For those traveling to Israel whom want to visit Bethlehem, you’ll need to carry your passport, however crossing from Bethlehem from Jerusalem, and back is not a difficult matter, especially since the terminal between the two cities has been upgraded by establishing convenient lanes for tourists moving between them.
The Israel Ministry of Tourism has also been promoting cooperation with private Israeli and Palestinian partners to develop the crossing points, and a ministry representative is always present or on call at the border crossing to deal with any unanticipated problems. Besides this those on guided Holyland tours, are accompanied the entire time throughout the crossing, thus having experienced guides that usually know every detail of the border crossing.
Tours to the Holy Land have an interest in visiting Jericho in the Palestinian Authority, this ancient city mentioned in the New Testament lies two miles south, and is reputably one of the oldest cities in the world, and it was in Jericho where in Jesus' day that the Jewish pilgrims from Galilee and Transjordan stopped on their way to Jerusalem. Jericho is also the city where Zaccheus, a hated tax collector, climbed a sycamore tree to get a better view of Jesus (Luke 19:1-10).
Just outside of Jericho, Christian pilgrims can visit the Monastery of Temptation, on the Mount of Temptation, standing on the site where Satan offered Jesus the kingdom of the world (Matthew 4:1-4). Inside the monastery, high on a barren 1333 meter high Judean desert hill, is the cave where Jesus is believed to have stayed during His 40 days stay in the wilderness (Luke 4:2), fasting after His baptism. The monastery can be accessed by visitors by foot or a cable car leading up to the monastery.
Besides Bethlehem, Beit Sahour and Jericho, other sites in the Palestinian Authority that are of interest to Christian pilgrim groups to the Holy Land, include Jacob's Well (John 4:5-6) in Nablus, on the grounds of a Greek Orthodox monastery, where Jesus said to have asked a Samaritan woman to draw water for Him from a well (John 4) , the Byzantine Church Burquin (near Jenin), built to mark the location where Jesus cured the 10 lepers (Luke 17:11-19), the Byzantine church ruins in El Bireh, where Joseph and Mary stopped to rest on their way to Jerusalem, and Sebastia, where Salome is said to have performed her dance of the seven veils, receiving John the Baptist's head in exchange (Mark 6:17-29) .
Another important Palestinian Authority pilgrimage site is Bethany, situated just over the top of the Mount of Olives. The gospels says that Jesus chose to stay in Bethany, rather then Jerusalem itself, when He visited the Jerusalem and that He was particularly close to Lazarus, whose tomb may be visited in Bethany, and his two sisters, Martha and Mary. Today, a modern church built in the early 1950’s stands on the site considered to be the home of Martha, Mary and Lazarus. It contains some very striking modern mosaic work, depicting both the characters themselves and some of the important events recorded in the Gospel that took place in Bethany.