Bethlehem
Bethlehem (Bayt Lahm) Town on the w bank of the River Jordan, 8km (5mi) ssw of Jerusalem, administered by the Palestinian National Authority since 1994. The traditional birthplace of Jesus Christ, it was the home of King David and the site of the biblical Massacre of the Innocents. The Church of the Nativity, built by Constantine in ad 330, is the oldest Christian church still in use. Part of the Ottoman Empire from 1571 to 1916, then in British-administered Palestine, Jordan gained the town in 1948. Israel occupied Bethlehem in the Six-Day War (1967). Industries: tourism. Pop. (1997) 21,947.
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Bethlehem
