Battered Bethlehem faces another gloomy Christmas

THE Church of the Nativity is largely empty, a few ornaments hang forlornly on trees in a deserted Manger Square and few tourists or pilgrims are to be found in the town where Jesus was born, just days before Christmas.

Another gloomy Christmas faces Bethlehem, a West Bank town battered by relentless Palestinian-Israeli violence that has decimated its tourism-based economy, throwing thousands out of work, closing shops and leaving the town’s residents with little to celebrate.

Even Yasser Arafat, a symbol of pride for most Palestinians, will be forced to skip Christmas Eve celebrations again this year, Israel announced.