the peace it desires.
      • ANDROLOMA
        ANDROLOMA 5 mths ago
        All religions have a message of TITHE at their heart...
      • Human
        Human 5 mths ago
        Wishing peace for all humanity pulls thumbs down on this site too? While comments of war get thumbs up? Where has "humanity" gone? Where is the compassion, and understanding?
      • Sunset
        Sunset 5 mths ago
        The bible only speaks of one faith that works!
    • J
      J  •  Conroe, Texas  •  5 mths ago
      Peace 2 All
    • Angelo
      Angelo  •  5 mths ago
      It would be nice if EVERY land became Holy. May all people be blessed this Christmas, and safe for the Holidays. Merry Christmas to all, and a Happy New Year
    • PYOOBHEIR
      PYOOBHEIR  •  5 mths ago
      Happy celebration of Jesus' birth on 25th December two thousand and eleven years ago.
      Well not quite 25th December as his birthday was always celebrated on 6th January till the Emperor Constantine changed it to fit in with mid winter sun worshipping.
      And well not quite 2011 years ago as they missed out year zero so they made a mistake or he was born one year old.
      And well not quite AD as he was born during the time of Herod the Great who died 4 BC.
      And well not quite BC as the census of Quirinius which caused the Holy family to travel to Bethlehem took place in 6 AD -
      And well not..... Oh who cares ... Happy Christmas 
    • Yahoo user
      Yahoo user  •  5 mths ago
      Merry Christmas everyone out there!

      16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God. John 3:16~21
      The Kingdom of God welcomes all who come to seek Him
      • Q
        Q 5 mths ago
        Romans 8:29-30 (ESV), "29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified." This tells us where all those that seek Him come from...God!
    • Spike
      Spike  •  Newark, New Jersey  •  5 mths ago
      Native says Muslims have always been the majority ???
      Jews 5000 + Years
      Christians 2000 + Years
      Muslims 1500 + Years
      Better get yer math skills checked Native!
      • R Michael
        R Michael 5 mths ago
        Usual stuff from native..but then, he should know..he's a native of the region..
    • gofer
      gofer  •  Branson, Missouri  •  5 mths ago
      This great for all party's ,Merry Christmas to all!
    • Angelo
      Angelo  •  5 mths ago
      Let everyone be mindful of the millions of homeless, poor, and jobless, who have little to nothing for their families. Pray for those in need this Holiday season and those in search of jobs will find it.
    • CharP
      CharP  •  New York, New York  •  5 mths ago
      Nothing snarky to post, no political fights--Just a Merry Christmas to All and to All a Goodnight!
    • Michael
      Michael  •  Los Angeles, California  •  5 mths ago
      The Dead Sea Scorlls Is the Psalms which is Written by David the King of Israel who made the City of David. All in the Old Testament Bible over 2500 years ago...
    • Michael
      Michael  •  Los Angeles, California  •  5 mths ago
      1 Timothy 3 verse 16 Without question, this is the great mystery of our Faith*; Christ* was revealed in a human body and vindicated by the Spirit.* He was seen by Angels and Announced to the Nations. He was believed in throughtout the World and taken to Heaven in Glory.
    • Real-Sturm
      Real-Sturm  •  5 mths ago
      Reality Reversal
      Nazis and Muslims always try to justify their BIGOTRY & Jew hatred by Reversing Reality so that the attribution of behavior is switched from one side to the other & is the standard Islamic religiously sanctioned practice of Taqiyya: Mandated lying in the cause of Islam. The Islamic World constantly uses it against Israel & Jews, for example denying the Holocaust while claiming Israel is perpetrating genocide in Gaza & Launching 13,000 Rockets at Israeli Civilians but branding Israel the Aggressor.
    • AwakeAlertOrientedx3
      AwakeAlertOrientedx3  •  5 mths ago
      What gifts did you give Jesus this year? The wise men's myrrh, frankincense, and gold symbolize good thoughts, good words, and good deeds. Merry Christmas!
    • myob
      myob  •  5 mths ago
      Christians risk their lives to celebrate in Iraq, Syria and Egypt. The same would be true in "Palestinian" hands it they didn't need the tourist dollars to refill their stolen bank accounts in France and Switzerland.
      Another thought: Why didn't Native and his "tribe" cross the road.? Because when he got to the road, he saw "Honesty", Integrity," Truth," Peace," "Honor" written in the middle. Being totally unfamiliar with terms for which there was no equivalent in his language, he returned home to sit, stew and make up his own reality.
    • Ron
      Ron  •  Los Angeles, California  •  5 mths ago
      @ my buddy "Avenging Angel": thank you for your kind invitation to "burn in hell". I am going to respectfully decline and wish you an enlightening Christmas where you learn something about love and the power of peace. Because candidly, we Jews have been around a really long time and we will continue to be around, as will the nation of Israel. Merry Xmas.
    • CW
      CW  •  Tampa, Florida  •  5 mths ago
      O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining,
      It is the night of the dear Saviour's birth.
      Long lay the world in sin and error pining.
      Till He appeared and the Spirit felt its worth.
      A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
      For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
      Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!
      O night divine, the night when Christ was born;
      O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!
      O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!
    • Ron
      Ron  •  Los Angeles, California  •  5 mths ago
      at my buddy "Avenging Angel": I've been Jewish my entire life and I feel pretty good about the idea that we do not worship or celebrate the 'anti-christ'. If you want to believe that, it's ok, it's your fantasy after all. You can enjoy it all you want, but it simply is not reality.
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