New Hopes for Peace During Christmas in Bethlehem
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Hundreds of pilgrims and a new Palestinian leadership came to Bethlehem for Christmas as the town of Jesus&#39;s birth celebrated the festival with new hopes for peace following Yasser Arafat&#39;s death.
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Four UK church leaders are to make a pilgrimage to Bethlehem just before Christmas.
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Christians around the world celebrated Christmas Saturday with Pope John Paul II leading prayers for peace and a more tranquil future, as pilgrims flocked to Bethlehem, and Iraqis stayed away from church amid fears of bomb attacks.
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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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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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It has been almost a month since Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat&#39;s death and, as many had hoped, there are already some hopeful signs that his passing could lead to renewed peace initiatives between Israel and the Palestinians.
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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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Encouraged by renewed peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, Christian pilgrims from around the world converged on Jesus' traditional birthplace Monday to celebrate Christmas Â a palpable contrast to the sparse crowds of recent years.
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The international diplomatic enthusiasm for Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking that erupted after the death of Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat has apparently not filtered down to the streets of Bethlehem.
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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.
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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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Thousands of pilgrims and a new Palestinian leadership are celebrating Christmas in the town of Jesus&#39;s birth with prayers for peace after the death of Yasser Arafat.
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Pilgrims and a new Palestinian leadership celebrated Christmas in the town of Jesusâ birth with prayers for peace on Saturday, lifted by fresh hope following Yasser Arafat&#39;s death.
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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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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.
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A limited easing of security tensions raises hopes for a better Christmas.
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The recent rhetoric from the Middle East - hopeful and constructive from both sides of the divide - provides a glimmer of hope that Palestinians and Israelis may agree on new and peaceful borders in the coming new year.