Christmas Pilgrims in Bethlehem Voice Hope
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Indian Christians on a peace pilgrimage hold candles during Christmas festivities at the Church of the Nativity in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, Friday, Dec. 24, 2004.
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As the faithful marked Christmas Day, political and religious leaders called for peace and reconciliation amid flickers of hope in places long plagued by conflict.
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BETHLEHEM, West Bank  - Thousands of pilgrims flocked to Bethlehem on Monday for a Christmas mass which Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Western powers hope will highlight the benefits of peacemaking.
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VATICAN CITY  - In a Christmas shadowed by violence and the threat of conflict around the world, Pope John Paul II expressed &quot;great apprehension&quot; over the situation in Iraq but optimism at the outlook in the Palestinian crisis.
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DHANFHIPARA, India - Dozens of rebels in battle fatigues sang Christmas carols in a bamboo church in India's restive northeast on Saturday as two of their leaders returned for Christmas after 20 years of self-exile.
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A Roman Catholic priest on Saturday led one of the first cheerful Christmas Day celebrations in Bethlehem in years, after fighting, military curfews and a general glum had kept most visitors away since the late 1990s.
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As Christmas approaches, Christians around the world turn to thoughts of the Holy Land and the great figures in the Bible.
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Israeli soldiers sent sweets and Christmas greetings to Palestinians in Bethlehem today, the latest sign that relations between the sides have warmed since the death of Yasser Arafat.
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The occupied city of Bethlehem in the West Bank has been witnessing an atmosphere overwhelmed by sadness while celebrating Christmas because of the continued Israeli occupation, the besiege and building the wall of separation.
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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
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Four UK church leaders are to make a pilgrimage to Bethlehem just before Christmas.
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Pope John Paul II offered Christmas wishes Saturday for a world where he said timid but hopeful efforts at peace coexist with worries over over Iraq, the Holy Land and several tragic conflicts in Africa.
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BETHLEHEM, West Bank -- Several thousand pilgrims celebrated Christmas Eve in the traditional birthplace of Jesus yesterday, voicing hopes for peace in the Middle East.
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As memorial posters of Yasser Arafat fade fast in Bethlehem&#39;s Manger Square, Palestinians in the birthplace of Jesus dare to hope this Christmas will not be as bleak as the last few.
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25 December 2004 -- Hundreds of millions of Christians are celebrating Christmas today. Many of those are turning their. thoughts to a small Palestinian West Bank town where many people believe Jesus Christ was born 2,004 years ago.
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Peace appeals are heard as Palestinian leaders join festivities in the West Bank town of Bethlehem.
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By TOM BREEN  ST. ALBANS, W.Va. - Christ is missing from Christmas in this small town. The community's holiday display has a manger with shepherds, a guiding star, camels and a palm tree, but no baby Jesus, Mary or Joseph.