Israel maintained the ban on Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat from traveling to Bethlehem for Christmas Eve celebrations on Monday despite heavy international and domestic pressure to allow the visit.
Arafat criticized the Israeli decision in a televised address to his people Monday evening. He stated that Israel was guilty of a crime by prohibiting his annual Christmas visit to Bethlehem.
"The crime of depriving me of my right of participating in the celebrations of the birth of Jesus...will in any case not affect my determination and the determination of our people to pursue the path of a permanent and just peace," Arafat said.
"I speak to you and my heart is heavy with sorrow because the tanks, the cement checkpoints and the aggressor's oppressive guns have prevented my participation with you at our annual celebrations on this holy occasion, which I have not missed since I returned to this beloved land," Arafat declared.
Meanwhile, the Vatican expressed hope Monday that Christmas would motivate people to work for peace in the Middle East. The Vatican's official newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, referred to the 15 month of violence in the Middle East region in its Christmas edition, calling for “Peace in the Holy Land. Peace in the World'' in a front-page headline Monday. (Albawaba.com)
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