Christmas Brings New Hope of Peace to Bethlehem
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BETHLEHEM, West Bank  - Hundreds of pilgrims and a  new Palestinian leadership celebrated Christmas in the town of  Jesus's birth on Saturday with new hopes for peace following  Yasser Arafat's death.
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BETHLEHEM, West Bank  - Muslims and Christians joined together on Christmas Eve in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, holding their breath that the festive season would be peaceful and possibly the start of a new dawn.
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Palestinians lit a four-story Christmas tree in this biblical town Saturday, kicking off a holiday season free of fighting with Israel that officials say will bring the most pilgrims since hostilities broke out seven years ago.
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Pope John Paul II ushered in Christmas today by celebrating Midnight Mass at St. Peter&#39;s Basilica, praying that world leaders will strive for peace and that Jews, Muslims
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Pope John Paul II ushered in Christmas on Friday by celebrating midnight Mass at St. Peter's Basilica, praying that world leaders will strive for peace and that Jews, Muslims and Christians will live harmoniously in the Holy Land.
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Peace appeals are heard as Palestinian leaders join Christmas festivities in the town of Bethlehem.
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Speaking to a congregation assembled for Christmas mass in a Bethlehem church Friday night, PLO chairman Mahoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) called on Israel to negotiate with the Palestinians.
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Peace appeals are heard as Palestinian leaders join festivities in the West Bank town of Bethlehem.
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BETHLEHEM, West Bank, Oct. 17 -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice paid an emotional visit Wednesday to the church revered as marking the birthplace of Jesus, before hearing from prominent Palestinians that failure of her new peace initiative could worsen their conflict with Israel.
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Gloom was banished from Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem for the first time in years on Monday as Christian pilgrims from all over the world flocked here to celebrate Jesus' birth in an atmosphere of renewed tranquility.
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VATICAN CITY -- Pope John Paul II offered Christmas wishes yesterday for a world where he said timid but hopeful efforts at peace coexist with worries over Iraq, the Holy Land, and Africa.
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Cheer came back partly to the Holy city, considered the birthplace of Jesus with Israel easing travel restrictions and extending goodwill gestures towards pilgrims and the Palestinian Authority (PA).
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Interim Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas arrived in Bethlehem under heavy security this evening for Christmas celebrations. It was the first time in four years that a Palestinian leader has spent the holiday in the traditional birthplace of Jesus.
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With the lighting of a candle for peace in his window, Pope John Paul began Christmas holiday celebrations that posed a new test for his frail health not long after visitors celebrated in Bethlehem.
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BETHLEHEM, West Bank  - Hundreds of millions around the world prepared Friday to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, a Christmas festival of religious joy for many and commercial excess for others, against a backdrop of continuing global security
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Worshippers brought hopes for greater peace in the coming year as they flocked to Manger Square in Bethlehem and to St. Peter's in the Vatican to hear Christmas messages urging an end to violence, particularly in the Middle East. But from Indonesia to Iraq, fear overshadowed the festivities.
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BETHLEHEM, West Bank  - Thousands of pilgrims and  a new Palestinian leadership celebrated Christmas in the town  of Jesus's birth Saturday with prayers for peace after the  death of Yasser Arafat.