By Maher Abukhater and Ofira Koopmans

Bethlehem (dpa) - The highest-ranking Roman Catholic clergyman in the Holy Land arrived at the birthplace of Jesus on Thursday as Christmas celebrations opened in Bethlehem and elsewhere.

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fouad Twal passed through a main gate in the West Bank security wall that cuts of Bethlehem from nearby Jerusalem, and was greeted by Palestinian officials.

Church bells sounded when his motorcade, accompanied by Israeli police on horseback in the segment that is under Israeli security control, set out from the historic Old City of Jerusalem's Christian quarter.

Once in Palestinian-controlled territory, the procession was accompanied by Palestinian police.

In Bethlehem, he walked the last stage to the Biblical town's central Manger Square on foot, as scouts playing drums and bagpipes awaited him.

Later, speaking mostly in Arabic, he will deliver Midnight Mass in the Church of the Nativity, built on the spot where it is believed that Jesus was born. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah are expected to attend.

In a Christmas message Wednesday, Abbas said he prayed for the end of occupation "in order to resurrect justice in our holy country."

Tens of thousands of tourists from across the world had traveled to Israel and the Palestinian areas for the holiday season, Israeli Tourism Ministry spokeswoman Lydia Weitzman said.

The final number to be released after the holiday was expected to be several per cent lower than the more than 70,000 tourists in 2014 because of a fresh wave of violence that has overshadowed the celebrations.

Christians in Israel and the West Bank, where they form a 2-per-cent minority, and the Gaza Strip, where they make up just 0.1 per cent of the population, were also due to attend celebrations in Bethlehem, the northern Israeli town of Nazareth, Jerusalem and elsewhere.

Israel says it has eased travel restrictions for Palestinian Christians.

Most local Arab Christians are Orthodox, who mark Christmas on January 7, but there are also tens of thousand Roman Catholics who celebrate on December 25.

Bethlehem Mayor Vera Baboun said this week that only 40 per cent of hotel rooms were booked in the Biblical town this year, amid the recent wave of violence in Israel and the Palestinian areas.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said that three Palestinians were shot as they attempted separate attacks in the West Bank, and three Israelis were injured.

In the first incident, a Palestinian was shot after stabbing two guards in an industrial zone near the northern West Bank settlement of Ariel.

Another Palestinian tried to stab security forces with a screwdriver at a southern West Bank checkpoint, but was shot dead.

Shortly afterwards, a Palestinian rammed his car into a military post near the central West Bank city of Ramallah, and was shot dead by soldiers. One soldier was injured.