Beit Sahur

Beit Sahour is a Palestinian town east of Bethlehem under the administration of the Palestinian National Authority. The population of approximately 14,000 is 80% Christian and 20% Muslim.Modern Beit Sahour is also known as Beit Sahur an-Nasara, or Beit Sahour al-Wadi.Another former village near Jerusalem known as Beit Sahur al-Atiqah is fully distinct from the town of Beit Sahour and is only mentioned here for technical reasons.

Christian tradition holds Beit Sahour to be the site of the Annunciation to the shepherds, Judean shepherds, but the Christian Palestinian occupants are being driven out of the town, as Israeli settlements occupy land and Israeli courts rule Palestinian homes as illegal and subject to demolition.There are two enclosures in the eastern part of Beit Sahour that are claimed by different Christian denominations to be the actual 'Shepherds Field': one belonging to the Greek Orthodox Church and the other, the Catholic site, to the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land.