Nearly all travellers arrive via Jerusalem. Since Bethlehem is administered by the Palestinian Authority, an Israeli military checkpoint stands on the road connecting the two locations. If entering from Jerusalem, one must pass through the "Rachel's Crossing" Israeli checkpoint into Bethlehem. One simply flashes his/her passport to an Israeli soldier, places his/her bags into an x-ray machine, and then walks through a metal detector, much like airport security, to get into/exiting Bethlehem. As with all areas under Palestinian Authority control, Israeli law forbids Israeli citizens to enter unless they receive approval from the Israeli Civil Administration. Currently, groups of peace-supporting Israelis are applying to the Israeli Civil Administration to make monthly, coordinated visits to Palestinian cities in order to meet with and make friendly relations with Palestinians in Palestinian cities. For more information, visit the . Tourists are free to enter and exit the checkpoint to Bethlehem and back to Jerusalem as many times as he or she would like without any restrictions. Make sure you bring your passport with your Israeli-issued tourist visa to enter and exit the Palestinian areas.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Bethlehem
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Bethlehem - updated Apr 2024
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Bethlehem Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
