i love him and i will miss him. >> that's our story. merry christmas to all and happy new year. charles my friend, we miss you. ♪ ♪ >> this is bethlehem, the birthplace of and the sight of the very first christmas. millions of christians come here every year to worship and today the site remains contested under palestinian authority control, walled off from jerusalem. we drive away from the church in bethlehem, moving back towards israel and you see this. a massive wall with guard towers, a wall separates area a,

palestinian controlled area, and area c, on the other side. for palestinians and israelis, this wall is of the heart of the battle in bethlehem. there is a story and we will bring it to you. at the battle of bethlehem starts right now. ♪ >> to truly understand the battle of bethlehem, you first have to understand theem significance of this holy study. ♪ >> at christmas time the thoughts of people everywhere go back to the little town of bethlehem where was born. where the glad tidings first were heard and while the

shepherds watched their flocks. >> the mary and joseph arrived here. there was no room for them at the end so they stay behind me where the baby jesus was born in bethlehem. the beginning ofinhr christianin the state of israel. the manger was actually in a cave which became a shrine, and in the year 3:30 a.d., the first christian roman emperor emperor constantine built a church above it. we were invited in for an exclusive luck. >> hello.>> thank you so much for having me. you're going to show us the church today? >> the church of the nativity. the church originally goes back to the sixth century and then it was made smaller to the point of art in the middle, and afterwards the door was made much smaller at this level going back to the 16th century.

>> the entrance became what was called the door of humility in the year 1500 during the ottoman empire. it was meant to ensure that those entering the basilica first dismounted their horses, but the small passageway has ensured humility by forcing visitors to bow before entering the site where god became man. >> this is the main part of the church. this church was built on the fourth century, 325 a.d. the second comes the one you see today is that from 540 a.d. >> for the most part, that's one of the youngest churches in the world.

>> a silver manger was installed, most of the original design was destroyed in 529 a.d. during the samaritan rebellion. >> the church is a nativity with three different denominations. each day for the catholic church at 12 noon there is a procession down to the cave, the birthplace of jesus. so you can o see day by day, evy single day at the same time, catholics are honoring this holy place. the birth place of jesus christ. ♪ right now we are going into the main entrance of the major.

♪ >> this is the main entrance, and on the right side there was an altar. this altar -- we have the silver star. this is the point to mark the very spot where jesus was born. it has 14 points to the star which marks the 14 generations in the bible from abraham to david. >> king david also having been born in bethlehem.g so if you were to take all of this way you would see a humblee manger scene, mary and joseph, and the animals. >> this was a stable. and this is an act of a sign of worship. >> it's been controlled over the years by many different christians and muslims, armies

and crusaders, everyone reviewed this place. it's universally e known as the birthplace of jesus. is it okay for me to say a prayer? >> yes, sure. ♪ >> the church of the nativity in bethlehem, where the story of christmas began, when behold there came wise men from the east to jerusalem. mary brought forth her first son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger. >> this was the place for the baby was laid into the manger. so that's a place where she gave birth. >> this is where the manger was where he laid. >> yes. >> the church of the nativity

for long centuries, the world shrine for the celebration of christmas. ♪ >> at christmas there is no more significant spots than this place. every year on december 24 at midnight, the midnight mass where christians from around the world come here to celebrate. ♪ >> today this site, bethlehem is controlled by the palestinian authority and the number of christians here is dwindling. every day of the year includings

christmas eve and christmas day, here in manger square in the shadow of the church of nativity, the mosque of omar blasts to call the prayer five times per day with two speakers straight at the church of the nativity. friday afternoon prayers, in case there is any questions as to whether this is a christian or muslim city. the majority population here in bethlehem by far. ♪ >> in many ways, the square in the center of bethlehem in one of its top tourist destinations is the defining system, symbol for the historical divine

between christianity and islam. and the adjoining church of sainst. catherine housing a monastery. completed in 1860 and named for the second column, omar bin al cutoff. since israel, key conflicts played out, defining crucial moments in its history from the six-day war in 1967 to a five week siege by palestinian islamists in 52 which began in major square. as the second raged, israeli launched its defense shield and urged bethlehem to capture a suspected palestinian terrorists. dozens of them fled to major square and entered the church. they claimed that over 200

months and visitors were held hostage by the gunmen as israeli defense moved in. they eventually had hostages released and they islam's to surrender. the square is best known however for the manger that it's named after. in the christian celebrations that continue to make it a magnet for christian pilgrims, even as the number of christians living in bethlehem itself continues to dwindle. apple. two medical societies have strongly recommended to doctors

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♪ located about >> located about 6 miles south of jerusalem, bethlehem is best known for being the birthplace of jesus christ but the history of bethlehem goes back much further than that. first inhabited more than 3,000 years ago by the canaanites, it sits in the land of what would come to be known as judea, and according to the old testament it's where david was born and eventually crowned king of the israelites. >> it was divided among the various and that united the entire nation of israel which placed the nation as its capital. they were exiled in 70 a.d. by the romans.

>> the romans, muslim caliphate's and crusading christian armies. the city was destroyed and rebuilt many times with the jewish people always seeking to return. it was under the muslim conquest in the year 1637 and told a christian crusades of 1099 and again ass part of the ottoman empire. after the surrender of 1920 come bethlehem became part of what was part of the british mandate of palestine. >> menaced by the right of the arabs, british troops escorting them to a place of safety under military protection. >> the british were tasked with the jewish and arab communities the rights to run their own internal affairs. it did not go well. >> judea, time hallowed kingdom of the but hence the clash, and arab reign of terror was

fighting and follows the petition scheme to divide palestine between arabs and the jews. in 1937 the u.n. general assembly adopted resolution to personally partition the area. >> the resolution was adopted. >> on may 14, 1938 the state of israel was established. >> history was made as the jewish state of israel was born. the jewish people have a nation of their own. >> it didn't last long, immediately its arab neighbors attacked. >> the egyptian army passed into palestine and the moment the british mandate ended and the jewish state began. >> the 1948 arab-israeli war left bethlehem under geordie and control along with much of israel. >> all of the arab countries invaded israel the moment and they had a stated goal to prevent the creation of any

jewish country in this area. they failed but succeeded in part, they managed to occupy some of the territory that had been set aside by the league of nationsad for the jewish state d they occupied that territory for 19 years. in that territory went by the historic name judea. >> also called the green line became the demarcation between israel and the large area controlled by the jordanians. >> west bank, not for 19 years of jordanians controlled it and in 1967 israel managed to liberated and take it back. >> in june of 1967, israel fought the six-day war between jordan and syria. the brief but bloodied battle was one of the most consequential wars in history. by the end of the week judea and samaria including bethlehem was back under israeli control.

yitzhak rabin and palestinian leader gas yasser arafat signed a series of agreements called the oslo accords which called for withdrawal of israeli troops in six cities in about 450 towns. and the establishment of a palestinian government and police force. >> they created the palestinian authority and a government for palestinians which was divided into three sectors. so, that gave israel somee complete civil reinspectio rest. the palestinian authority is a government there and also in gaza. in area c we have all of the jewish communities, and areas a and b are ready, there is not a single jew. >> huge red signs warning israelis in hebrew, arabic and

english that entry is forbidden, dangerous to their lives and illegal under israeli law. crossing from one area into another is like crossing from one country to another and many palestinians are unable to do it at all. >> we are in bethlehem right now going into a checkpoint, and it's heavily fortified. big-time inspections of vehicl vehicles. >> checkpoints are inspections that happen when a palestinian wants to go from palestinian territory into israel often to have a job. just as any for national entering into any otherth place. >> the security situationec intensified after september of 2,000 when israeli prime minister ariel sharon visited a hotly contested holy site claimed by both muslims and. the visit sparked palestinian

riots and it led to what was called the second uprising. violence and terror attacks increased and as a result israel began building a massive security barrier. >> this wall separates the city of bethlehem and a largely pin palestinian town. it's a point of great controversy. palestinians here believe it put them in a prison, while them off nwith occupation and not an opportunity to be part of the country. >> checkpoints are only imposed on a security basis. the four palestinians, you could go from one place to another without interruption. >> major general in anna drove is that israel's former national

security advisor. >> in 2002 we had 122 casualties in israel which had been murdered in one month. it's 1500 yearly. and that's because we lost control in those areas and we understood that we could not let the palestinians come into israel. >> they were coming every day, the wall saved lives. >> not surprisingly, palestinians see it differently. >> i don't understand how you can say that checkpoints are not for security. if there was no threat for israeli settlers then there wouldn't be checkpoints. but there are checkpoints. >>. there is no security threat,

to the contrary. >> when you say there is no security threat in the country, because there is a wall -- >> no. the wall, -- >> they had suicide bombings almost immediately. >> anybody wants to sneak in, it's easy to do. hundreds of thousands of palestinian workers, the wall is not bringing any security. >> it's just on the side to come at the boutique hotel was built as a protest of the wall and what palestinians consider occupation. with the secret of street artist to banksy, whose art can be found on both the wall and in the hotel. >> the idea of this hotel is to

highlight some issues, for example the fight in israel in 2002. it highlights the issue of occupation, under occupation. so what we have tried to do here is to educate the visitors, the children who come to bethlehem about our life. >> it's amazing. >> this was presented by banksy. he did this one, and also thinking about the broken heart. as well as that thought. this water tank was hit and so the whole artwork here, to have such a beautiful room, a fancy

room facing one of the worst in the world. our hotel is the worst few in the world. most of israel doesn't know anything about us and what they hear of us is exactly what you americans here in the news about us which is, we are trying to change that in a very positive way. >> what do you say to israelisae who say well, without this, terrorism would come to where we live? >> i don't think this has anything to do with the securi security. it's a wall to control the people of palestine. we live in open air prison and one israeli soldier can control the movement of almost 250,000 people that live in bethlehem.

and this is how we live. >> is this a two state solution or no israel at all? >> this is where most people, palestinians and israelites can live together. it's not a solution. >> if you look at the results, today we have 1% of casualties we had before the operation. cer that has spread and that tests positive for pd-l1 and does not have an abnormal egfr or alk gene. it's the first and only approved chemo-free combination of two immunotherapies that works together in different ways

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>> i'm ashley strohmier. the city of nashville plunged into chaos after a recreational vehicle exploded on christmas morning. police are responding to reports of shots fired in a the rv broadcasting a warning saying the bomb would detonate in 3 minutes. three people are stable tonight after being hurt and investigators are saying they found what could be human remains of the scene. the blast shattered the windows in several shops and offices. police say the blast was deliberate but no motive or target so far. the fta suspending flights in

and out of the city because communication is, issues. the mayor has issued a curfew for the surrounding area that ends at 4:00 p.m. on sunday. i hope you guys have a very merry christmas at home. i'm ashley strohmier. back now to battle in bethlehem. watch us for all the headlines on foxnews.com. ♪ >> down the ancient alleyways of the old city as a coffee shop. let's call it starbucks inspired. after making my iced coffee, the gowner wanted to chat about life in bethlehem. >> only because we are now just talking, and also nothing has changed. >> when you say jail, what do you mean? >> we live in a big jail, you

must have permission to go that way. >> we don't have and we are still. under the commission, and we want this, but really we want this, not just talking. >> neighboring bethlehem is palestinian christian town that's divided by the wall. >> used to come, and there was -- and they shot at the jewish neighborhood of jerusal jerusalem. they were using christians as a human shield and today it's divided into areas a, b and c.

they are much more secure, christians live in the same town under area a. >> we are in area literacy under the controlled district. and that's under control of the palestinian authority. >> you can see some of the wall snaking over in downtown bethlehem. for christians it's fairly complex. christians are a minority in greater bethlehem. the muslim population and the christian population often clash. so it's not uncommon to hear, shall we say, i'm kind of sentiments, expressed by one toward the other. >> an unkind sentiment is one thing but for christians who have been effectively pushed out ofn bethlehem, something more than unkind words is happening

to these questions. >> you will hear two narratives. what you hear from the h pro-palestinian point of view is that christians have fled because of israel. that's actually shifting the blame because what has happened is that christians here have found it in increasingly difficult to live to do business.e the way things are done here with the police and the courts, that subject to the authority. >> so the passing authority, muslims are using their systems and structures to squeeze out the christians, is that fair? ti>> i think it's fair but has more to do with the ideological conflict between muslims and christianity. >> it's not easy to get them on camera. we had trouble. and we will continue to do so. i talked with some very good friends here and he said if i talk on camera i probably have to leave. basically life becomes too difficult.

>> in fact we had multiple interviews set up with business owners in bethlehem and all backed out at the last minute. even if they have to disguise their identities. >> my can't christians under palestinian authority speak out? >> they can speak but they may not tell the truth. they are not going to say they are in danger for the palestinian government. people who are in danger don't say so. >> this is a palestinian christian who teaches at bethlehem and he disputes the narrative. >> the stuff that we have seen show that the population has dramatically plummeted, under 10% today. >> it can only pressure, it's different than pointing a gun and saying everybody leave. when you have economic

pressures, they need more than those without. >> are you worried that it as a christian's have moved out, they were a majority and now they are a small minority that because of poor economic conditions, less fertile ground for radicalism? >> some palestinians are terrorists and some israelis are also terrorists, many. so what does that make? do you want to solve the problem or you do just want to throw labels at people? how do you solve the problem when you are 13 million palestinians in the t world? do you think they will forget that this is their country? this is their country. so i got hearing aids. my vision was not as good as it used to be, got a change in prescription. but the this missing was my memory. i saw a prevagen commercial and i thought,

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>> jesus christ, the savior of christianity. was he a or palestinian? inside the church of nativity there's no confusion but out

here on the states of bethlehem there is another narrative. >> when you go into major square inin bethlehem you can see that the palestinian authority has co-opted and made him a palestinian. his suffering is symbolic of the suffering of palestinians under israel. so as long as christians are willing to allow or even promotn this narrative, they are okay. christians who promote that is the son of david, a in the messiah and seriously worship him, they are the ones that have a problem. >> was a or was a palestinian? >> if you study that, he is palestinian. >> but for christians it's noted time and time again and he

worshiped at the holy temple. >> he is born here. >> do you believe was a or palestinian? >> he came long after. >> that means somebody from judeo. this is. judea. where they are is judeo. he was from nazareth. 2,000 years ago it was not a religious designation. so if you ask was a jew by geo geographic designation, the answer is no. he was nasrin. is he a by religion? only in the third century did he become known as judaism is a religion. ideauld be carrying this that was a palestinian. >> that's not true.

you cannot find this anywhere in the bible. was a and no one can deny that. how can you deny the birth of from the virgin mary? virgin mary, she's from nazareth and her father and family, theyr are well known by jewish people. >> so why did they deny it? >> politics. when you play politics you can say whatever you want to say. but that doesn't mean you are t right. as a time to celebrate america. you can do that with us by streaming fox nation.

>> here in the old city of bethlehem where every year millions of christians make the pilgrimage to the birthplace of jesus. especially at christmas and easter. we came across one individual that had a special skill. we decided to pay a visit. >> how are you doing. good to see you. should we do it? ♪ how many years have you been

doing this? >> 17 years. >> 17 years. >> yep. >> how did people respond whenpo they said, i'm going to see a tattoo artist in bethlehem? >> when i started everyone was against me. >> your family, religious leaders? >> religious leaders, -- >> it's forbidden in judaism and islam, right? >> yes. >> so as a christian, it's not forbidden but this is not a majority christian town right now. >> well, we are 1% right now. 1%. >> we've heard 8%, 10% and you are saying closer to 1%? why is that? >> situations. >> i understand you have to be careful but is it economic or religious or political or all of

them? >> it's a little bit better than other years. but you want to live good. they want an open country. that's why they go. >> are you going to stay in bethlehem? >> i'm going to stay in bethlehem, because we can't leave. we are 1% here. if i leave, who's going to stay here? >> so you are worried if all the christians go they might not see any christians in bethlehem? >> this is where was born. every christians i.d. came from here. >> christians that make the pilgrimage here. why do you think a tattoo is something they really want to

get? >> it's the holy name. when beginning here they went across, some people think if they didn't get the cross they didn't finish their journey. >> what's it like for you? >> that's very special. i thank god every day that i'm here. >> i just think overall, it's a tough environment. >> for me, i don't have a problem with that. >> but you want to live. >> bingo. look at that right there.

>> thank you very much. a real authentic bethlehem tattoo and as good as anything i've ever had in the states, i'll tell you that.

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♪ >> so, what is the future for bethlehem and the middle east? >> this conference has been going on for well over 70 years. the idea that a solution is going to magically spring out of a box i think is mistaken. >> is the two state solution even viable? >> israelis don't like the solution, palestinians don't like the solution. what problem is that a solution to? >> for many, the situation in the gaza strip. >> the results was -- the

elections. >> in a rare show of force, hamas is prepared for battle. in addition to these weapons, hamas fighters have an arsenal of rockets they fired into southern israel on a monthly or sometimes weekly basis. >> think of all the situations that might happen in the future if you lose control of the westn banks, and hamas would be elected. rockets, missiles coming from gaza. >> today we are more powerful, and god willing we will teach t these israelis hard lesson. we have the security in the future. >> leaders in israel say they wouldhe want to live peacefully

but especially when it comes to hamas, how do you exist with the group that seeks your destruction? >> they have over 100 years of resistance and as i am the vision hundreds of massacres. my point is, you need to stop trying to pin radicalism to one group and forget that there is extremism and radicalism in another group. >> and so in bethlehem as time moves forward, but here they can still feel timeless. as people go about their daily lives, their lives are shaped by international politics and intractable religious beliefs and 3,000 years of complicated

history. under the surface, the battle from bethlehem continues. ♪ >> hello, everyone, i'm dana perino out along with jesse watters, greg gutfeld, and geraldo rivera. this is "the five. ♪ >> dana: merry christmas everyone, we are excited to have you join us for our fun filled christmas special. santa and all his reindeer are not the only ones who have been busy getting ready for this big day. you've also joined in on the celebration by sending us tons of female questions and we will get to them now. here we go with the first one.