Israel ot Arafat - Arrest assassins or stay home for Christmas

Associated Press WriterBETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) -- Despite European and U.S. intervention, Israel said Monday it would not let Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat attend Christmas Mass in Bethlehem unless he arrests the assassins of an Israeli Cabinet minister.

In Bethlehem, Christmas festivities got under way in the afternoon without the Palestinian leader for the first time since 1995. Scouts playing drums and bagpipes marched in a Manger Square procession led by Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah, the top Roman Catholic clergyman in the Holy Land.

The mood was somber, and many local Christians said they were angry about Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's travel ban. Manger Square was decorated with Palestinian flags, an Arafat poster and a large banner reading: "Sharon assassinates the joy of Christmas."

Arafat, a Muslim, has said he is determined to make his annual pilgrimage to Bethlehem. He has been confined to his West Bank headquarters in the town of Ramallah, 12 miles north of Bethlehem, for weeks by an Israeli blockade. Israeli troops tightened the closure Monday to prevent Arafat from getting out.

It was unclear Monday afternoon if he would attempt to go to Bethlehem in time for the Mass at midnight (5 p.m. EST), which he attends annually at a church near the spot where tradition says Jesus was born.

"No one can humiliate the Palestinians or make them lose their determination," Arafat said Monday of the Israeli ultimatum. When reporters asked Arafat whether he intended to defy the Israeli ban, Palestinian Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo answered for him, saying: "Yes, yes, of course, see you tonight in Bethlehem."

Earlier Monday, Arafat met with Christian leaders, including Sabbah. "The dignity of President Arafat is the dignity of all of us," said Sabbah, a Palestinian. "The occupation situation is unfair to the Palestinians and they have to have their freedom. This is the message of Christmas."

Senior European Union diplomats said Monday they were trying to persuade Israel to rescind the travel ban. "We believe that this decision spoils a lot of positive points that Israel has gained in European opinion in the past few weeks," said the Belgian ambassador to Israel, Wilfred Geens, speaking for the EU.

Geens said Arafat is the only Muslim leader who makes a point of attending Christmas Mass in a show of religious tolerance. "It would look very bad if Arafat were prevented from attending the Mass," Geens told The Associated Press.

American officials spoke by telephone from Washington on Sunday with the Israeli Foreign Ministry to try to get the ban rescinded, an Israeli official said on condition of anonymity.

However, Raanan Gissin, a Sharon adviser, said Israel would not to allow Arafat passage to Bethlehem unless he arrests the assassins of Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeevi, activists in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a radical PLO faction. Gissin said Israel also wants Arafat to arrest the two leaders of the group, Ahmed Saadat and Jihad Ghoulmi.

Otherwise, "he will not be allowed freedom of movement," Gissin said. "Arafat knows exactly where they are. Yet he has not arrested them."

Gissin said Saadat and Ghoulmi were behind plans for a new suicide attack in the Israeli port city of Haifa. On Sunday, Israeli police arrested two Palestinian suspects in Haifa, and said explosives were found in their hotel rooms.

In Bethlehem, Manger Square was almost devoid of decorations, to reflect the stark mood among Palestinians after 15 months of fighting with Israel. A Christmas tree in the square was decorated with one colored light and a few colored balls.

The Mideast fighting has dealt a crushing blow to the city of 30,000 Palestinians. The town is dependent on Christian tourists, and in 1999, before the outbreak of the fighting, thousands of visitors joined the Christmas festivities.

"I try to enjoy Christmas. Despite this, the Christmas spirit does not exist. Bethlehem is a big prison. We can't move freely," said Richard Elias, 28, who carried his 4-year-old son, George, dressed in a Santa costume.

A small turnout was expected Monday night for the midnight Mass near the Church of the Nativity.

Israeli Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer announced the easing of security restrictions in Bethlehem over the next few days to allow Christians access to the Bethlehem shrines.

During 15 months of fighting, Israel has enforced stringent travel restrictions, barring most Palestinians from leaving their communities. The restrictions were tightened earlier this month, after attacks by Palestinian militants killed 37 Israelis.

A week ago, Arafat ordered a halt to all violence against Israel, and the number of attacks has since dropped sharply.

Arafat's speech and crackdown by Palestinian security forces against militants has resulted in some of the worst Palestinian infighting in years. Seven Palestinians were killed and about 100 injured in clashes between police and activists Thursday and Friday.