The City of Bethlehem

Bethlehem, the birth place of the Davidic Monarchy and that of Jesus Christ, is located in the southern part of the West Bank, 10 kilometres south of Jerusalem. The Bethlehem District is 660 square kilometres, and it includes within its boundaries 3 city municipalities, 7 town municipalities, 66 villages, 3 refugee camps and 22 Israeli settlements. It also includes a natural reserve, Israeli military bases as well as other areas closed by the Israeli army. The city stands on a rocky height of 777 metres above sea level and 1267 metres above the Dead Sea level, which is situated directly east of Bethlehem.

Bethlehem is home for 178,104 inhabitants (2004 statistics), including 15,000 refugees. The population is almost two-thirds Muslim and one-third Christian. The Christian population in the city is distributed among various denominations including Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Latin Catholic, Armenian, Lutheran and Syrian. Most Christians are concentrated in the city of Bethlehem and the neighboring towns of Beit Sahour and Beit Jala.

In 1948 thousands of Palestinians who fled their homes and villages behind the Green Line took refuge in Bethlehem where they settled in three refugee camps. The largest of these is Dhesheih camp, which is located in the south of the city and is home for about 9,961 refugees, Aida refugee camp lies in the northern part of Bethlehem near Rachel’s Tomb and houses 3,356 refugees. The smallest camp is Beit Jibrin (known as Al ‘Azza Camp) and it houses 1,873 refugees (2004 statistics).

After June 1967 War, Israel started to build settlements (more information) in Bethlehem district as well as in every part of Palestine.

In the 2002 Israel started the construction of the Segregation Wall (More information) around Bethlehem district. The Wall is 50 kilometers long and it runs from the northeast of Bethlehem district to the west until it reaches the northern entrance to the city of Bethlehem. Upon its completion, the Wall will cut off the city and the neighboring towns of Beit Jala and Beit Sahour as well as the refugee camps from the rest of the West Bank and from East Jerusalem.