The Bethlehem Governorate ( ar, محافظة بيت لحم, Muḥāfaẓat Bayt Laḥm) is one of 16
Governorates of Palestine
The Governorates of Palestine are the administrative divisions of the State of Palestine.
After the signing of the Oslo Accords, the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip were divided into three areas ( Area A, Area B, and Area C) and 16 gov ...
. It covers an area of the
West Bank
The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
, south of
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
. Its principal city and district capital is
Bethlehem
Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...
. According to the
Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics
The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS; ar, الجهاز المركزي للإحصاء الفلسطيني) is the official
statistical institution of the State of Palestine. Its main task is to provide credible statistical figures ...
, its population was estimated to 199,463 in 2012.
Geography
According to
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is a United Nations (UN) body established in December 1991 by the General Assembly to strengthen the international response to complex emergencies and natural disaster ...
(OCHA), the governorate has a total area of around 660 km². Due to the occupation by Israel, Palestinians can only use 13% of the area and much of that is fragmented as of May 2009.
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine ( ar, الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير فلسطين, translit=al-Jabhah al-Sha`biyyah li-Taḥrīr Filasṭīn, PFLP) is a secular Palestinian Marxist–Leninist and revolutionary so ...
The governorate consists of 10 municipalities, 3 refugee camps, and 58 rural districts.
Municipalities
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Battir
Battir ( ar, بتير) is a Palestinian village in the West Bank, 6.4 km west of Bethlehem, and southwest of Jerusalem. In 2017, the village had a population of 4,696. In 2014, Battir was inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage Site as a "wo ...
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Beit Fajjar
Beit Fajjar ( ar, بيت فجّار) is a Palestinian town located eight kilometers south of Bethlehem in the Bethlehem Governorate, in the central West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of o ...
Beit Sahour
Beit Sahour or Beit Sahur ( ar, بيت ساحور pronounced ; Palestine grid 170/123) is a Palestinian town east of Bethlehem, in the Bethlehem Governorate of the State of Palestine. The city is under the administration of the Palestinian Nation ...
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Bethlehem
Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...
Husan
Husan ( ar, حوسان) is a Palestinian town located west of Bethlehem, in the Bethlehem Governorate. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Husan had a population of 5,511 in 2007.
In the 1945 statistics the population o ...
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al-Khader
Al-Khader ( ar, الخضر) is a Palestinian town in the Bethlehem Governorate of the State of Palestine, in the south-central West Bank. It is located west of Bethlehem. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had ...
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Nahalin
Nahalin, also spelled Nahaleen, ( ar, نحالين) is a Palestinian village located in the Bethlehem Governorate to the southwest of Bethlehem in the West Bank. The word ''nahaleen'' is Arabic for those who collect honey from bees. The village was ...
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Tuqu'
:''Khirbet ad-Deir, part of Teqoa, should not be confused with Khirbet ad-Deir in Hebron Governorate.''
Teqoa ( ar, تقوع, also spelled Tuquʿ) is a Palestinian town in the Bethlehem Governorate, located southeast of Bethlehem in the West ...
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al-Ubeidiya
Al-Ubeidiya ( ar, العبيدية) is a Palestinian town located east of Bethlehem. The town is a part of the Bethlehem Governorate in the central West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), al-Ubeidiya had a p ...
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Za'atara
Za'atara ( ar, زعترة) is a Palestinian town located southeast of Bethlehem. The town is in the Bethlehem Governorate central West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of over 6,289 in 2007 ...
Artas
ARTAS (ATM suRveillance Tracker And Server) is a system designed by Eurocontrol to operationally support Aerial surveillance and Air traffic control by establishing an accurate Air Situation Picture of all traffic over a pre-defined geographical ...
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al-Asakra
Al-Asakra ( ar, العساكرة) is a Palestinian village in the Bethlehem Governorate in the south-central West Bank, located 4.5 kilometers southeast of Bethlehem. It is a part of the Jannatah municipality. According to the Palestinian Central ...
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Beit Sakariya
Khirbet Beit Zakariyyah (variants: Beit Iskâria, Khirbet Zakariah, Beit Skâria) is a small Palestinian village in the West Bank, perched on a hill that rises about above sea level. It is located in between the larger Israeli settlements of Al ...
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Beit Ta'mir
Beit Ta'mir ( ar, خربة بيت تعمر) is a Palestinian village located six kilometers southeast of Bethlehem.The town is in the Bethlehem Governorate central West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the village ha ...
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Dar Salah
Dar Salah ( ar, دار صلاح) is a Palestinian village located east of Bethlehem. The village is in the Bethlehem Governorate Southern West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the village had a population of 3,373 i ...
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Hindaza
Hindaza ( ar, هندازة) is a Palestinian territories, Palestinian village located six kilometers south-east of Bethlehem. The village is in the Bethlehem Governorate Southern West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, ...
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al 'Iqab
AL, Al, Ål or al may stand for:
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Al (Aladdin), Al (''Aladdin'') or Aladdin, the main character in Disney's ''Aladdin'' media
* Al (EastEnders), Al (''EastEnders''), a minor character in the British ...
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Jab'a
Jab'a ( ar, الجبعة) is a Palestinian village in the central West Bank, located 17 kilometers north of Hebron and 15 kilometers southwest of Bethlehem. Located three kilometers east of the Green Line, it is located in the Seam Zone, surroun ...
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Juhdum
Juhdum is a Palestinian village located eight kilometers east of Bethlehem.The village is in the Bethlehem Governorate Southern West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the village had a population of 1,391 in mid-year ...
Kisan
The Kus Indian Sut Asla Nicaragua ra (Nicaraguan Coast Indian Unity), better known by its acronym KISAN, was a rebel organization formed in 1985 to unify the struggle of the Miskito Indians and other indigenous peoples of Nicaragua's Atlantic Coas ...
Marah Rabah
Marah Rabah is a Palestinian village located twelve kilometers south of Bethlehem. The village is in the Bethlehem Governorate central West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of over 1,320 in ...
Umm Salamuna
Umm Salamuna ( ar, خربة ام سلمونة) is a Palestinian village located twelve kilometers South-west of Bethlehem. The village is in the Bethlehem Governorate in the southern West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statist ...
Wadi Fukin
Wadi Fukin ( ar, وادي فوقين) is a Palestinian village in the West Bank, eight kilometers southwest of Bethlehem in the Bethlehem Governorate. The village, is located on 700 acres of land, between the Green Line and the Israeli West Bank ...
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al-Walaja
Al-Walaja ( ar, الولجة) is a Palestinian village in the West Bank, four kilometers northwest of Bethlehem. It is an enclave in the Seam Zone, near the Green Line. Al-Walaja is partly under the jurisdiction of the Bethlehem Governorate ...
Refugee camps
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Aida
''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 December ...
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'Azza
Azza ( ar, مخيم العزة; also spelled ''Azzeh'', ''Azzah'' or ''Alazzeh'') also known as Beit Jibrin Camp ( ar, مخيم بيت جبرين) is a Palestinian refugee camp in the Bethlehem Governorate located within the city of Bethlehem. It ...