WEST BANK: BETHLEHEM: MILLENNIUM CELEBRATIONS WRAP (10) скачать в хорошем качестве

WEST BANK: BETHLEHEM: MILLENNIUM CELEBRATIONS WRAP (10)

(1 Jan 2000) Natural Sound In the birthplace of Jesus Christ - Palestinian-run Bethlehem - the coming of the new millennium was heralded with the release of 2,000 doves. Over 160 (m) million U-S dollars have been spent on Bethlehem for the year 2000. Organisers had hoped that the celebrations would attract millions of visitors. But fears of attack against American tourists forced them to scale down expectations. The year two thousand was heralded with fireworks and music in what is according to the Gospels, the birth place of Jesus Christ in the Palestinian West Bank. The much sanctified town of Bethlehem saw great celebrations on Friday night when the clock struck midnight. Manger Square in Bethlehem was the focus of Millennium festivities. At the stroke of midnight, 2000 doves were released into the sky. The city has spent over 160 (m) million U-S dollars on Bethlehem 2000. Organisers had hoped the celebrations would attract millions of visitors, but scaled down expectations after US warnings of expected attacks against American tourists. Local officials have also been on the lookout for Millennium cults who might seek to disrupt events. Palestinian authorities are handling security on the ground and Israeli forces will keep an eye on the skies over Bethlehem. For hundreds of years, Bethlehem has been the focus of a bitter religious tug-of-war. In the second century, St Justin Martyr, a 2nd-century Christian, identified the birthplace of Christ as a manger in ' a cave close to the village'. That cave is now under the nave of the Church of the Nativity in the heart of the town, one of the oldest churches in existence. Several religious faiths have fought to gain control of the sacred site. Now, the church is divided between the Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Armenian Orthodox faiths. The international crisis over the holy places in 1847 ultimately led to the Crimean war the following decade. This century, in the context of the Arab-Israeli conflict, Bethlehem was part of the Palestine Mandate from 1923-1948 and was then annexed by Jordan in 1950 following the 1948-49 war. Bethlehem - and the West Bank in its entirety - was then occupied by Israel after the six day war in 1967. Right-wing Messianic Zionists have claimed the area as Judaea and Samaria, part of the Greater Israel they sought. However, the Oslo peace accord, signed by the then Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on the White House lawn in 1993, made provisions for the return of certain tranches of Palestinian territory to self-rule, including Bethlehem. In 1995, the town celebrated its first Christmas free of Israeli occupation for 28 years. Moroccan soloist Amina Alaoui performed along with a children's choir. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...