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World pray for peace on Christmas Eve in Bethlehem

Published: 25/12/2009 05:00

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People from all over the world gathered in the holy city of Bethlehem in the West Bank on Christmas Eve Thursday, praying for peace on the special occasion.

Worshipers pray inside the Church of Nativity in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, on Dec. 24, 2009, the Christmas eve. (Xinhua/Fadi Arouri)

The birthplace of Jesus Christ was crowded and festive as people flooded the usually quiet half-empty Palestinian city. Palestinian Muslims and Christians, foreigners and even Jews arrived in succession to join in the Christmas celebrations.

With better security situation in the West Bank this year, Bethlehem is expecting the biggest number of Christmas tourists.

“The number of tourists and pilgrims is expected to be 50,000 in these two days, compared with last year’s 30,000,” Bethlehem Mayor Victor Batarseh told Xinhua.

Bethlehem lies 10 km south of Jerusalem. A wall and a number of checkpoints separate the two cities.

A lot of Palestinians could not make it to the celebrations because of the Israeli checkpoints that surround the city.

The journey to Bethlehem is quite time-consuming as Palestinians have to go around the big settlement of Ma’aleh Adumim that almost cuts the West Bank into two halves.

Daher, a Jerusalemite, said he spent about an hour and a half at a checkpoint on his way to Bethlehem.

This year, only 400 Palestinian Christians from Gaza, which has been under Israeli siege for three years, were granted permits among 750 people who applied for it.

The Gaza Strip is home to around 4,000 Christians, most of whom belong to the Greek Orthodox Church, but a few follow the Latin Church and celebrate Christmas on Dec. 24-25.

Last year, Gaza Latin Church pastor Manuel Musalam announced that the Palestinian Christians living in Gaza would not celebrate Christmas in 2008 to protest the Israeli blockade imposed on Gaza and the Israeli threats of invasion.

Nearly one year has passed since the start of the three-week Israeli military offensive Operation Cast Lead, with the stated aim of ending rocket attacks by Hamas militants operating in the Gaza Strip.

The operation killed more than 1,400 people and injured 5,000 others, reducing homes, schools, hospitals and marketplaces to rubble.

Shafiq Haddad, a Palestinian poet, told Xinhua, “I am like any other simple Palestinian, I pray for peace, I hope there will be peace in the world. We are witnessing wars and bloodshed, we hope this comes to an end.”

As darkness fell, tourists and pilgrims gathered at the Manger Square near the Church of Nativity to listen to Christmas carols and wait for the Christmas Eve mass to start.

At midnight, the church bells went off and a mass went on with the participation of pilgrims and religious and political figures including Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

They were all praying in the place which Christians believe is the birthplace of Jesus, and many of them were praying for world peace.

VietNamNet/Xinhuanet

Provide by Vietnam Travel

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