Saturday, December 25 2004 14:56 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Bethlehem (West Bank) : Hundreds of millions people around the world celebrated today (Dec 25, 2004) the birth of Jesus Christ as appeals rang out from Jesus' birthplace in Bethlehem to the Vatican for peace in the Middle East.

As midnight rang in Christmas Day, Muslims and Christians attending mass in Bethlehem, where Christians believe the Virgin Mary gave birth to Jesus over 2,000 years ago, united in the hope of a new dawn after years of violence. "Our situation is a situation of conflict and of violence, of insecurity and of fear, of military occupation, of the separation barrier, of prison towns, of humiliations," Michel Sabbah, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, told a congregation of at least 3,000, Muslims and Christians.

They included PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organisation) chairman Mahmud Abbas, who is tipped to replace late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. It was the first time in four years that the Palestinian leadership had been allowed by Israel to attend midnight mass.

"We pray that all walls fall down, those around Bethlehem and the other Palestinian towns and the walls of hatred in our hearts," Sabbah said.

"We say that it has lasted too long. It is time to conquer the violence in the souls and in the hearts of individuals, of leaders."

The appeal for peace in the Middle East region echoed out hundreds of kilometres away in the Vatican City.

Pope John Paul II, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, celebrated the traditional midnight mass with prayers for peace between Israelis and Palestinians in the traditional Holy Land.

During the ceremony, broadcast live to television stations in 72 countries, the congregation prayed, "The Holy Land will know times of prosperity and peaceful coexistence amid the reciprocal respect of its peoples," and it would be "a secure and hospitable land for pilgrims and for those seeking truth".

Iraq's Christians were celebrating the season of peace and goodwill amid security concerns, as a tanker blast killed one person and wounded 19 in Baghdad on Christmas Eve and US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld admitted on a surprise visit to troops in Iraq that they faced a bleak New Year.

Security fears have been prominent across the world ahead of Christmas.

Indonesia - the world's largest Muslim nation frequently hit by deadly bombings in the past four years - has braced for possible terrorist attacks with tight security at churches and hotels, after alerts by foreign Governments of an imminent strike by Islamic extremists.

In Pakistan too police have launched strict security measures to prevent any attack on Christian and other minority community targets.

In Spain yesterday (Dec 24, 2004), King Juan Carlos had paid tribute to victims of the March 11 bombings in Madrid and expressed his solidarity with their families in his traditional televised Christmas message.

And after 14 years of fratricide and bloody war that claimed thousands of lives, the West African State of Liberia was celebrating Christmas in total peace.