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Bethlehem
Bethlehem neighborhood
Arabic	بيت لحم
Name Meaning	house of meat
Government	City (from 1995)
Also Spelled	Beit Lahm[1] (officially) Bayt Laham (unofficially)
Governorate	Bethlehem
Population	29,930[1] (2006)
Jurisdiction	dunams
Head of Municipality	Victor Batarseh

Bethlehem (Tiberian Hebrew: Bêṯ léḥem / Bêṯ lāḥem; Arabic: بيت لحم, Bayt Laḥm (help·info), lit "House of Meat"; Greek: Βηθλεέμ; Hebrew: בית לחם‎, Beit Lehem, lit "House of Bread") is a Palestinian city located in the Bethlehem Governorate, in the central West Bank, under the civil and military administration of the Palestinian National Authority. The city is considered a central hub of Palestinian cultural and tourism industries.

The city has significant value for Christians as it is considered the birthplace of Jesus of Nazareth according to the Gospels. It is inhabited by one of the oldest Christian communities, which has been diminishing in recent years because of accelerated emigration, mostly to the United States. Bethlehem is also home to one of largest Palestinian Christian communities in the Middle East. The Bethlehem agglomeration includes the towns of Beit Jala and Beit Sahour, the latter also having Biblical significance. The traditional site of Rachel's tomb, which is an important holy site in Judaism, lies at Bethlehem's outskirts.

Contents 1 Geography and climate 2 History 2.1 City of David 2.2 Jesus' birthplace 2.3 Roman and Byzantine periods 2.4 Arab rule and the Crusades 2.5 Bethlehem under the Ottoman Empire 2.6 Twentieth century 3 Recent events 3.1 Church of the Nativity Siege 3.2 Movement restrictions 3.3 West Bank barrier 4 Economy 4.1 Shopping 4.2 Tourist attractions 5 Demographics 5.1 Population 5.2 Christian minority 6 Government 6.1 Mayors 7 Twin cities 8 References 9 See also 10 External links

Local Government in the West Bank v • d • e

JENIN Jenin TULKARM Tulkarm Tubas NABLUS Nablus Shomron Qalqilya QALQILYA Salfit ARIEL RAMALLAH Ramallah and Al-Bireh Matte Binyamin MODI'IN ILLIT JERICHO Biq'at HaYarden Jericho MA'ALE ADUMMIM JERUSALEM Jerusalem BETAR ILLIT BETHLEHEM Gush Etzion Bethlehem Megilot HEBRON Hebron Har Hebron YATTA

Bethlehem lies about 10 kilometers (6 miles) south of Jerusalem, standing at an elevation of about 775 m (2,510 ft) above sea level, thus 30 meters (100 feet) higher than Jerusalem.^[2]

The temperature is cold from mid-December to mid-March, being the coldest in January with high of 13 to low of 1 degree Celsius (55°–33°F); summer lasts from June to September, the warmest temperature occurring in August with high of 27 to low of 17 degrees Celsius (81°–63°F). Bethlehem receives an average of 700 millimeters of rainfall annually, 70% occurring from November to January.^[3]

The city, located in the "hill country" of Judah, was originally called Ephrath (Gen. 35:16, 19; 48:7; Ruth 4:11). It was also called Beth-lehem Ephratah (Micah 5:2), Beth-lehem-judah (1 Sam. 17:12), and "the city of David" (Luke 2:4). It is first noticed in Scripture as the place associated with Rachel's death and burial "by the wayside" (Gen. 48:7). Rachel's tomb is located at the roadside near Bethlehem. The valley to the east was the scene of the story of Ruth the Moabitess. There are the fields in which she gleaned, and the path by which she and Naomi returned to the town.

Bethlehem is believed to be the birth-place of David, the second king of Israel, and it is also believed to be the place where he was anointed as king by Samuel (1 Sam. 16:4-13); and then, it was from the well of Bethlehem that three of his heroes brought water for him at the risk of their lives when he was in the cave of Adullam (2 Sam. 23:13-17).

One understanding of (Micah 5:2) was that it prophesied that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. Accordingly, the Gospel of Luke (Luke 2:4) reports that Jesus' parents are forced to leave Nazareth, their place of residence, and return to Bethlehem for a census, where Jesus is born, before they return to Nazareth, where Jesus grows up. On the other hand, the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 2:1) seems to report that the family lived in Bethlehem first, and later moved to Nazareth. Matthew reports that Herod the Great had "all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under" killed shortly after Jesus' birth (Matt. 2:16, 18; Jer. 31:15). In the gospel Jesus' earthly father Joseph is warned of this in a dream, and the family escapes this fate by fleeing to Egypt, returning only after Herod has died. But being warned in another dream not to return to Judea, Joseph withdraws the family to Galilee, and goes to dwell in Nazareth (Matt. 2:22-23).

The city was wrecked during Bar Kokhba's revolt (132-135) and the Romans set up a shrine to Adonis on the site of the Nativity. Only in 326 was the first Christian church constructed, when Helena, the mother of the first Christian emperor, Constantine, visited Bethlehem.

During the Samaritan revolt of 529, Bethlehem was sacked and its walls and the Church of the Nativity destroyed, but they were soon rebuilt on the orders of the Emperor Justinian I. In 614, the Persians invaded Palestine and captured Bethlehem. A story recounted in later sources holds that they refrained from destroying the Church of the Nativity on seeing the magi depicted in Persian clothing in one of the mosaics.

In 637, shortly after Jerusalem was captured by the Muslim armies, the Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab visited Bethlehem and promised that the Church of the Nativity would be preserved for Christian use.^[4]

In 1099, Bethlehem was captured by the Crusaders, who fortified it and built a new monastery and cloister on the north side of the Church of the Nativity. The Greek Orthodox were removed from their Sees and replaced with Latin clerics. Up until that point the Official Christian presence in the Holy Land was Greek Orthodox. The town prospered under their rule. On Christmas Day 1100 Baldwin I, first king of the Frankish Kingdom of Jerusalem, was crowned in Bethlehem, and that year a Latin episcopate was also established in the town.^[4]

In the 1160s the nave of the Church of the Nativity was redecorated with mosaics showing the councils of the church. An ally of King Amalric I of Jerusalem, emperor Manuel I Comnenus of Byzantium, was one of the patrons of the work.^[4] On the south wall, an inscription in Greek reads: "the present work was finished by Ephraim the monk, painter and mosaicist, in the reign of the great emperor Manuel Porphyrogenitos Comnenus and in the time of the great king of Jerusalem, Amalric." Interestingly, the emperor's name was placed first, in recognition of his role as overlord and protector of the Crusaders at the time.

However, in 1187, Saladin captured Bethlehem from the Crusaders, and the Latin clerics were forced to leave and the Greek Orthodox clergy were allowed to return. Saladin agreed to the return of two Latin priests and two deacons in 1192. However, the town suffered from the loss of the pilgrim trade. Bethlehem was briefly returned to Crusader control by treaty between 1229 and 1244. In 1250, with the coming to power of Rukn al-Din Baibars, tolerance of Christianity declined, clergy left the town, and in 1263 the walls of the town were demolished. The Latin clergy returned to the town over the following century, establishing themselves in the monastery adjoining the Basilica. The Greek Orthodox were given control of the basilica and shared control of the Grotto with the Latins and the Armenians.^[4]

During the years of Ottoman control from 1517 on, custody of the Basilica was bitterly disputed between the Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches.^[4]

From 1831 to 1841, Palestine was under the rule of Muhammad Ali of Egypt. During this period the town suffered an earthquake as well as the destruction of the Muslim quarter by troops, apparently as a reprisal for murder and rape. In 1841, Bethlehem came under Ottoman rule once more, and so it remained until the end of the First World War and the imposition of the British Mandate of Palestine.^[4]

In the United Nations General Assembly's 1947 resolution to partition Palestine, Bethlehem was included in the special international enclave of Jerusalem to be administered by the United Nations. Jordan occupied the city during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Many refugees from areas captured by Israeli forces in 1947 - 1948 came to Bethlehem, setting up encampments in the north of the city near the road to Jerusalem and on the hillside to the south between the city and Solomon's Pools. These later became the official refugee camps of Beit Jibrin (or al-'Azza) and 'Aida (in the north) and Dheisheh in the south. This influx of refugees changed the demography of Bethlehem considerably, changing the Christian majority into a minority.

Jordan retained control of the city until the Six-Day War in 1967, when Bethlehem was captured by Israel along with the rest of the West Bank. On December 21, 1995, Bethlehem became one of the areas under the full control of the Palestinian National Authority in conformance with the Oslo Accords.^[5]

Main article: Siege of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem

With the escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Bethlehem has been the site of many confrontations. In May 2002, during an Israel Defense Forces raid into the city, a number of locals (some of whom were armed) occupied the Church of the Nativity. It became the site of a 5-week stand-off. The number of people inside was estimated between 120 and 240. It was alleged by Palestinians that several Palestinians inside the church compound were shot dead by Israeli snipers during the siege. The siege ended with an agreement for 13 militants to be sent via Cyprus to various European counties and another 26 to be sent to Gaza. The rest were set free. The IDF stated that 40 explosive devices were found and removed from the compound after the standoff was concluded.^[6]

Most entrances into and exits from the Bethlehem agglomeration to the rest of the West Bank are currently subject to Israeli checkpoints and roadblocks, with the level of access varying based on Israeli security directives. Travel for Bethlehem's Palestinian residents from the West Bank into Israeli-controlled Jerusalem is regulated by a permit-system. Acquiring such permits to enter, what in the past served in many ways as an urban anchor to Bethlehem, has become exceedingly rare ^[7] since the onset of the violence surrounding the al-Aqsa Intifada, though Israel has subsequently erected a terminal for the stated-aim of easing transit between the two adjoining cities. After the Intifada's onset, Bethlehem was periodically placed under strict curfews which prevent residents from leaving their homes. Palestinians are not allowed to enter the Jewish holy site of Rachel's Tomb, which is on the outskirts of the city, without a permit. Since Bethlehem and the nearby biblical Solomon's Pools lie in Area A, Israeli citizens cannot go there without a permit from the Israeli military authorities.

The construction by Israel of the West Bank barrier has had a severely negative impact on Bethlehem; politically, socially, and economically. ^[7] The barrier runs along the northern side of the town's built-up area, within metres of houses in 'A'ida refugee camp on the one side, and the Jerusalem municipality on the other.

Shopping is a major industry in Bethlehem, especially during Christmas where tourism is high. The city's main streets and old markets are lined with shops selling local and imported items. Numerous shops sell exotic handmade items, Middle Eastern spices, jewelry and oriental sweets such as baklawa.

The Church of the Nativity, built by Constantine the Great in 330, stands in the center of Bethlehem over a grotto or cave called the Holy Crypt, which according to Christian tradition is the place where Jesus was born. This is perhaps the oldest existing Christian church in the world. Close to it is another grotto, where Jerome the Latin father spent thirty years of his life in translating the Scriptures into Latin. The Mosque of Omar (the city's only mosque) and the Palestinian Peace Center join the Church surrounding the famous Manger Square, where all the Christmas festivities take place.

Bethlehem is home to Bethlehem University, a Roman Catholic institution which was founded under the direction of the Vatican and the De La Salle Christian Brothers.

Year	Population
1945	8,820[8]
1961	22,450[9]
1983	16,300
1997	21,930[10]
2004 (Projected)	28,010
2005 (Projected)	29,020
2006 (Projected)	29,930

According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Bethlehem had a population of 29,930 in mid-year 2006.^[1] In the PCBS's 1997 census, the city had a population of 21,670.^[10] The city had a total of 6,570 refugees in 1997, accounting for 30.3% of the city's population.

The age distribution of the population was 27.4% under the age of 10, 20% from 10 to 19, 17.3% from 20-29, 17.7% from 30 to 44, 12.1% from 45-64 and 5.3% above the age of 65. In 1997, there were 11,079 males and 10,594 females.^[10]

See also: Palestinian Christian

The percentage of Christians in the population of Bethlehem has been steadily falling, above all due to continuous emigration, as well as owing to the lower birth rate among the local Christians compared to the Muslims. In 1947, Christians accounted for 75 percent of the population of Bethlehem, but by 1998, their share had dropped to 33 percent.^[11] Bethlehem's former mayor, Hanna Nasser, says an estimated 2,000 Christians in Bethlehem have emigrated during the period of 2000-2003.

On this subject, the current mayor of Bethlehem, Dr. Victor Batarseh explains that, "Due to the stress, either physical or psychological, and the bad economic situation, many people are emigrating, either Christians or Muslims, but it is more apparent among Christians, because they already are a minority, and it is because it is easier for a Christian family to emigrate, because they have family abroad already, in the U.S. in South or Central America, or Australia, or Canada," said Dr. Batarseh. "That is why Christian emigration is more apparent. We need this city to remain as a model of co-existence between the two religions. The more emigration we get this model will dissolve." ^[12]

The Palestinian Authority rule following the Oslo Accords officially promised equality to Christians of the Bethlehem area, but at times corruption in its judiciary enabled theft from them, and tolerated or even favored the attempts by religious zealots to enforce Sharia on the Christian population. On occasion the lawless atmosphere witnessed violence such as a 1997 incident where PA Police opened fire on and wounded six Christian residents of Beit Sahour. During the al-Aqsa Intifada, the Tanzim staged shootings onto Israeli homes from Christian homes and institutions in Beit Jala against the wishes of the inhabitants, and Israeli return fire often destroyed the firing positions, which was especially linked to Christian flight.^[13][14]

During his March 2000 visit to Bethlehem, Pope John Paul II urged Palestinian Christians: "Do not be afraid to preserve your Christian heritage and Christian presence in Bethlehem."^[15]

As owners of many of the hotels and services which cater to foreign tourists, the violence and resultant tourism downturn of the al-Aqsa Intifada also affected the Christian minority severely, leaving many economically stricken.^[16] A statistical analysis of why Christians are leaving the area blamed the lack of economic and educational opportunities, especially due to the Christians' middle-class status and higher education.^[17]

The current Hamas government's official position has also been to support the city's Christian population, which it feels can be useful in negotiating with the United States, though it has also been criticized for taking steps seen as trying to impose Islam on Christian neighborhoods. Under Hamas, the Christian population has continued to suffer from a lack of law and order which has left it susceptible to land theft by elements that take advantage of ineffective courts and the reality that the often affluent, but not politically powerful, Christian population is unlikely to stand up for itself.^{[18][19][16] [20]}

The Bethlehem Municipal Council has fifteen elected members including the mayor and deputy mayor. The majority of the Council are reserved seats that must be filled by Christians, while the remainder are open seats and are not restricted to any religion. There are several branches of political parties including Communist, Islamist and secular within the council. The leftist factions of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) such as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the Palestinian People's Party (PPP) usually dominate the reserved seats. Hamas gained the majority of the open seats in 2005.^[21] It is the muhfaza (seat) or district capital of the Bethlehem Governorate.

Elected Candidates of the Bethlehem municipal elections of 2005

Rank	List	Candidate name	Gender	Religion	Votes	%
1	Brotherhood & Development (PFLP)	Victor Batarseh	♂	†	2690	36%
2	United Bethlehem (Fatah and PPP)	Antun Salman	♂	†	2164	29%
3	Reform (Hamas)	Hasan al-Masalma	♂	☪	2005	27%
4	United Bethlehem (Fatah and PPP)	Afram Asmari	♂	†	2000	26%
5	Wafaa (Palestinian Islamic Jihad)	Isa Zawahara	♂	☪	1922	25%
6	United Bethlehem (Fatah and PPP)	Khalil Chawka	♂	☪	1912	25%
7	Reform (Hamas)	Khalid Jadu	♂	☪	1853	25%
8	Hope & Labour (Fatah)	Zughbi Zughbi	♂	†	1808	24%
9	Reform (Hamas)	Nabil al-Hraymi	♂	☪	1752	23%
10	Reform (Hamas)	Salih Chawka	♂	☪	1716	23%
11	Reform (Hamas)	Yusuf al-Natsha	♂	☪	1716	23%
12	Brotherhood & Development (PFLP)	Nina 'Atwan	♀	†	1709	23%
13	Brotherhood & Development (PFLP)	George Sa'ada	♂	†	1687	22%
14	Independent	Nadir al-Saqa	♂	†	1537	20%
15	United Bethlehem (Fatah and PPP)	Duha al-Bandak	♀	†	1512	20%

The mayor and the deputy mayor of Bethlehem are required by municipal law to be a Christians.^[16] The mayor is currently Victor Batarseh.^[22][23]

Mikhail Abu Saadeh - 1876 Khalil Yaqub - 1880 Suleiman Yusuf Jacir - 1884 Issa Abdullah Marcus - 1888 Yaqub Khalil Elias - 1892 Hanna Mansur - 1895-1915 Salim Issa al-Batarseh - 1916-17 Salah Giries Jaqaman - 1917-21 Musa Qattan - 1921-25 Hanna Ibrahim Miladah - 1926-28 Nicoloa Attalah Shain - 1929-33

Hanna Issa al-Qawwas - 1936-46 Issa Basil Bandak - 1946-51 Elias Issa Bandak - 1951-53 Afif Salm Batarseh - 1952-53 Elias Issa Bandak - 1953-57 Ayyub Musallam - 1958-62 Elias 'Issa Bandak - 1963-72 Elias Freij - 1972-97 Hanna Nasser - 1997-2005 Victor Batarseh (current) - 2005-

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• Star of Bethlehem
• Bethlehem of Galilee
• Elias Freij
• Municipal election in Bethlehem, 2005‎

• Bethlehem Municipality
• Bethlehem Peace Center
• Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land website - pages on Bethlehem
• Bethlehem 2000 project
• Open Bethlehem civil society project
• Bethlehem University
• Wikitravel: Bethlehem
• Applied Research Institute - Jerusalem
• Bethlehem: Muslim-Christian living together
• Photo Gallery of Bethlehem from 2007

v • d • e Cities and towns in the West Bank
Abu Dis • Beit Jala • Beit Sahour • Bethlehem • Al-Bireh • Ad-Dhahiriya • Al-Eizariya • Halhul • Hebron • Jenin • Jericho • Nablus • Qabatiya • Qalqilyah • Ar-Ram • Ramallah • Tubas • Tulkarm • Yabad • Yatta

Coordinates: 31°42′11″N, 35°11′44″E