About 3,000 people, 10 percent of the city's Christian population, have left since the second intifada began on the West Bank five years ago, the Voice of America reports. Victor Batarseh, Bethlehem's mayor, said that while Muslims are also anxious to leave, Christians have an easier time emigrating because they usually have relatives living abroad.
The violence has been especially hard on Bethlehem because its main business is tourism. While the number of Christmas visitors is up this year, the total still falls far short of the huge crowds that followed the Oslo Accord.
Israel's security fence, which skirts Bethlehem, is a visible reminder of the difficult times.
Batarseh said Christian departures are more obvious, as well, because they are now a minority. Decades ago, about 90 percent of the city's population was Christian, but the balance tipped in 1948 when Palestinian Muslims fled Israel for the West Bank.
"We need this city to remain as a model of co-existence between the two religions," Batarseh said. "The more emigration we get this model will dissolve."
© 2005 Agence France-Presse
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