DPI Bethlehem 2000 web site – Press release

WEB SITE ON BETHLEHEM 2000 NOW AVAILABLE IN ARABIC AND FRENCH

The Department of Public Information is launching the Arabic and French language versions of the Bethlehem 2000 Web site today. Already available in English, the Web site can be accessed through the United Nations home page under the heading of Peace and Security.

Through its General Assembly resolutions, the United Nations has welcomed the global and historic celebration in Bethlehem of the birth of Jesus Christ and the beginning of the third millennium as a symbol of the shared hope for peace among all peoples of the world. The United Nations has also expressed support for the Bethlehem 2000 Project established by the Palestinian Authority in 1997 and currently being implemented.

The Bethlehem 2000 Project is the largest and most comprehensive Palestinian development undertaking. Over $100 million has been invested by more than a dozen countries and international organizations to refurbish ancient buildings and restore archaeological sites, to pave streets and plazas, to rehabilitate water and sewer systems and to develop tourism.

Objectives of the project include encouraging millions of pilgrims and tourists to visit Bethlehem, the promotion of Bethlehem's rich past and future promise, the jump-starting of the Palestinian tourism industry and enhancement of the economic development of the Bethlehem region and the Palestinian territory.

The Web site on Bethlehem 2000 is illustrated with photos supplied by the Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

For further information, please contact Bill Hass, Information Officer, Palestine and Decolonization Section, PAD/DPI, telephone: (212) 963-0353; fax: (212) 963-4556.

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