Daniella Cheslow

Christian faithful from around the world descended Thursday on the biblical city of Bethlehem for Christmas Eve celebrations at the traditional birthplace of Jesus, as an outburst of Israeli-Palestinian violence dampened the typically festive mood.

Marwan Qawasmeh, a 29-year-old barber from one of Hebron’s oldest families, used to live in a complex with his father, two brothers, their wives and all their children.

Marwan Qawasmeh, a 29-year-old barber from one of Hebron’s oldest families, used to live in a complex with his father, two brothers, their wives and all their children.

Israel, warily watching the advance of Islamist terrorists across Iraq, appears to be inching toward supporting independence for Kurdistan, a position that would put it at odds with the United States over the partition of Iraq.

The Cenacle, named for the Latin word for dinner, is testament to the layers of religious history in Jerusalem _ and the trouble that competing faiths can cause.

The judge will sentence former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on bribery charges at the end of this month. But the residents of Jerusalem had long ago judged the Holyland apartment project ¨C as a reviled eyesore.

Twenty-eight-year-old Saida Roma has worked for four years at the SodaStream factory in the Israeli settlement of Mishor Adumim, 20 minutes east of Jerusalem, checking metal discs that go into the valves of the home carbonating machines that are built here. She says the pay and conditions are good.

Atef Abu Seif’s latest research project was a study in misery. The Gazan playwright and political science professor had only four hours of electricity a day, from midnight to 4 a.m., to research and write a 30-page study on the effect of drones on Gazan society.

Israel’s Shin Bet security agency estimates that since the civil war erupted in Syria more than two years ago, about 20 Arab citizens of Israel have sneaked into Syria to fight the regime of Bashar Assad. While that’s just a handful, the presence of Arab Israelis among the rebels is a special concern, both for Israeli security authorities and for the families of the renegade fighters.