(Jerusalem Post) Margot Dudkevitch - PA officials are cynically exploiting Christmas and Bethlehem's Christian population in an attempt to draw international pressure for a withdrawal of IDF troops there, a senior Israeli security official said Tuesday. "Unlike earlier years, no decorations adorn the city and there is no Christmas tree in Manger Square," the official said. The government will allow Christians from the West Bank and Gaza Strip to attend the prayers, but only a few thousand at the most are expected for the celebrations, the official said. In August, the army handed over security responsibility in Bethlehem to the PA as part of confidence-building measures reached in the framework of the "Judea First" agreement. "The PA took no serious steps to halt the terror," the official said, and within two months the city had turned into a safe haven for Palestinian fugitives. The IDF returned to Bethlehem on November 21, following a Jerusalem bus bombing in which 11 people were killed and scores wounded. Since then, the IDF has arrested dozens of fugitives and at least three potential suicide bombers. "The general atmosphere in the city is one of sadness, especially for the Christians who make up 30 percent of the population," the official said. But Israel allows truckloads of food, medical equipment, and other goods into the city constantly and no one is hungry, he said.
2002-12-18 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive