He also covered the Israeli siege of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem in May 2002.
CNN: CNN Profiles - Matthew Chance - Senior International Correspondent
Mr Obama was accompanied on his visit of the Church of the Nativity by President Abbas.
In Bethlehem itself, Christmas Eve Mass was celebrated at the 1, 700-year-old Church of the Nativity, on the spot where it is believed Jesus was born.
During this week's visit, Mr Obama is due to visit the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, built on the site where Christians believe Jesus was born.
The Church of the Nativity and pilgrimage route, Bethlehem (Palestine) will be processed on an emergency basis and the documents that concern it are not yet available.
Today it is the last bastion of resistance in the re-occupied West Bank, as Palestinians and Israeli soldiers engage in a bitter, snarling contest around the Church of the Nativity.
ECONOMIST: The Palestinians' last stand in the Church of the Nativity
There is genuine fear that the holiest sites of Christianity, including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem and the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, will become mere museums.
"He said he wanted to pray at the Church of the Nativity on Christmas Eve, even though he knew it was illegal for him to leave Israel, " police spokesman Gil Kleiman said.
Israel and the Palestinians held talks to try to end the stand-off at Bethlehem where about 300 people have been under siege in the Church of the Nativity for the past three weeks.
UNESCO's World Heritage Committee will consider the Church of the Nativity among 36 sites nominated for inclusion on the list at its next meeting, to be held from June 24 to July 6, in St Petersburg, Russia.
And while I had been to Jerusalem before, where Jesus healed the sick, and cured the blind, and embraced the least of these, I also had a chance to go to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.
In an unusual, fast-track procedure, the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem was accepted as a world-heritage site and declared to be in danger at the behest of the Palestinian authority which was, controversially, admitted to UNESCO as a full member last November.
ECONOMIST: UNESCO is better at naming enemies than finding friends
It was at this point that it occurred to me that rather than be upset by the inconvenience I should realise that this was truly a more authentic way to approach the Church of the Nativity than in the airconditioned comfort of a coach.
He was also in the middle of the Israeli military campaign which followed, and was in Bethlehem for the 39-day long siege of the Church of the Nativity, His reporting of these events earned him the "Journalist of the Year" award from the Atlanta Press club in 2003.
When U.S. President Barack Obama arrives in Israel on March 20th for an official state visit to the richly historic country, his itinerary will include a visit to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, a stop at the Israel Museum to see the Dead Sea Scrolls, and a close-up look at a missile defense battery.
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President Obama said that this year was particularly special for him because he visited the Holy Land just before Easter, including the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem.
One of Christianity's most holy places, the site's focal point is the Grotto of the Nativity, a rectangular cavern beneath the church that has been considered the site of Christ's birth since at least the 2nd century.
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