HIGHLIGHTS: Palestinian Police Now in Control in Bethlehem||Washington & Russia Welcome End of Siege||Saud Al-Faisal Sees 'a Ray of Light' in Proactive Washington Stance||(Read: 'Exiles' Future Murky' at [IN THE PRESS] Channel)||STORY: Israeli jeeps and armored vehicles drove away from Manger Square Friday afternoon, marking the beginning of a troop pullback from Bethlehem after 39 days of occupation.Israeli troops pulled out of Manger Square to the outskirts of Bethlehem as cheering Palestinian children ran toward the church and calls of "Allahu Akhbar" -- "God is Greater" -- rang out from loudspeakers on mosques. (Read photo caption)

A Palestinian police commander said his forces were now in control of the city and Israeli troops had left. Israeli military sources, speaking on condition of anonymity to AFP, said the pullback would be completed within several hours.

In Washington, US President George W. Bush praised the end the standoff at Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity as a "positive development" that should "advance the prospects for resuming a political process toward peace."

Russia also hailed the end siege, describing it as a model for a "non-violent solution" of the Middle East crisis, the Russian foreign ministry said.

In Cairo, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal told reporters he saw a "ray of light" for Middle East peace in what he described as a new, proactive stance by Washington. "There is a ray of hope. The door is open," he said.

PHOTO CAPTION

Palestinian police officers patrol in Manger Square as the Church of the Nativity is illuminated in the rear, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem Friday, May 10, 2002. A Palestinian police commander said his forces were now in control of the city and Israeli troops had left. Thirteen militiamen who had been holed up inside were flown into European exile, and 26 were released into the Gaza Strip where they were given a raucous welcome. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
- May 10 4:33 PM ET