Tuesday, 12-25-01

The birth place of Jesus was almost devoid of of decorations today. One Christmas tree was decorated with one light and three colored balls. A large banner read: "Sharon assassinates the joy of Christmas."

These are the mood of Christians in Bethlehem after the Israeli occupation prime minister Ariel Sharon issued another intolerance religious declaration prohibiting the Palestinian leader Arafat from celebrating with fellow Palestinians the birth of Jesus Christ in his homeland.

This decision placed Israel under International pressure, and the demand to lift the ban brought great deal of condemnation from European Foreign Ministries. The Vatican condemned the ban as "arbitrarily imposed" and said it had tried to persuade Israel to reverse its decision. But, Israel didn't listen!

Earlier in the day, the Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah, the Catholic Church's senior representative in the holy land, led a procession of religious leaders into the Church of the Nativity. He (Sabbah) later said in Ramallah: "The dignity of the president of the Palestinian people is the dignity of every Palestinian Muslim and Christian. The occupation situation is unfair to the Palestinians and they have to have their freedom. This is the message of Christmas."

Arafat later added:

"The crime of depriving me of my right of participating in the celebrations of the birth of Jesus ... will in any case not affect my determination and the determination of our people to pursue the path of a permanent and just peace."

"The whole world that has seen what happened ... has to know what kind of terror the worshippers in this holy land are facing," he said.

Regardless if Sharon liked Arafat or not, the decision to ban him from attending the celebration of Jesus Christ was pre-calculated, pre determined, and self-incriminating. And the reason We think Sharon stole Christmas this year.

Note: Opinions expressed in this section do not necessarily express the official opinion of Middle East News & World Report management and staff.