Administrative divisions of Israel
Rating: 8,7/10 (2923 votes)  Republic of Israel – unitary state in the Middle East. According to the official position of the authorities, it has 7 territorial districts, although only 6 of them are recognized by international organizations, including the UN.  Nazareth Northern DistrictNorthern District (mahoz ha-Tsafon), which follows from the name, includes the northern part of the country. The land area is 4,478 square kilometers together with the Golan Heights area. True, the Golan Heights are not recognized by the UN as the territory of Israel. The population of the district is approximately 1,203 thousand people. This district has the largest number of Arabs, they are about 53%. The administrative center is Nazareth. The large settlements include Jezreel, Akko, Safed, Golan, Kinneret. In total, there are seventeen cities in the Northern District of various sizes and importance. The largest freshwater lake Kinneret is located in the district. In addition, Mount Hermon is located in the district, which is covered with snow in winter, thanks to which there is a ski base here. Important: Due to the huge number of Christian shrines, the Northern District of Israel is in second place in the number of pilgrimage tours after Jerusalem. Religious communities in the region consist of different national confessions, including Orthodox Arabs.  Ramla Central DistrictThe capital of the Central District (mahoz ha-Merkaz) is the city of Ramla. The population of the city is 64 thousand people. The largest city — Rishon LeZion. The area of the county is 1,242 square kilometers. The territory of the district is home to 1,613,700 people, mainly the population consists of ethnic Jews. The largest settlements are Ra'anana, Modiin, Lod, Netanya and Rehovot. Lod is considered the criminal capital of Israel. Important: The capital of the district is – Ramle – was founded in the VIII century by the Arab conquerors, and now it is almost the only originally Arab city in historical Palestine. Now Christian Arabs make up the ethnic minority of the city's population. Since 2000, the city of Ramla has been included in the list of twin cities of Russian Chelyabinsk.  Tel Aviv Tel Aviv DistrictTel Aviv is the center of the Tel Aviv District. The district has a small area of about 170 square kilometers, almost the entire territory is occupied by urban quarters. The main population is Jews, who make up 99% of the population, with the exception of the Jaffa regions where Arabs live. According to 2008 data, the population of the district is 1,221,600. There are more than a dozen large cities near Tel Aviv: Holon, Bat Yam, Rishon LeZion, Bnei Brak, Ramat Gan, Petah Tikva , Herzliya and others. Tel Aviv is recognized as the capital of high life in Israel. Tel Aviv is a city in which there are offices of many major corporations, consulates of foreign states, cultural organizations. As for a specific culture – then Tel Aviv is recognized as the homeland of Hebrew as the main language of the Republic of Israel. The capital of the state has about 50 cultural institutions, including: the oldest library of modern Israel, public and private museums, art galleries and exhibition halls.  Jerusalem Jerusalem DistrictJerusalem District (Mahoz Yerushalayim) is located in the interior of the country. It houses the capital of the state of Israel — Jerusalem. It is the largest city in the country. The population in 2009 was 769,400 inhabitants. The district, together with the territory of East Jerusalem, has an area of 652 square kilometers. The population of the district is predominantly made up of ethnic Jews - 67, 9%, a third of the population are Arabs. The total number of inhabitants is 889,300 people. Until today, Jerusalem remains the territory of the collision of three cultures: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. This is partly due to the ethnic composition of the district. Another question – political. A number of Orthodox Jewish activists continue to lobby for the displacement of the Arabs to the periphery. Periodically, this becomes the reason for demonstrations with the use of force on both sides. The second largest city in the country after Jerusalem is Beit Shemesh. Its population is 77,300 people. According to the most conservative estimates, On Christmas and Easter alone, about a million people arrive in the Jerusalem District, providing a stable tourism market for the region. Outside Christian holidays, guests of Jerusalem visit Calvary, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and other major biblical shrines.  Beer Sheva South DistrictSouth District Israel (mahoz ha-Darom) has the largest area - 12,000 square kilometers. At the same time, the population density is the lowest, it is 223.8 people / sq. km with a total population of 1 002 400 people. The administrative capital is Beer Sheva. County's largest city — the port city of Ashdod. The population of the city in 2010 was 207,800 people. Other large cities are Kiryat Gat, Ashkelon, Eilat (located on the Red Sea coast), Rahat, Dimona. There are twelve cities in the district. Almost the entire territory of the district is occupied by the Arav and Negev deserts.  Eilat Judea and SamariaThe disputed territory of Israel, documented in the UN as the West Bank of the Jordan River. Currently, the vast area west of the Jerusalem District is the subject of a principled conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Until 1967, despite the decisive victory of the Israeli army in the 1947-1949 war, the region was under the de facto protectorate of Jordan. And only after a decisive victory in the parliamentary elections of the center-right Likud party the fate of the region was finally decided – Judea was occupied by Israeli troops, which are based there to this day. In fact, all cities, including the capital – Ariel, appeared in Judea and Samaria after the 1970s, and most of them received the status of urban settlements only in the 21st century. The first city in terms of population – Modiin-Illit – it is home to about 40 000 people. As for the national composition of Judea and Samaria – then this is the only region of modern Israel, where more than 80% of the population are ethnic Jews or representatives of other peoples professing traditional Judaism. The number of Muslims in the district in a number of districts is only tens of people. The natural population growth of the district is 7.5%, which is also a kind of record among other Israeli districts, where the increase in the population depends on migration processes. The final status of the region has not yet been determined by the international community. We also recommend reading 7 Eleven Thailand Topic: Administrative divisions of Israel. |
