Bethlehem Shows Israel-Palestinian Warming
20170
Israel freed up travel into Bethlehem on Christmas Eve and handed out candy to Palestinian and foreign pilgrims at roadblocks, the latest signs of warming Israeli
671032
In Bethlehem, the town where Christians believe Christ was born, an estimated 3,000 Christians have moved abroad.
348737
For the past four years, Middle East peace could safely be filed under the same heading as Santa Claus: nice fantasy. But this Christmas, glimmers of hope have materialized in the Holy Land.
102532
BETHLEHEM, West Bank  - Thousands of pilgrims gathered in Bethlehem on Monday for a Christmas mass promoted by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Western powers as a chance to highlight the benefits of peacemaking.
734526
BETHLEHEM, West Bank -- The floors are polished, a Christmas tree glitters near the bar, and the dining room is ready for hundreds of guests: The luxury Paradise Hotel is open for business for the first time since the latest Palestinian uprising erupted in 2000.
305139
The international diplomatic enthusiasm for Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking that erupted after the death of Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat has apparently not filtered down to the streets of Bethlehem.
15490
His trip includes Israel and the Palestinian territories.
7488
JERUSALEM -- Israel's foreign minister embraced yesterday the US-backed ''road map&quot; leading to a Palestinian state and conditionally warmed up to Syrian peace overtures, more signs of movement toward Mideast peace in the post-Yasser Arafat era.
731475
Palestinian men light candles in front of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat 's picture in Gaza City November 9, 2004.
759093
BETHLEHEM, West Bank -- Several thousand pilgrims celebrated Christmas Eve in the traditional birthplace of Jesus yesterday, voicing hopes for peace in the Middle East.
293856
Israel announced on Thursday that security in the holy town of Bethlehem in the West Bank during Christmas celebrations would be handed over to the Palestinian police forces.
264429
Bethlehem, the traditional birthplace of Jesus, has been turned into a large prison by the separation barrier Israel is building in the West Bank, the top Roman Catholic clergyman in the Holy Land said yesterday.
290870
A cameraman shoots video footage backdropped by a row of posters depicting Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in Kalandia, prior to a PLO leadership meeting at the compound in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Saturday Nov. 6, 2004.
23487
Since the death of the Palestinian president, Yasser Arafat, a mood has been spreading in the Middle East that had not been felt for a long time: optimism.
78741
The prisoner swap deal between Israel and Egypt is one of the most vivid signs of a warming in the &quot;cold peace&quot; between the two countries.
560028
Interim Palestinian leader and presidential candidate Mahmoud Abbas reads the order of service during the Christmas midnight mass at the Church of the Nativity in the West Bank town of Bethlehem Saturday Dec. 25, 2004.
273007
THE OLD Christmas carolâs âlittle townâ is now a city larger than Charleston, and itâsa depressing place. Four years ago, more than 91,000 tourists visited in a year to see Bethlehemâs religious