Christmas in Bethlehem

From AFP:

Several thousand people filled Manger Square in front of the Church of the Nativity hours ahead of the traditional midnight (2200 GMT) mass.

Loudspeakers belted out English-language Christmas songs such as "Dashing through the snow" (Jingle Bells) while the festive crowds sang along.

Steam billowed from carts selling boiled corn and stands sold tea and coffee to the holiday makers gathered in the crisp temperatures under garlands of colourful lights strung across the square.

Palestinians hope the number of tourists and the income they bring will make it the best Christmas since the outbreak of the intifada in September 2000 and the building of Israel’s massive barrier through the West Bank.

Tourism is estimated to have doubled from last year as thousands of pilgrims were joined by Palestinians to celebrate Christmas. Bethlehem Mayor Victor Batarseh said, "All the hotels are booked. I think this Christmas brings more joy to all the citizens of Bethlehem."

Security in Bethlehem is described as extremely tight. The Fatah-run Palestinian administration sent in hundreds of armed police over the weekend to patrol the streets.

The motorcade carrying the Archbishop of Jerusalem, the Latin Patriarch, Michel Sabbah, arrived in Bethlehem via a huge steel gate in the Israeli wall to prepare for tonight’s midnight mass in the Church of the Nativity.

Sabbah is the highest Roman Catholic official in the holy land

According to a report from Voice of America, a group of Muslim scholars sent holiday greeting to Christians throughout the globe. Curiously, the group wasn't identified.