Complex sentence: The activity of foreign churches in the late 19th century increased awareness of prosperity in the global West and residents of Ramallah and Bethlehem, a few miles south, began to seek their fortunes overseas.
Split into simpler sentences: The activity of foreign churches in Palestine in the late 19th century increased awareness of prosperity in the West. In Ramallah and Bethlehem, a few miles south, local residents began to seek their fortunes overseas.