Publisert 26. desember 2003
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Oppdatert 6. januar 2011
BETHLEHEM, West Bank, DEC. 24, 2003 (Zenit.org).- More than a thousand people gathered in Manger Square, listening to carols and watching the Christmas Eve procession into the church that holds the traditional birthplace of Jesus.
The crowd outside the Church of the Nativity was a far cry from the gathers that would fill the square in years past, the Associated Press noted.
During the past three years of Palestinian-Israeli violence, most potential pilgrims have stayed away.
«Participation is very limited because of the closures and checkpoints, people could simply not come,» Bethlehem Governor Zohair Manasra said.
ZENIT Daily dispatch - The World Seen from Rome
24. desember 2003
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