Bethlehem

A Palestinian child playing with a plastic rifle was shot and wounded by Israeli soldiers near the West Bank town of Bethlehem on Friday, medical and security sources said. Miras al-Azza (12) was shot in the belly when Israel soldiers opened fire on a group of children playing with a plastic rifle in the Aydah refugee camp.

Christians around the world celebrated Christmas with prayers for peace on Sunday amid fears of violence as pilgrims returned in droves to their saviour’s birthplace. Thousands of pilgrims descended on Bethlehem as the birthplace of Jesus Christ enjoyed its busiest Christmas of the new century.

The hotels may not be full and Israel’s ”wall” may have cut it off from Jerusalem, but after five years of misery, Bethlehem is looking forward to a slightly happier Christmas. The birthplace of Jesus Christ has been the scene of some of the most notorious episodes of the Palestinian uprising that erupted in September 2000.

Gunmen briefly occupied the offices of the mayor of Bethlehem on Tuesday in the countdown to Christmas, highlighting the rampant security chaos in the Palestinian territories. About 15 masked members of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an armed offshoot of the ruling Fatah movement, burst into the building.

Israeli troops arrested dozens of Palestinians during overnight raids in the West Bank, including a security official from Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s Fatah movement, security sources on both sides said on Tuesday.