MIDEAST ISRAEL PALESTINIANS

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat holding hands with Latin father Atallah Hanna, left, spokesman of the West Bank Latin churches and the muslim sheik Tayser Tamemi, right, during a rally that ended in his office in the West Bank town of Ramallah Monday Dec. 24, 2001. Despite strong international pressure, by nightfall Israel remained unbending in its decision not to allow Arafat, a Muslim, to make his annual trip to Bethlehem for the Christmas Eve Midnight Mass. (AP Photo/Mohammed Rawas)