The entire world Christians celebrate Christmas to begin Saturday. This time, the celebrations of the Holy Land, located in the heart of the Arab region in full revolt, Islamist movements are marked by the advance, which worried Christians of the East, reports AFP.
Tens of thousands of pilgrims went to the city at dawn Bethlehem (West Bank), laden with garlands and white and yellow flags of the Vatican and the Palestinian national flags.
Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Monsignor Fouad Twal, the highest authority in the Holy Land Catholic Romanian, made his solemn entry of Christ in his hometown in the mid afternoon. Around 50,000 visitors are expected this weekend in Bethlehem.
In 2010, the city cradle of Christianity received over 1.5 million tourists and the holy places of Christianity over 3 million (a record).
A huge artificial tree - made in China - was ridicact in the market, where tourists mix with local people, including Muslims, in many dishes.
Omar mosque front a giant portrait of Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian national movement's historic leader, watching over the crowd.
Bishop Twal, aged 71, will lead, starting at 21.00 GMT, traditional service at midnight, in the presence of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
The message of Christmas, the patriarch and the situation evoked the Arab Spring "concerned" of Christians in the region.
In Egypt and Tunisia, where popular movements have removed two dictatorships that ruled the country for decades, Islamist parties were the big winners of the elections. In Libya and Syria, Islamists hair and her favorite people.
These are not very encouraging news for the Christian community in the area already in decline as a result of migration and successive wars.
"I always change device for more democracy and freedom. I wanted even in more mlte lines that Christians should not be excluded from acecste movements. That said, I fervently wish to be respected human rights and dignity of everyone" Twal said.
"I wish that the competent authorities can calm the spirits, without violence, and protect the minorities who are part of these peoples. Have taken advantage of these times to build a new society based on equal citizenship for all", he argued .
The Israeli army has relaxed security measures to facilitate the Christian Pilgrim, which include Palestinians from the occupied territories and Israeli Arabs, at Christmas time.
Bethlehem is located beyond the security barrier built by Israel in the West Bank and which Palestinians call the "apartheid wall".
