Bethlehem has celebrated its most festive Christmas since a Palestinian uprising began in 2000 with the largest turnout of pilgrims visiting the town of Jesus’ birth for more than five years.
Bethlehem has celebrated its most festive Christmas since a Palestinian uprising began in 2000 with the largest turnout of pilgrims visiting the town of Jesus’ birth for more than five years. More than 30,000 pilgrims descended on the Palestinian-ruled West Bank town for the festive holiday. Still, it was the first Christmas celebrated in the West Bank town since Israel completed construction of a barrier that it says is intended to prevent Palestinian suicide bombers infiltrating into its cities. Many Palestinians say it has turned the town into a virtual prison and cut off residents from their fields as well as friends and relatives in adjacent Jerusalem.
