Bethlehem (pop. 28,591) 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.
In Hebrew, bethlehem means house of bread. 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.
Bethlehem was a walled city during the time of King David, who was born there. Greeks, Romans, and Arab Muslims ruled it at various times. Christian crusaders captured it during the First Crusade (1096-1099), but later lost it to the Ottomans, Muslims from central Asia. The Ottoman Empire gained control in the 1500’s. In 1917, during World War I, British forces led by General Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby took the town. It became part of Jordan in 1950, when the country annexed the West Bank. Israel took control of the West Bank, including Bethlehem, during the Six-Day War of 1967. In 1995, Israel withdrew from Bethlehem and gave control to the Palestinians. Israeli troops reoccupied the city during parts of 2002 and 2003.
