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Catholic priests attending an Easter mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem on Wednesday. (Reuters)
Last update - 00:00 05/04/2007
Pilgrims flock to Jerusalem holy sites ahead of Easter
By The Associated Press

Thousands of pilgrims retraced Jesus' footsteps Wednesday as they celebrated Holy Week at the sites where Christians mark his crucifixion, death and resurrection.

A decrease in Palestinian-Israeli violence and the overlap of Christian calendars brought a wave of visitors to Jerusalem's Old City.

Tourists virtually disappeared from Jerusalem when Palestinian suicide bombers began targeting the city after fighting between Israel and the Palestinians broke out in September 2000.
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In recent years, however, there has been a marked drop in attacks here, and tourists have slowly returned to the Old City, home to most of the holy sites.

Thousands of pilgrims began the celebrations with a Palm Sunday procession from the Mount of Olives to the Old City, retracing Jesus' triumphant return to the city.

On Good Friday, they will mark his crucifixion and death. On Sunday, they will celebrate Easter, the holiest day of the Christian calendar, marking Jesus' resurrection.

The crowds were also larger than usual as five different Christian sects - with different calendars - celebrated the festivities on the same days for the first time in four years.

Due to the influx of pilgrims, officials established strict schedules for each denomination to conduct religious ceremonies inside the Old City, said the Rev. Athanasius Macora, a Franciscan priest based in Jerusalem. There have occasionally been scuffles during disagreements over access to holy sites.

Thousands of Palestinian Christians from nearby Bethlehem also come to Jerusalem during Holy Week.
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