The New York Times · 22 December 1995

CP-1995-019

In Bethlehem, a Season of Joy for Palestinians

By JOEL GREENBERG

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BETHLEHEM, West Bank, Dec. 21 — Church bells pealed and fireworks burst over Manger Square tonight as the last Israeli soldiers left the town of Bethlehem, handing over the traditional birthplace of Jesus to Palestinian rule after 28 years of occupation.

Palestinian officers, their rifles thrust triumphantly toward the darkening sky, were mobbed by a rapturous crowd as they rode into a police station beside the Church of the Nativity, where Christmas will be celebrated for the first time this year under Palestinian control.

Yasir Arafat, the chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, is expected in Bethlehem on Sunday to address throngs of Palestinians and to take part in a Christmas Eve Mass at the church, which is built over the site revered as the birthplace of Jesus. Mr.

Arafat had pressed Israel to withdraw from Bethlehem before Christmas so he could visit on the holy day, highlighting Palestinian control of the town at a time when it is the focus of attention of Christians worldwide. Israel agreed to move up the withdrawal date.

Security for thousands of expected tourists and even more Palestinian visitors is now in the hands of the Palestinian Authority, which is eager to prove it can run the celebrations smoothly and safely.

“In Bethlehem we will provide security for all people,” Hajj Ismail Jaber, the Palestinian police chief in the West Bank, said shortly after his forces took control of the town,

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