Israel preparing for peaceful Christmas in Bethlehem

Israel is taking special steps to insure a merry Christmas season in Bethlehem, an Israeli military official said today, raising hopes of peace and goodwill in the traditional birthplace of Jesus after four years of violence.

International attention focuses on the West Bank town on Christmas Eve, so Israeli officials see an improved atmosphere there as a boon to Israel’s troubled image.

“The importance of Bethlehem to the Christian world is clear to us,” said Lieutenant Colonel Aviv Feigel, head of the army’s Bethlehem district liaison office.

The main difference with previous years is the perception of an improved atmosphere following the death of Yasser Arafat, though the military could point to no actual changes in procedures.

Feigel said Israel would transfer Bethlehem security control to Palestinian forces between Christmas Eve and the Armenian Christmas on January 19.

Shortly after the intafadah erupted in September 2000, Israel took control of main West Bank towns and roads, setting up dozens of roadblocks. Bethlehem is surrounded by Israeli roadblocks, controlling entry and exit, and the barrier Israel is building in the West Bank cuts through the town.

Within that framework, the military says it will allow Israeli and Gaza Christians to visit Bethlehem and will not restrict the numbers of West Bank Palestinians arriving there.

“Every soldier at the checkpoints will receive a detailed sheet of information about the importance of Bethlehem to Christians, so they will know how to behave,” he said.

However, Feigel himself seemed a bit confused by the religious intricacies of the holiday.

In distinguishing December 25 from the separate Greek Orthodox and Armenian celebrations, he referred to it as the “Catholic Christmas,” apparently unaware that hundreds of millions of Protestants celebrate it on the same day.

A town of 40,000, four miles south of Jerusalem, Bethlehem was once a magnet for foreign Christmas visitors, with tens of thousands crowding Manger Square during the annual midnight mass.

But following the outbreak of Israeli-Palestinian violence the numbers dropped precipitously, falling to only 2,000 last year.

This year Israeli officials are expecting about 4,000 visitors, reflecting the recent reduction in violence and more relaxed atmosphere.