JERUSALEM, Dec. 14, 00 (CWNews.com) - Israeli media reported on Wednesday that the government may shut down Bethlehem on Christmas Eve, declaring the region a military area.
Christmas Eve celebrations in Bethlehem's Manger Square, which are traditionally attended by thousands of locals and pilgrims, had already been canceled by the city's mayor because of the 11 weeks of violence between Israeli forces and Palestinian protesters that has left more than 300 people dead.
Spokesmen in the office of Prime Minister Ehud Barak, who resigned earlier this week in advance of parliamentary elections, denied the reports which said that Bethlehem would be closed if Palestinians continued to fire on the Jewish neighborhood of Gilo near the town.
The newspaper Maariv reported that Barak was considering a proposal to close Bethlehem to pilgrims as a reprisal for the gunfire that originates in the mainly Christian village of Beit Jala near Bethlehem, but delayed a decision until just before Christmas.
Catholic World News Service - Daily News Briefs
14. desember 2000