Bethlehem Holiday Pilgrims Pray for Peace
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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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Pope John Paul II led prayers for peace and a more tranquil future, pilgrims flocked to Bethlehem and Iraqis stayed away from church for fear of bomb attacks as Christians around the world celebrated Christmas over the weekend.
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More than a thousand Palestinian pilgrims, including members of the militant Hamas group, were put in camps in the northern Sinai on Sunday until a dispute over how they will return to the Gaza Strip is resolved.
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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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Four UK church leaders are to make a pilgrimage to Bethlehem just before Christmas.
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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
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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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Several thousand pilgrims celebrated Christmas Eve in the traditional birthplace of Jesus on Friday, welcoming the new thaw in Israeli-Palestinian relations and voicing hopes for peace in the Middle East.
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BETHLEHEM, West Bank  - 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.
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BEIJING, Dec. 25 -- Under heavy security, Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman Mahmoud Abbas arrived in the holy West Bank city of Bethlehem Friday night to attend Christmas celebrations.
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Hundreds of pilgrims and a new Palestinian leadership came to Bethlehem for Christmas as the town of Jesus's birth celebrated the festival with new hopes for peace following Yasser Arafat's death.
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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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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.
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(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.
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Peace appeals are heard as Palestinian leaders join Christmas festivities in the town of Bethlehem.
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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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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.