A Christian leader during Christmas midnight mass in Bethlehem urged Palestinian leaders to work with Jews for peace.
Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah, speaking at the Church of the Nativity in Manger Square, urged Israelis and Palestinians to "conquer the evil of violence" and work towards a new society in which "no one controls the other, no one is occupied by the other, no one causes insecurity for the other, no one takes liberty from the other."
It was the first midnight mass in four years in which Palestinian political leaders, nearly all of whom are Muslims, were allowed to attend Bethlehem's midnight sermon, the BBC reported on December 25.
Yasser Arafat, who died in November, had been barred from the event over his alleged terror links.
Earlier in the day, the patriarch led a procession of some 1,000 Christians through Bethlehem to the accompaniment of a Palestinian band.
Still missing from the yuletide celebrations were the thousands of foreigners who once flocked to the traditional birthplace of Jesus.
Christian urges Muslims to seek peace
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