Israel and Jordan, Winter 2010-2011 / 20101224l_MangerSquareXmasEve Ruth Milner, rmilner plus web at bookofmarvels dot net

Party time! Christmas Eve in Manger Square, Bethlehem. Everything was very festive, but there were many soldiers keeping an eye on things. Bethlehem is now in territory controlled by the Palestinian Authority. The large police/military presence - all of them armed with machine guns - was a little unnerving.