There has always been tension and turmoil in the Holy Land. Even when Jesus was a young man times were turbulent. At that time the Jewish patriots were planning rebellion against their Roman conquerors and Jesus himself was even accused of being a dissident.

At Christmas time however there is a relaxing of tensions in Christ’s birthplace of Bethlehem. The three major religions, Jewish, Muslim and Christian, celebrate the infant Jesus’s birthday and all hostilities cease during this time.

The conflict in the Holyland today has always been more political than religious. The chief bone of contention has been the Palestinians desire for their own home-land. I have always found it hard to understand Israelis reluctance to grant the Arabs a homeland. After all the Jews suffered at the hands of the Germans in the gas chambers, the concentration camps and the ghettos. You would think therefore that they would be more sympathetic to the Palestinians desire for their own home territory.

In recent years it seemed the man most likely to bring peace to the region was Mr Rabin, the former Prime Minister of Israel. Sadly he was assassinated when on the verge of achieving peace.

Following Mr Rabins death the extreme right-wing, Likud Party won the election in Israel. The Likud party then built Jewish settlements on Palestinian land thus heightening tensions even further. The prospects for peace seemed to be doomed. The Hawk-like stance of the Likud party was not shared by the majority of the Israeli people who have a genuine longing for peace. This was reflected in the results of the recent election in Israel when the Labour Party under Mr Barak gained a land-slide win. This victory seems to bode well for the peace process. Mr Barak appears to be pursuing with great zest Mr Rabins policy of peace with the Arabs and has promised no new Jewish settlements on Arab land and no further expansion of Israelis borders on Palestinian territory.

He seems to have also quickly established a good rapport with the leader of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation, Yasser Arafat. And for his part Mr Arafat has recognised the state of Israel and guaranteed no terrorist attacks on the Israeli people. So it seems with Christmas time fast approaching that the prospects for peace seem to be more hopeful.