The town where Jesus was born is being turned into a "big prison" by the Israeli barrier going up in the West Bank, say the heads of churches in the Holy Land in a pre-Christmas message... ...Yet much of its lifeblood tourist trade remains shut down and residents blame Israeli encirclement -- Jewish settlements expanding on occupied land around Bethlehem and the wall that now cuts into part of the town.

"The future of Bethlehem need special attention. In these days, just before Christmas, this little town of peace is being transformed into a big prison with the continuation of the wall around it," the churchmen said.

Israel says the barrier of fences and wall now extending more than 200 kms (120 miles) is to keep out suicide bombers. Palestinians accuse Israel of a disguised bid to annex land.

The churchmen said the barrier and years of conflict were also spurring emigration of minority Christians

"Many Christian families have already left the Bethlehem area because of the hardships they have experienced, not least from the building of the 'separation wall', and the incredible structure at the entrance to the city," they said.

They were referring to a series of towering Israeli concrete blocks meant to protect visitors from Jerusalem going to Rachel's Tomb, where Jews believe the biblical matriarch is buried.

The fortifications around the tomb have severed the main Christian pilgrimage route into central Bethlehem, turning the once thriving commercial strip into a virtual ghost town.

"All these works have also meant many Christian families have had their land confiscated from them," the churchmen said...

...A U.N. humanitarian agency report issued this week said Bethlehem was surrounded by 78 obstacles including army checkpoints, dirt mounds and the barrier.

Muslims and Christians united in the hope that the festive season will herald a new dawn after four years of violence, attending midnight mass in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus Christ. Celebrating the mass at the Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity, the patriarch of Jerusalem called for an end to the walls and violence which he said had turned Palestinian towns into prisons.

"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 told a congregation of at least 3,000.

They included PLO chairman Mahmud Abbas, who is tipped to replace late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

"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."...

...Earlier Friday, Muslims and Christians thronged the streets of Bethlehem, whose fledgling tourist industry has been crippled by travel restrictions and the West Bank barrier, deemed essential by Israel for its security after four years of the Palestinian intifada.

Christmas brought momentary relief to those suffering from the tourist dearth. Muslims and Christians flocked from nearby villages joining pilgrims from afar to celebrate the birth of Jesus in his hometown...

..."People are hoping for the best, you can see it in their eyes. You can feel the spirit," Joseph, 38, told AFP outside his falafel shop.

"It's time for us to have a normal life like everybody else and we pray to God that he will make it easier for us.

"The Israeli troops have to remove all these barriers and sanctions and make it easier for people to come here and enjoy the festivities and meet up with their friends and their families," he said.

The Israeli authorities eased travel restrictions over the Christmas period for those keen to visit Bethlehem but a notable exception did not make it into the congregation as he had hoped.

Nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu, complete with Santa hat, was arrested as he headed to the mass Friday in blatant breach of the terms imposed on him by Israel after his release from jail.

Vanunu, 50, converted to Christianity during 18 years' imprisonment for leaking details of Israel's secret nuclear arsenal to a British weekly newspaper.