Beit Jala (Arabic: بيت جالا ) is a Palestinian Christian town in the Bethlehem Governorate of the West Bank. Beit Jala is located 10 km south of Jerusalem, on the western side of the Hebron road, opposite Bethlehem, at 825 meters (2,707 ft) altitude. In 1997, Beit Jala had 12,239 inhabitants, predominantly Christian Palestinians with a Muslim minority, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics.