Bethlehem rings in more hopeful Christmas

Thousands of pilgrims and a new Palestinian leadership celebrated Christmas in the town of Jesus's birth yesterday with prayers for peace after the death of Yasser Arafat. But Israeli restrictions on Palestinians entering Bethlehem and a barrier Israel is building in the West Bank cast a shadow over the celebrations.

At midnight Mass, moderate leader Mahmoud Abbas filled the seat that had been left empty for Arafat for three Christmases past because Israel had stopped him travelling to the West Bank town - accusing him of fomenting bloodshed, a charge he denied.

Welcoming Arafat's successors, the Latin Patriarch for the Holy Land, a Palestinian, urged all parties to end violence.

Amid the incense and prayers, the silver-haired Abbas in his grey business suit cut a profile far removed from ex-guerilla Arafat, who favoured olive uniforms and a chequered headdress. Abbas, like Arafat and most Palestinians, is a Muslim.

"We extend our hand to the Israelis. We want to negotiate, to reach peace - a peace built on justice and right," Abbas told a meeting in Bethlehem on Friday evening.

Despite cold downpours, visitors from around the world flocked to Manger Square, marking a modest revival in the pilgrim flow after a previous four years in which Bethlehem was often paralysed by violence, blockades and curfews.

The square was enlivened by twinkling white lights draping rows of small trees. Foreign choirs sang carols and flashes from digital cameras filled the air. Some pilgrims said they felt a new atmosphere of hope in Bethlehem.