Profile and General Information

Name:

Bethlehem means the house of bread or the house of meat. The name suggests a place where the stranger is welcomed and where there is food in abundance, even amidst the rugged desert landscape.
Location:
10 kilometres to the south of Jerusalem. It rises 777metres (2600 feet) above level of the Mediterranean Sea 

Borders:
North: Jerusalem and the Village of Sur Baher.
East: the Town of Beit Sahour
West: The Town of Beit Jala
South: Solomon's pools and the villages of Artas and Al Khader

Area
Bethlehem Municipality borders: 7 km²
Bethlehem District: 80 km² while originally the district used to be 576km².
The difference was seized by the Israeli occupation for the purpose of by pass roads, settlements, nature reserves, military zones and the Separation Wall.

Number of Inhabitants:
Proper Bethlehem: 32,000
Bethlehem District: 170,000 including the 3 refugee camps.
Urban Bethlehem: 65,000

Religious Demography:
Proper Bethlehem: 35% Christians
65% Moslems
Urban Bethlehem: 50% Christians
50% Moslems
Note: Bethlehem is considered a good model of coexistence between the two mentioned faiths.

Language:
Beside Arabic the native language, English is widely spoken. French, German and Spanish are spoken too.

Emigration:
Bethlehem suffered a migration drain through the 20th century. Due to political unrest and economic hardships in the region, many of its inhabitants emigrated. The first strong wave of emigration took place after the First World War when many left to Latin America. The continuous difficult political and economical situation up-to-date is driving local people, in particular Christians, to emigrate. More than 250,000 Christians of Bethlehem origin live today in the Diaspora mainly in Chile.

Houses:
Bethlehem is home for many religious buildings, churches, mosques, schools and convents. It still retains a number of magnificent old houses with architectural features that date back to the 16th and the 17th centuries. Byzantine, Islamic, Crusader, Turkish, European architecture blend in with the local historic residential quarters, developed through ages, and represent part of the cultural heritage of Bethlehem.

Education:
Education is compulsory for nine years. Bethlehem district has 75 public schools and 19 private organizations mainly churches and the UNRWA. In Bethlehem City, private schools are dominant. The City hosts two universities; Bethlehem University and Al-Quds Open University. Literacy rate in Bethlehem is 85%.

Health:
There are 6 hospitals in Bethlehem district. Three are for maternity, one is psychiatric, one is pediatric, and one is a general hospital. Total number of hospital beds is estimated of 506. There are 32 primary health care clinics in the district. However, the district needs specialized medical services.

Infrastructure:
Roads (in proper Bethlehem 26 km paved and 14 km need pavement)
Water network
Sewage system
Electricity
Telecommunication

Economy:
Tourism and its related enterprises.
High quality artisan craftsmanship mainly olive wood and mother of pearl items.
Hand embroidery.
Textiles, chemical and stone manufacturing.

Number of Tourists:
Before the year 2000 ≈ one million per year
At present≈ 300,000 per year

Number of Hotels:
18 hotels and 6 pilgrimage houses run by religious institutions. Total capacity is 2,200 bed rooms.

Main Religious and Tourist sites:
The church of the Nativity
The Milk Grotto
King David's Wells
Rachel Tomb
Shepherd's Field

Bethlehem 2000 Project:
Then project was launched to commemorate the third millennium of the birth of Jesus Christ. The project was supported by the international community and included infrastructure projects (Water, Electricity, and Sewage), paving roads, rehabilitation of the market place, rehabilitation of the Manger Square, Construction of the Peace Centre and the Bethlehem Bus Terminal.

The effects of the Separation Wall on Bethlehem
Loss of 7 thousand dunums of arable land.
Denying access to more than 120 families of Bethlehem to reach their land in the northern part of Bethlehem.
Stripping Rachel's Tomb area from its natural boundaries and annexing it to Jerusalem.
Closing the main and historic entrance of the Town of the Nativity and limitation of entrance of tourists.
Ending a trail and link of two thousand years between Jerusalem and Bethlehem.
Closing over 100 business shops and restaurants.
Increasing unemployment and crippling trade.
Restriction of movement.
Affecting all aspects of daily lives including the ability to sustain themselves.
Preventing Bethlehem from the only remain zone for its natural growths and expansion
Unemployment rate: 55% - 60% in Bethlehem
Income per capita: $2400 before September 2000 (The outbreak of Al-Aqsa Intifada). $400 at present.

Bethlehem Municipality
Mayors and Council Members
Number of Workers:
175 out of which 75 are employees and 100 are labourers.
Annual Budget:
12 million Shekels
i.e. ≈ 2.85 million dollars.

Sources of Finance:
Property taxation (Collected by the Ministry of Finance).
Transport fees allowance (by the central government).
Rental of Municipal Property.
Garbage fees.
Crafts and License fees.
Building permits.
External contributions.

Main Services Rendered:
Town and street Planning
Building Licenses
Street lightning.
Water and Sewage
Public Markets
Crafts and Businesses
Garbage collection and cleaning
Public health
Other Competences:
Preparing the necessary bylaws
Joint Services Council

Achievements:
Throughout its history, Bethlehem Municipality has succeeded to implement many projects for the benefit of the town and its people. The projects include erecting of streets, opening of schools and kindergartens, construction of public markets, providing services, water, street lightning and sewage, rehabilitation of the old core of Bethlehem, Children Park, library, bus station, purchase of vehicles and equipment.

International Relations
Bethlehem Municipality has extended bridges of friendship and cooperation with numerous cities scattered all over the world. In this context it has signed 47 twinning or cooperation agreements out of which (13) are in Italy.

Political and administrative decentralization
The local governments in Palestine function in an independent way. The Mayor and the Municipal Council have the authority to adopt the various decisions and to implement them within the frame of the governing laws. The Ministry of Local Government however practices the role of guidance supervising and audit. The state Audit and Administrative control bureau has the right to check the performance of the local authorities and guide them to correct procedures and policies whenever necessary.
From its conviction in the importance of the community partnership, Bethlehem municipality has created the so called "Quarters Committees" with representatives from each quarter to serve as a link with the respective citizens and to keep in interconnection with the municipality, its activities and to share opinions, decisions and advices about the various issues concerning the town thus insure sustainability of its work.

Previous Experience in Urban and Strategic Planning
1. The "Permanent Conference of the Historical Cities of the Mediterranean“

2. MOU