December 11, 2006 -- BETHLEHEM, West Bank - Islamic militants may be in charge, but that doesn't mean there won't be Christmas this year.

The cash-strapped Hamas government is promising $50,000 to dress up Jesus' traditional birthplace for the holiday, more than twice the amount spent in previous years.

Yet even the extra cash - if Hamas pays up - may not be enough to bring Christmas cheer to Bethlehem, hit hard by the last six years of Israeli-Palestinian fighting.

Last year, only about 2,500 foreign visitors came on Christmas, down from more than 90,000 pilgrims six years ago.

* Three children of a senior Palestinian intelligence officer were killed in a drive-by shooting in Gaza City early today, an unprecedented attack that could ignite widespread factional fighting.

The victims, ranging in age from six to 10, were the children of Baha Balousheh, a loyalist of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement. A decade ago, Balousheh was a lead interrogator in a crackdown on the now-ruling Islamic militant Hamas movement.

Baha Balousheh was not in the car. The driver also died.

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