More projects are underway in hope of attracting more tourists.

Despite the local efforts, tourism practitioner and experts complain of the increasing Israeli imposed restrictions that scale down the local economy and accessibility sharply.

"Within the Oslo agreement, zone C is an area where we can diversify the tourism projects for Palestinians, where we can go to Palestinian cultural heritage sites and develop it. But this development is very much limited because the Palestinian Authority is not allowed to go and excavate many of its cultural heritage sites for that reason; which is being in zone C, needing Israeli permission and the Israeli permissions are not issued,"said George Rishmawi, a local tourism expert and the executive director of a tourism company, named Abraham's Path.

"On the other hand, the Israelis are very much manipulating good part of Palestinian cultural heritage site," he said.

However, the main attraction to tourists from all over the world remains in the center of the city's main square, which is the Church of Nativity.

Believed to be standing atop of the grotto that has been considered the birthplace of Jesus Christ since the second century A.D., the church has been continuously receiving pilgrims since the 14th century.

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