There are six main administrative districts of

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, known in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

as ''mekhozot'' (; singular: ''makhoz'' ) and Arabic as '' mintaqah'' and fifteen sub-districts known as ''nafot'' (; singular: ''nafa'' ). Each sub-district is further divided into

natural regions A natural region (landscape unit) is a basic geographic unit. Usually, it is a region which is distinguished by its common natural features of geography, geology, and climate. From the ecological point of view, the naturally occurring flora and f ...

,Key to the Codes in the Maps - Districts, Sub-Districts and Natural Regions 2018
Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, 2021 cities,

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

, and regional councils it contains. The present division into districts was established in 1953, to replace the divisions inherited from the British Mandate. It has remained substantially the same ever since; a second proclamation of District boundaries issued in 1957 – which remains in force as of 2022 – only affirmed the existing boundaries in place. The figures in this article are based on numbers from the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics and so include all places under Israeli civilian rule including those

Israeli-occupied territories Israeli-occupied territories are the lands that were captured and occupied by Israel during the Six-Day War of 1967. While the term is currently applied to the Palestinian territories and the Golan Heights, it has also been used to refer to ...

where this is the case. Therefore, the Golan sub-district and its four natural regions are included in the number of sub-districts and natural regions even though it is not recognized by the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...

or the international community as Israeli territory. Similarly, the population figure below for the Jerusalem District was calculated including East Jerusalem whose annexation by Israel is similarly not recognized by the United Nations and the international community. The Judea and Samaria Area, however, is not included in the number of districts and sub-districts as Israel has not applied its civilian jurisdiction in that part of the West Bank.

Administration

The districts have no elected institutions of any kind, although they do possess councils composed of representatives of central government ministries and local authorities for planning and building purposes. Their administration is undertaken by a District CommissionerTransfer of Power (District Commissioners and District Officers) Law, 5724-1964, Laws of the State of Israel vol. 18 no 38. (pp. 70-71)
/ref> appointed by the

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

. Each district also has a District Court. Since the District Commissioners are considered part of the Ministry of the Interior's bureaucracy, they can only exercise functions falling within the purview of other ministries if the appropriate Minister authorizes them. This authorization is rarely granted, as other government ministries and institutions (for example, the Ministry of Health and the Police) establish their own divergent systems of districts.

Jerusalem District

Jerusalem District ( he, מְחוֹז יְרוּשָׁלַיִם, ''Mehoz Yerushalayim'') :Population ( 2018): 1,133,700 :Area: 653 km² District capital:

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. Natural regions: * 111 Judean Mountains * 112 Judean Foothills Generali building in Jerusalem

Northern District

Northern District ( he, מְחוֹז הַצָּפוּן, ''Mehoz HaTzafon'') :Population ( 2018): 1,448,100 :Area: 4,473 km² District capital: Nof Hagalil * Tzfat (sub-district)population: 121,200 **211 Hula Valley **212 Eastern Upper Galilee **213 Hazor Region **214 Central Lower Galilee * Kinneret (sub-district)population: 112,900 **221 Kinerot **222 Eastern Lower Galilee * Yizre'el (sub-district)population: 520,100 **231 Bet She’an Valley **232 Harod Valley **233 Kokhav Plateau **234 Yizre’el Valley **235 Yoqne’am Region **236 Menashe Plateau **237 Nazareth-Tir’an Mountains * Akko (sub-district)population: 643,300 **241 Shefar’am Region **242 Karmi’el Region **243 Yehi’am Region **244 Elon Region **245 Nahariyya Region **246 Akko Region *'' Golan (sub-district)''population: 50,600 ** 291 Hermon Region ** 292 Northern Golan ** 293 Middle Golan ** 294 Southern Golan

Haifa District

Haifa District ( he, מְחוֹז חֵיפָה, ''Mehoz Heifa'') :Population ( 2018): 1,032,800 :Area: 866 km² District capital:

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

* Haifa (sub-district)population: 583,400 **311 Haifa Region * Hadera (sub-district)population: 449,300 **321 Karmel Coast **322 Zikhron Ya’aqov Region **323 Alexander Mountain **324 Hadera Region

Central District

Central District (, ''Mehoz HaMerkaz'') :Population ( 2018): 2,196,100 :Area: 1,294 km² District capital: Ramla * Sharon (sub-district)population: 477,400 **411 Western Sharon **412 Eastern Sharon * Petah Tikva (sub-district)population: 754,300 **421 Southern Sharon **422 Petah Tiqwa Region * Ramla (sub-district)population: 351,700 **431 Modi’in Region **432 Ramla Region * Rehovot (sub-district)population: 612,600 **441 Rehovot Region **442 Rishon LeZiyyon Region

Tel Aviv District

Tel Aviv District ( he, מְחוֹז תֵּל־אָבִיב, ''Mehoz Tel Aviv'') :Population ( 2018): 1,427,200 :Area: 172 km² District capital:

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

* 511 Tel Aviv Region * 512 Ramat Gan Region * 513 Holon Region

Southern District

Southern District ( he, מְחוֹז הַדָּרוֹם, ''Mehoz HaDarom'') :Population ( 2018): 1,302,000 :Area: 14,185 km² District Capital:

Beersheba Beersheba or Beer Sheva, officially Be'er-Sheva ( he, בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע, ''Bəʾēr Ševaʿ'', ; ar, بئر السبع, Biʾr as-Sabʿ, Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven), is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. ...

* Ashkelon (sub district)population: 551,200 **611 Mal’akhi Region **612 Lakhish Region **613 Ashdod Region **614 Ashqelon Region * Be'er Sheva (sub-district)population: 750,700 **621 Gerar Region **622 Besor Region **623 Be’er Sheva Region **624 Dead Sea Region **625 Arava Region **626 Northern Negev Mountain **627 Southern Negev Mountain Formerly the Hof Aza Regional Council with a population of around 10,000 Israelis was part of this district, but the Israeli communities that constituted it were evacuated when the disengagement plan was implemented in the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...

. Since the withdrawal, the Coordination and Liaison Administration operates there.

Judea and Samaria Area

Judea and Samaria Area ( he, אֵזוֹר יְהוּדָה וְשׁוֹמְרוֹן , ''Ezor Yehuda VeShomron'') :Israeli Population ( 2018): 427,800 :

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

/ Bedouin population: 40,000. (excludes Area A and B). Largest city:

Modi'in Illit Modi'in Illit ( he, מוֹדִיעִין עִלִּית; ar, موديعين عيليت, lit. "Upper Modi'in") is a Haredi Israeli settlement and city in the West Bank, situated midway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Modi'in Illit was grante ...

The name ''Judea and Samaria'' for this geographical area is based on terminology from the

and other sources relating to ancient

and Judah/

Judea Judea or Judaea ( or ; from he, יהודה, Standard ''Yəhūda'', Tiberian ''Yehūḏā''; el, Ἰουδαία, ; la, Iūdaea) is an ancient, historic, Biblical Hebrew, contemporaneous Latin, and the modern-day name of the mountainous so ...

. The territory has been under Israeli control since the 1967

Six-Day War The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states (primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan) from 5 to 10 ...

but not annexed by Israel, pending negotiations regarding its status. It is part of historic Israel, which leads to politically contentious issues. However, it is not recognized as part of the

State of Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

by the

and most nations. There are no sub-districts and no natural regions in the Judea and Samaria Area.

Notes

* *

References

External links

Central Bureau of Statistics
detailed breakdown of each district, sub-district, and natural region. {{Articles on second-level administrative divisions of Asian countries Subdivisions of Israel Israel, Districts Israel 1 Districts, Israel Israel geography-related lists