Israel Keeps Ban on Arafat for Christmas Mass in Bethlehem

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, December 16, 2002

Israel Keeps Ban on Arafat for Christmas Mass in Bethlehem

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Sunday morning said Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat will not be allowed to travel to the West Bank city of Bethlehem for Christmas mass.

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Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Sunday morning said Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat will not be allowed to travel to the West Bank city of Bethlehem for Christmas mass.

In a cabinet meeting, Sharon also said the Israel Defense Forces(IDF) would not withdraw from Bethlehem before the Christmas holiday.

However, the prime minister pledged that Israel "will continue to facilitate religious freedom in Bethlehem while maintaining security."

Israeli Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon also said at the meeting the IDF has no intention of leaving Bethlehem, but will allow holiday celebrations.

During a discussion in the Vatican last week, Israeli President Moshe Katsav told Pope John Paul II that Israel would make every effort to withdraw from Bethlehem before the Christmas holiday.

Sharon's latest remarks seemed contrary to the promise made by Katsav to the pope, though he affirmed that Christmas celebrations would "go ahead" in the city of Jesus' birth.

Israeli soldiers returned to Bethlehem in response to the Nov. 21 bus bombing in Jerusalem in which 11 people were killed.

Israel said the bomber, Na'el Abu Hilayel, from the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), came from Bethlehem.

Also on Sunday morning, Israeli soldiers arrested five Palestinians suspected of terrorist activities, one of whom was on Israel's most wanted list.

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