Israel tried to put on its best face for Christmas. Palestinians were allowed free travel to Bethlehem to attend Christmas celebrations and soldiers even handed out candies to both Palestinians and to foreign pilgrims at checkpoints and roadblocks.
In stark contrast to the past four years during which the unbridled Palestinian violence caused harsh security precautions to cast a pall over the celebrations, Israel’s security establishment tried to make apparent the change in attitude since Yassir Arafat’s death.
Israeli sources estimated that Bethlehem would have about 5,000 visitors over Christmas weekend.
The perception among Palestinians appeared to be that the situation was better, but not good. Bethlehem Mayor Hana Na’sir, for instance, told reporters that although “the prince of peace was born here in the city, but unfortunately peace is missing still in this city,”