The Vatican has condemned Israel's ban on the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat from travelling to Bethlehem as arbitrarily imposed and said it had tried to convince the Jewish state to reverse its decision.
In order to try to create a more conciliatory climate in the area, the Secretariat of State has taken a diplomatic step to try to avoid this ban, which was arbitrarily imposed, chief Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said.
In Jerusalem, political sources said Israel planned to stick to its decision to bar Arafat's annual Christmas Eve pilgrimage to Bethlehem on Monday unless he arrested the killers of a far-right cabinet minister.
The frail, 72-year-old leader said earlier he would attend Christmas Eve festivities in Palestinian-ruled Bethlehem, revered as the birthplace of Jesus, even if he had to walk from his Ramallah headquarters.
Israel said on Sunday it decided to block Arafat's journey to Bethlehem, through roads sealed off in places by Israeli tanks and troops in the West Bank, because he had failed to dismantle Palestinian terror organisations .