Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, December 25, 1993 TAG: 9312250095
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: HOLIDAY
SOURCE: The Baltimore Sun
DATELINE: BETHLEHEM, ISRAELI-OCCUPIED WEST BANK LENGTH: Medium
A dispute over raising the Palestinian flag had threatened to scrub the Christmas festivities at the birthplace of Jesus, but Israeli authorities yielded Friday and the celebration was on.
Thousands of Palestinians gathered to watch marching bands and choirboys escort the Latin Catholic patriarch to church services, the first such public rejoicing since the Palestinian "uprising" began in 1987.
In the Gaza Strip, however, the grim reality of that uprising continued to be felt. Palestinian radicals ambushed an Israeli jeep, killing a top Army officer and wounding three others.
The ambush, for which the Muslim extremist group Hamas was believed responsible, drew more calls by Israeli right-wing groups to halt peace negotiations with the Palestinians.
In Bethlehem, a large crowd of Palestinians and some Christian tourists jammed into Manger Square in hopes of witnessing a peaceful celebration. They were not disappointed, though that outcome was uncertain at times.
Palestinian youths hoisted the Palestinian national flag in front of the municipal building Friday and taunted Israeli authorities who had repeatedly taken it down.
The head of the Israeli Civil Administration for the West Bank, Brig. Gen. Gadi Zohar, conceded defeat.
"It's history now," he said of the tug-of-war over the flag. "We are not going to fight now. This is a holiday. We are going to let all the ceremonies and festivities continue."
Israel, which has held Bethlehem under military occupation since the 1967 Middle East war, said the striped Palestinian flag could not be raised over a public building. Bethlehem officials said their right to fly the flag was secured with Israel's recognition of the Palestine Liberation Organization three months ago.
"Every nation in the world has a right to its own flag," said Bethlehem Mayor Elias Freij. "This is our flag."
The mayor had threatened to halt the Christmas pagentry if the Israelis lowered the flag.
The whole affair seemed fitting for the surreal setting of a Bethlehem Christmas.
The pilgrims who came to this celebration filed past hundreds of Israeli soldiers who lined the streets, peered through strings of Christmas lights from atop roofs, and frisked for weapons everyone who entered Manger Square.
Martin Geiss, a German tourist, acknowledged it did not seem much like Christmases at home, but, "I guess that's the value of this. Everybody has to celebrate in their own way," he said.
by CNB