By David Gram, Associated Press Writer  |  October 18, 2005

MONTPELIER, Vt. --The mayor of Bethlehem, West Bank, said Tuesday his city is in such financial straits that it couldn't make its payroll last month, and is getting "zero" help from Christian churches that regard the city as Jesus Christ's birthplace.

Batarseh said Bethlehem's economy is in tatters, with the tourism that had been its lifeblood reduced to virtually nothing due to the violence in the West Bank in recent years. Visitors have increased slightly in the last two months, he said, but were still at just 5 percent of historic levels.

"We need peace," said the Roman Catholic mayor of the majority Muslim city. "We need peace between the two peoples, and the only way we can get peace is if the occupation is ended," he added, referring to Israel's presence in the West Bank.

David Siegel, a spokesman for the Israeli embassy in Washington, said later that Israel had withdrawn from the Gaza Strip last month, a move he described as a large and difficult concession. He said it was up to the Palestinians to take the next step by disarming militant groups operating in their midst.

"Now the eyes of the world are on the Palestinian leadership to see if they can take steps necessary to bring about law and order in the Gaza Strip. Right now that's not happening," Siegel said.

The violence flared anew on Sunday when Palestinians in a speeding car opened fire on a crowded bus stop, killing three Israelis and wounding four others. A second shooting minutes later seriously injured an Israeli. Israel reacted by clamping new travel restrictions on Palestinians, including closing off the cities of Hebron and Bethlehem.

Batarseh said his city has been caught the middle.

There are so few jobs for people that the city has been forced to forgive unpaid taxes. The mayor added that it gets very little aid from the Palestinian Authority. Despite talk of new U.S. aid for the West Bank and Gaza, Batarseh said he had been told that his city would get none of it, because five of the City Council's members are with the militant group Hamas.

The mayor said he hoped Americans would pressure Congress and the White House to free up some aid for Bethlehem. He said the Hamas members on the City Council are not involved in the strife with Israel, instead focusing their energies on running Bethlehem's municipal government.

He said the city wasn't getting any help from the world's Christian churches, despite its historic importance to those faiths.

"That's what we hear," the mayor said with exasperation. "We hear about Christians, Christians, Christians helping Bethlehem being a Christian city, but we are getting nothing out of it. Nothing. Zero."

He said he had pled his city's case in a meeting with Pope Benedict XIV Sept. 7, but so far no help had come from the Vatican.

Batarseh said Christians have been emigrating from the city of 30,000 on the outskirts of Jerusalem, which is now 65 percent Muslim. Most of those who have left have done so to get away from the violence or because of Bethlehem's poor economy. He added that leaving is made easier for the city's Christians because most have relatives in other countries.

Despite the trend, the Roman Catholic mayor vowed that the Christian presence in his city would continue. A majority-Muslim city has a Roman Catholic mayor because its charter, recently renewed by a decree from Palestinian leader Mahood Abbas, calls for eight of 15 city councilors to be Christians.

"Bethlehem is the city where Jesus Christ was born," Batarseh said. "It is the city of the Nativity. It is the creator of Christianity. And we want to keep the city having this character. It's a special character."