Israel to Leave Bethlehem for Christmas
Israel’s president promised the pope Thursday that the army will move outside Bethlehem during Christmas if there are no warnings of terrorist attacks, the Israeli Embassy said.
Vatican officials, in talks with President Moshe Katsav, had urged Israel to allow “free access” during the holiday season in Bethlehem, where Israeli troops are patrolling Manger Square after occupying the town.
Katsav, making the first visit by an Israeli head of state to the Vatican, met with Pope John Paul II and the Vatican’s secretary of state, Cardinal Angelo Sodano. The Vatican said it restated its support for both Israel and a Palestinian state and the need for a rapid conclusion of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The military occupation of Bethlehem, the West Bank town revered by Christians as the site of Jesus’ birth, is Israel’s third in recent months as troops hunt for Palestinians believed to be behind suicide bombings in Israel.
Israel has also said Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat should not visit the town for Christmas midnight Mass.
Israeli officials said Katsav promised that the army “will do everything possible to enable pilgrims to celebrate the festivities as appropriate.”
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