Celebration Festive excitement made it to the tiny West Bank village of Jifna when Santa Claus - and a traveling Christmas puppet show - visited the local Catholic school. The BBC News website joined the community as it celebrated what some say is the best Christmas since 2000, when the Palestinian uprising, or intifada, began.

Restrictions Jifna is a village of about 1,200 people. With Palestinian Christians making up an estimated three quarters of its population, it is one of the few places in the overwhelmingly Muslim West Bank to have a Christian majority. Although Jifna has never experienced the level of violence seen in other parts of the West Bank, its residents suffer from travel restrictions and economic hardship. They live near the city of Ramallah, which has seen some heavy fighting.

Excitement The Christmas performance began with blaring dance music and disco lights. Imad Atallah (right) from the Operation Palestinian Children and Youth (OPCY) team says that, despite long days travelling around the West Bank, he never gets jaded because of the excitement that greets them. "Each time is like the first," he says.

Festive spirit "During the intifada, there was no Christmas," says youth worker Khader Anton Abu Khalil (left). "Christmas to the children is gifts, outings, Santa and getting chocolate and money, but people were unemployed and everything was closed. "Now, if you look at the faces, they're all laughing. They feel it is Christmas."

Learning traditions The mischievous puppet boy Marwan (right) is one of the team's favorite characters. He is convinced Christmas is a celebration of Santa Claus' birthday, but learns about Jesus' birth from Santa when he finds him to sing Happy Birthday. The aim is to educate Palestinian Christian children about their religious tradition. In this area it becomes a cultural label from birth.

Clowning about Although the Christmas program is for Palestinian Christians, much of the team's work is among Muslims. Many West Bank Palestinians say Christians and Muslims live "like brothers". However, team leader Diana Saman says she has visited villages where children have never met Christians. "The fact that they see us... that breaks a lot of barriers," she says.

New experience The children were soon dancing along to the team's songs. Ms Saman says some younger West Bank children are initially scared by the puppets because there is so little children's entertainment available. In one place, when they tried to do actions to music the children "just froze". "They had never had anything like this before," she says.

Nativity joy No child's Christmas is complete without a nativity and there was great enthusiasm among the girls when brightly colored angel wings were provided. Mary, clad in a Muslim-style headscarf, did a sterling job with a cardboard box for a manger. This is despite the plastic baby Jesus' head being barely attached to his body.

Confrontations Politics is never far away here. These boys' first reaction to the camera was to pose with their Palestinian scarves. Youth worker Mr. Abu Khalil says that although the worst days of the intifada are behind them, there are still confrontations between Israeli soldiers and stone-throwing youths, often close to the school playground. "The younger children get terrified," he says.

Aggression "Of course the intifada has affected the children's behavior," says Mr. Abu Khalil. "The most common game is 'soldiers and Arabs' where they hold sticks as guns and throw stones. "Even small kids, when they see a jeep coming, hold stones to protect themselves. "The children are aggressive with each other. Most of this generation is aggressive."

Mother's hope Jifna mother Mary Salameh says that although things are better, Israeli travel restrictions mean there are still few places she can take her children aged 10, 12 and 15. "We hope to see Bethlehem," she says. "I've never been able to take them there." This is despite Jesus' birthplace being physically only about 90 minutes drive away.

Gifts for Christmas Finally, amid much good-natured commotion, Santa Claus appeared. He distributed packs containing practical items such as towels and toothbrushes, together with sweets and a video CD of Christmas cartoons. One boy brandished a sponge, giggling, as he walked away with friends into the early evening darkness.

Word and pictures by the BBC's Heather Sharp.

11th December marked the 58th anniversary of the passage of UN General Assembly Resolution 194, which states that "Those (Palestinian) refugees who wish to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbors should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return and for loss or damage to property which, under principles of international law or in equity, should be made good by the Governments or authorities responsible."

58 years hence, Palestinian refugees, who now number at more than 4 million, are still waiting for their rights to be implemented. While the refugees are scattered around the globe and suffer from varying conditions of hardship, statelessness and homelessness, the situation of the 400,000+ Palestinian refugees in Lebanon is considered most dire.

According to the latest UNRWA figures (March 2005), the numbers and locations of registered Palestinian refugees are as follows: West Bank: 687,542; Gaza: 961,645; Lebanon: 400,582; Syria: 424,650; Jordan: 953,012.

The importance of the olive tree for Palestinians can never be underestimated. More than just an ancient symbol of peace, the olive tree is an essential component of the Palestinian economy. To date, according to MIFTAH’s Facts and Figures, Israeli occupation forces and settlers have uprooted an estimated 118,774,2 trees. This practice not only represents a grave violation of the fourth Geneva Convention (which regulates the behavior of the occupying power vis-à-vis the occupied), it is also one of the main causes for the prevailing mood of animosity.

Yasser Arafat (Abu Ammar) is a historical figure not just on the national level but in the international arena. He is a survivor and a symbol of resistance and dedication to the Palestinian cause. He has affirmed Palestine's place in history and on the global political map. This perception has renewed the leader’s role as a Palestinian symbol for all, even for those who strongly disagreed with his policies and approach.

For almost 40 years, the Palestinian people knew one leader. Here are some pictures that tell the story of a leader that was larger than life. These pictures trace the journey of his life from Cairo to Amman, Amman to Beirut, Beirut to Tunis and then finally back to his birth place, Palestine.

The following pictures, courtesy Palestine Chronicle (www.palestinechronicle.com) capture the shocking and tragic death of the 12 year old Palestinian boy, Mohammad Al-Durra, who was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers on September 30, 2000. As we mourn the fifth anniversary of his tragic death, we nevertheless celebrate his short life, and the lives of all the innocents who suffer daily from the violence and horror of the Israeli occupation. MIFTAH solemnly condemns all forms of violence, and holds a candle to the memory of this silent victim.

Building walls to separate and isolate people because of disputes is a medieval and grievous practice. And ultimately, such walls all come tumbling down. This proved true when the Berlin Wall crumbled in 1989, and Israel’s current Apartheid Wall in the Occupied Territories will one day experience the same fate – hopefully, sooner rather than later. However, until then, the graffiti on these primitive walls tells of the pain, suffering and longing for peace.

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These 10 photos were taken on 22 May 2005 and show the passage from the point of arrival at the border of Gaza to the point of entry into Gaza. A sign at the entrance to the passage says in faulty Arabic: “Continuing with violence results in the withholding of ease of access and luxury for the people.” The passage is similar to the design developed by Temple Grandin (an assistant professor at Colorado State University) for the routing of cattle as they are led to slaughter. The Israelis are on the scene through remote control. When a person exiting from Gaza approaches the turnstile, a disembodied voice, rough and rude, tells him or her to drop bags to the floor, to lift up clothes, turn around, etc.

The waiting is interminable when there are a lot of people. Most of the time now, the place is deserted, as very few permits are given to people to get out or to go in. One photo shows Israeli soldiers erecting a barrier on top of a barrier. In Gaza, the entire population is effectively imprisoned. Not only are the many refugees and their descendants blocked by Israel from returning to their homes in places like Bir Sabe’ (now Beersheba), but so also are thousands of laborers prevented from earning a living in Israel or the West Bank.

Rima Merriman is a freelance writer and a communications specialist. She worked in the West Bank for four months in late 2004.

Palestine: the most contested land in the world – land embedded with religion and history. The illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian land has resulted not only in the destruction of the earth itself, but also the livelihood of a people dependent on their land. While Israeli forces continue to uproot trees, demolish homes, confiscate land and construct the illegal Annexation Wall, the Palestinian people also continue to fight for peace, justice, self-determination and national liberation with a unique spirit and determination.