Barred from Bethlehem

Associated Press

JERUSALEM — Yasser Arafat and the Israelis appeared headed for a Christmas Eve showdown after Israel barred the Palestinian leader from making his annual pilgrimage to the West Bank town where Jesus was born and Arafat vowed to defy the order.

Arafat said Sunday that he would come to Bethlehem tonight, even if he has to walk to the stone plaza in Manger Square.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s Security Cabinet voted 8-6 to slap the restriction on Arafat, saying he had failed to "dismantle Palestinian terror groups or stop terror attacks against Israel."

Arafat, who has effectively been confined to the West Bank town of Ramallah in recent weeks, said, "no one has the right to prevent us from fulfilling our duty to God, despite all kinds of weapons and M-16s that (the Israelis) have."

In Bethlehem, several hundred Palestinians held a candlelight rally in front of the Church of the Nativity, protesting the Israeli ban on Arafat’s visit. Some of the demonstrators carried posters bearing pictures of Arafat, more of the posters were hung at the entrance to the church itself, which marks the traditional birthplace of Jesus.

Ramallah and Bethlehem are only 12 miles apart. Arafat said he was prepared to make the journey on foot — an unlikely trip that would take him past Israeli tanks and troops blocking the roads leading in and out of both towns.

There were indications, however, of ongoing contacts involving Western diplomats in an attempt to work out a compromise.

Arafat has attended Christmas Eve festivities in Bethlehem every year since 1995, when the town was turned over to the Palestinian Authority, which Arafat heads.