Bethlehem is in the country of Palestine (although not officially recognized as a country yet and as yet without full autonomy). Palestine is on the continent of Asia, in the Middle East within the borders of Israel. Palestine includes several territories, the West Bank being one of them and within Palestine’s West Bank is Bethlehem, the birth place of Jesus. Bethlehem lies 5mi/8km south of Jerusalem between two peaks on the Judean mountain range between Israel and Jordan. Christian pilgrimage tours to Bethlehem are frequently and easily arranged from Tel Aviv or Jerusalem, Israel.

Bethlehem is in the area called the West bank as it is on the west bank of the Jordan River. The West Bank is also referred to as Judea and Samaria. Bethlehem, also the name of the district where the city of Bethlehem is, means “House of bread”. Palestine refers to the “land of the Philistines” the area of land between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. Later it came to mean the land of Israel and today refers to the land of the Arab State of Palestine. Bethlehem lies within the West Bank, one of the Palestinian territories.