Israel allows free travel into Bethlehem
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In the latest sign that Israeli-Palestinian relations are warming since the death of Yasser Arafat, Israel is allowing easier travel into Bethlehem this Christmas.
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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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BETHLEHEM, West Bank  - Pilgrims and a new  Palestinian leadership celebrated Christmas in the town of  Jesus's birth with prayers for peace on Saturday, lifted by  fresh hope following Yasser Arafat's death.
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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
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BETHLEHEM, West Bank, Dec. 24 -- Several thousand pilgrims celebrated Christmas Eve in the place traditionally known as the birthplace of Jesus, welcoming the new thaw in Israeli-Palestinian relations and voicing hopes for peace in the Middle East.
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Thousands of pilgrims and a new Palestinian leadership celebrated Christmas in the town of Jesus&#39;s birth yesterday with prayers for peace after the death of Yasser Arafat.
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&quot;Bethlehem should be a free city. It is a symbol of peace, a symbol for all the Christian world and all humanity.&quot;. Praying for peace ... Christian pilgrims visit the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. However
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BETHLEHEM, West Bank - 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-Palestinian relations since the death of Yasser Arafat.
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Representatives from Israel&#39;s Tourism Ministry will distribute bags of sweets and special government Christmas cards to Christian pilgrims on their way to midnight mass, Friday night.
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RAFAH, Gaza Strip  - About 1,000 Palestinian pilgrims who had been stranded in Egypt en route from Mecca entered the Hamas-run Gaza Strip on Wednesday in defiance of Israeli demands, witnesses said.
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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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Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) chairman Mahmoud Abbas has arrived in the West Bank town of Bethlehem for the annual Christmas Eve service.
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Israeli leader tells lawmakers that his plan is the only way for the nation to be secure. JERUSALEM -- Israel gave Yasser Arafat permission Monday to leave his compound briefly to receive medical treatment
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Peace appeals are heard as Palestinian leaders join Christmas festivities in the town of Bethlehem.
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CAIRO, Jan. 2 -- Egypt opened the gates of its main crossing into the Gaza Strip on Wednesday to allow thousands of Palestinian pilgrims to return home, outraging Israel in the two countries' growing dispute over border security.
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Israeli nuclear whistleblower  Mordechai Vanunu was detained on Friday as he tried to enter  the West Bank city of Bethlehem for Christmas in defiance of  restrictions imposed after his release, Israeli police said.
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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