Well over 20 inches of rain per year is not a desert.
Bethlehem is about 2500 ft. elevation, with higher hills just to the west.
Snow in Bethlehem happens every few years. Makes cool photos, but day temps this time of year aren’t usually bad, but it is rainy, as it was yesterday for the traditional parade (which featured Palestinian bagpipers, BTW).
I stand corrected, but just an hour or two to the west is some of the most desolate country I've ever seen (Jordan, just west of the Dead Sea ... in fact, most of Jordan).
Scripture says "the Israelites grumbled against Moses". Traveling through Jordan toward the Jordan river, I could see why. It makes most parts of Arizona look like a lush garden.