Bethlehem (pop. 16,313) is the birthplace of Jesus Christ. It lies about 5 miles (8 kilometers) south of Jerusalem in a region of the Middle East called the West Bank.

The Arabic name is Bayta lahm, which means house of meat. Bethlehem is chiefly a religious shrine. It has many houses of worship and other religious institutions.

In 1917, during World War I, British forces led by General Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby took the town. It became under Jordan control in 1948 after the first Arab-Israeli war in 1948 . Israel occupied the West Bank, including Bethlehem, during the Six-Day War of 1967. In 1995, Israel withdrew from Bethlehem and gave control to Palestinian based on self-rule agreement between PLO and Israel.