Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal, the most senior Roman Catholic clergy in Bethlehem, celebrated the Christmas Eve mass on Wednesday night at Manger Square, believed to be the place where Jesus Christ was born, attended by pilgrims from different parts of the world.

With 2014 characterized by several violent incidents in Jerusalem and Gaza, Twal said in his homily that he hopes the coming year would be a better one for the Holy Land since the region has become "a land of conflict."

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"I hope next year there will be no separation wall and I hope we will give bridges of peace instead ... Peace comes from justice and we have a cause which we hoped will be solved soon," BBC quotes the patriarch.

In spring, peace talks between Israel and Palestine collapsed, and the two had a 50-day war in Gaza Strip during summer.

Bethlehem is building a wall around West Bank to separate the city from Jerusalem.

Twal led the procession from his headquarters in Jerusalem to Bethlehem. He passed through a concrete separation barrier that Israel built 10 years ago to prevent suicide bombings.

Like the Israelis, Palestinians also want peace which is their annual Christmas wish. But they added a desire for justice for this year, said Palestinian Tourism Minister Rula Maayah.

Maayah defined that justice as one that gives them "the right to live like all other people in the world in our independent state without the occupation."

At the Church of Nativity, beside a tall Christmas tree, there was a big poster in Arabic and English that states: "All I want for Christmas is peace."

Tagschristmas, bethlehem, Palestine, Israel