Bethlehem beckons cautious tourists
251251
MIDEAST:Residents hope lessening Israeli-Palestinian violence can help the town regain its tourist industry. BY LAURA KING. BETHLEHEM, West Bank - In this Christmas season of hopes and fears, the little town
599684
HOUSTON That white pinpoint of light racing across the sky before dawn on Christmas morning won&#39;t be Santa&#39;s sleigh or the star that guided the Wise Men to Bethlehem.
10090
When a church group put a nativity scene on public property, officials warned it might open the door to other religious &#151; and not-so-religious &#151; displays. They were right.
578682
BETHLEHEM, West Bank, DEC. 22, 2004 .- The Israeli government announced that it would not prevent Israeli Christians from visiting Bethlehem for Christmas celebrations.
401202
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.
760783
Four years of violence, an economic free fall and the rapidly rising Israeli separation barrier have all contributed to the hardships facing Palestinian Christians in Bethlehem, one of the largest concentrations of Christians in the region.
223574
Road travellers may face delays on Christmas Eve as people prepare for a festive journey to or from home.
46145
Four UK church leaders are to make a pilgrimage to Bethlehem just before Christmas.
47596
Peace appeals are heard as Palestinian leaders join Christmas festivities in the town of Bethlehem.
338620
Peace appeals are heard as Palestinian leaders join festivities in the West Bank town of Bethlehem.
44664
Israel is taking special steps to insure a merry Christmas in Bethlehem, an Israeli military official said Thursday, raising hopes for a gentler holiday in the traditional birthplace of Jesus after four years of Israeli-Palestinian violence.
98481
Israeli dissident Mordechai Vanunu is  detained trying to enter Bethlehem in defiance of a travel ban.
672177
In the new optimism of the Mideast, Bethlehem finds itself blessed with more visitors this year than at any time since the Palestinian offensive began in 2000 â-n fact, twice as many in 2004 than in 2003.
748696
(Undated) Dec. 25, 2004 - As the world celebrates Christmas, there is new hope for peace abroad despite ever-present tensions. The crowds are larger than in recent years at Bethlehem, the traditional birthplace of Jesus Christ.
219942
Israel allowed free travel into Bethlehem on Christmas Eve and handed out candy to Palestinians and foreign pilgrims at roadblocks, the latest sign that Israeli-Palestinian relations have warmed since the death of Yasser Arafat.
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.
76153
The children who live in and near Bethlehem regard it as special, but for different reasons. What they don&#39;t know too well are each other.