BETHLEHEM, West Bank -- Jesus' birthplace greeted the new millennium with 2,000 doves of peace soaring above a floodlit Manger Square to the majestic sounds of Beethoven's 9th Symphony. Tens of thousands of Palestinians cheered as fireworks illuminated the sky.

In stark contrast, many streets of nearby Jerusalem were deserted. Orthodox Jews, oblivious to the millennium hoopla, observed the 17th Sabbath of the Hebrew calendar year 5760 at home with traditional Friday evening meals and prayers.

In the walled Old City, site of major holy shrines of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, pilgrims sought quiet devotion rather than noisy celebration.

"Fireworks don't matter. Religion does," said Juan Gomtokumo, a 50-year-old businessman from Indonesia, as he made his way with a group of pilgrims to the Mount of Olives, where the Bible says Jesus will touch ground first when he returns.

Some 1,000 Christians prayed at the Garden Tomb, one of Jesus' traditional sites, under a banner reading "Jesus is alive."

Hundreds of pilgrims led by Franciscan monks holding a 10-foot-long wooden cross walked in a solemn candlelight procession from the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus was betrayed by Judas, up the slope of the Mount of Olives.

For Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, the eve of the new millennium was an occasion to renew a pledge to his people to bring them independence in 2000.

Addressing a crowd of tens of thousands of Palestinians packed into a huge Gaza City square -- the largest rally since Arafat's 1994 return from exile -- the Palestinian leader smiled broadly and flashed V-signs. The crowd lit torches, shot off fireworks and hoisted large Arafat posters.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak used the eve of the new millennium to urge Israelis to make a "heavy and painful" territorial compromise for the sake of peace with their Arab neighbors.

In an address published in Israel's mass-circulation daily Yediot Ahronot, Barak recalled the trauma of the Holocaust, but said the establishment of the state of Israel made his people "strong enough to shake off the siege mentality."

Throughout the Holy Land, security was tight because of fear that apocalyptic Christians might carry out violent acts to hasten the Second Coming of Christ.

In Israel, police have arrested dozens of Christians, many of them Americans, in recent weeks on suspicion they were planning to commit suicide in Jerusalem at the turn of the millennium.

In Bethlehem, Palestinian police officers on Friday carried lists with the names and photographs of about 100 tourists considered potentially unstable. Four foreigners were detained because they looked like people on the list, but were later released, police said.

David Enlengyel, 41, of Scottsdale, Ariz., said he and his wife decided to spend New Year's Eve in Bethlehem despite some concerns about their safety. The U.S. State Department has asked Americans abroad to avoid large crowds for fear they might become targets of terrorists.

"It felt right to be here. This is where it all began," Enlengyel said.