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Bethlehem: Palestinians are hoping to benefit from the thousands of tourists who have gathered in Bethlehem, considered by Christians as the site of Jesus’ birth, for Christmas celebrations on Tuesday.
Palestinians hope that income from a huge jump in tourism will make it the best Christmas since the start of the second Palestinian uprising in 2000.
Officials said that the number of pilgrims this year have doubled to 60 per cent compared to last year. They are expecting up to 40,000 tourists.
“Last year there were a lot of problems, security problems. God willing, this year will be better because of Annapolis, because of everything else,” said Adnan Sobh, a shop owner.
Palestinian policemen guarded a crowded Manger Square and closed off the roads around the Church of the Nativity—built on the site where Jesus is said to have been born.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas joined the midnight Mass in Bethlehem. "The new year, God willing, will be a year of security and economic stability," he said.
"We pray next year will be the year of independence for the Palestinian people," he added.
Michel Sabbah, the Catholic leader in the Holy Land, called for peace in the Middle East as he led the Mass.
"This land belongs to God. It must not be for some a land of life and for others a land of occupation and a political prison," he said in a sermon delivered in Arabic.
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