Belgium, which holds the European Union presidency, today called on Israel not to prevent Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat from visiting Bethlehem for Christmas Eve services.
Earlier today Israel said it would bar Palestinian President Mr Yasser Arafat from visiting Bethlehem for Christmas celebrations, insisting that he concentrate on cracking down against anti-Jewish militants instead.
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Israel has barred Mr Arafat from making his Christmas visit to Bethlehem
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Israel's decision to prevent Mr Arafat's Christmas pilgrimage could spark fresh tension with the Palestinian leader, who told Voice of Palestine radio yesterday he would visit the town of Jesus Christ's birth "even if I have to go there on foot".
Mr Arafat, a practising Muslim, has attended Christmas Eve services at Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity since the town came under Palestinian-rule in 1995. To reach Bethlehem in the southern West Bank, Arafat needs to cross Israeli-ruled land.
He has been effectively confined to his West Bank headquarters in Ramallah because of tough Israeli military action designed to force him to rein in militants behind a recent wave of suicide attacks on Israel that killed 29 people.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's security cabinet said it decided in a telephone vote to ban Arafat's visit because he was not acting to dismantle Palestinian terror organisations and to prevent terror against Israel.
The United States and European Union also stepped up pressure on Mr Arafat, urging him to press on with a crackdown against attacks on Israel despite the militants' decision.
"I realise they've said they won't conduct suicide bombings. That has to lead to the conclusion that maybe someday they'll say they will", U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told reporters in Washington.
The militant Hamas movement said on Friday it was halting suicide attacks in Israel until further notice in the interests of Palestinian unity. Officials of Islamic Jihad put out mixed signals yesterday about whether the group would follow suit.
Additional reporting AFP