Mass in Bethlehem to bless President

A mass to bless President Mahinda Rajapaksa and to mark his 65th birthday and assumption of duties for the second term will be held at the Church of Milk Grotto in Bethlehem on Saturday, November 20, 2010 at 4.00 pm.

This event is organized by a Palestinian group called the 'Friends of Sri Lanka in Bethlehem' in association with the Representative Office of Sri Lanka in Palestine. Participating at this function along with the Palestinian friends of Sri Lanka will be Sri Lankan workers in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

At this Mass, a Palestinian and a Sri Lankan Priest will invoke blessings on President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the people of Sri Lanka. The Palestine - Sri Lanka Association will celebrate the President's birthday in Ramallah with a special meeting organized for the occasion.

Every year since the establishment of the Representative Office of Sri Lanka in Palestine in 2007 the birthday of President Mahinda Rajapaksa is celebrated in Palestine.

On November 18, 2007 the road in front of the Sri Lanka Representative Office in Palestine was named "H.E. Mahinda Rajapaksa Road".