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 Minṭaqah ( ; plural ''manāṭiq'' ) is a first-level administrative division in Saudi Arabia and Chad and for a second-level administrative division in several other Arab countries. It is often translated as ''region'' or ''district'', but th ...

'' 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 A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

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 The Israel Central Bureau of Statistics ( he, הלשכה המרכזית לסטטיסטיקה, ''HaLishka HaMerkazit LiStatistika''; ar, دائرة الإحصاء المركزية الإسرائيلية), abbreviated CBS, is an Israeli government ...

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 harmonizi ...

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 The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

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 The Jerusalem District ( he, מחוז ירושלים; ar, منطقة القدس) is one of the six administrative districts of Israel. The district capital is Jerusalem. The Jerusalem District has a land area of 652 km2. The population of ...

( 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 The Judaean Mountains, or Judaean Hills ( he, הרי יהודה, translit=Harei Yehuda) or the Hebron Mountains ( ar, تلال الخليل, translit=Tilal al-Khalīl, links=, lit=Hebron Mountains), is a mountain range in Palestine and Israel wh ...

* 112

Judean Foothills 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 sou ...

Northern District

Northern District ( he, מְחוֹז הַצָּפוּן, ''Mehoz HaTzafon'') :Population ( 2018): 1,448,100 :Area: 4,473 km² District capital:

Nof Hagalil Nof HaGalil ( he, נוֹף הַגָּלִיל, lit. ''View of Galilee''; ar, نوف هچليل) is a city in the Northern District of Israel with a population of . Nof HaGalil was founded in 1957 as Nazareth Illit ( he, נָצְרַת עִלִ� ...

* Tzfat (sub-district)population: 121,200 **211

Hula Valley The Hula Valley ( he, עמק החולה, Romanization of Hebrew, translit. ''Emek Ha-Ḥula''; also transliterated as Huleh Valley, ar, سهل الحولة) is an agriculture, agricultural region in northern Israel with abundant fresh water, ...

**212

Eastern Upper Galilee Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

**213

Hazor Region Hazor or Hatzor ( he, חצור) may refer to: Places * Hatzor, a kibbutz in Be'er Tuvia Regional Council, Southern District, Israel * Hatzor Airbase, an Israeli Air Force military air base * Hazor HaGelilit, a town in northern Israel near Rosh Pin ...

**214

Central Lower Galilee Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

* Kinneret (sub-district)population: 112,900 **221 Kinerot **222

Eastern Lower Galilee Eastern may refer to: Transportation * China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 * Eastern Air ...

* Yizre'el (sub-district)population: 520,100 **231 Bet She’an Valley **232

Harod Valley The Harod Valley ( he, עמק חרוד, Emek Harod) is a valley in the Northern District of Israel. It is the eastern part of the Jezreel Valley,a transitional zone that extends to the Beit She'an Valley. From south it locked by Mount Gilboa and ...

**233 Kokhav Plateau **234 Yizre’el Valley **235 Yoqne’am Region **236

Menashe Plateau Manasses or Manasseh (;churchofjesuschris ...

**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 Elon commonly refers to Elon Musk. Elon may also refer to: People * Elon (name), a given name and surname Places in the United States * Elon, Iowa, an unincorporated community * Elon, North Carolina, a town * Elon, Virginia, an unincorporated c ...

**245

Nahariyya Region Nahariya ( he, נַהֲרִיָּה, ar, نهاريا) is the northernmost coastal city in Israel. In it had a population of . Etymology Nahariya takes its name from the stream of Ga'aton (river is ''nahar'' in Hebrew), which bisects it. His ...

**246

Akko Region Acre ( ), known locally as Akko ( he, עַכּוֹ, ''ʻAkō'') or Akka ( ar, عكّا, ''ʻAkkā''), is a city in the coastal plain region of the Northern District of Israel. The city occupies an important location, sitting in a natural harb ...

*'' Golan (sub-district)''population: 50,600 ** 291

Hermon Region Mount Hermon ( ar, جبل الشيخ or جبل حرمون / ALA-LC: ''Jabal al-Shaykh'' ("Mountain of the Sheikh") or ''Jabal Haramun''; he, הַר חֶרְמוֹן, ''Har Hermon'') is a mountain cluster constituting the southern end of th ...

** 292

Northern Golan Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a r ...

** 293

Middle Golan Middle or The Middle may refer to: * Centre (geometry), the point equally distant from the outer limits. Places * Middle (sheading), a subdivision of the Isle of Man * Middle Bay (disambiguation) * Middle Brook (disambiguation) * Middle Creek ( ...

** 294 Southern Golan

Haifa District

Haifa District Haifa District ( he, מחוז חיפה, ''Mehoz Ḥeifa''; ar, منطقة حيفا) is an administrative district surrounding the city of Haifa, Israel. The district is one of the seven administrative districts of Israel, and its capital is Ha ...

( 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 metropoli ...

* 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 Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

**324

Hadera Region Hadera ( he, חֲדֵרָה ) is a city located in the Haifa District of Israel, in the northern Sharon region, approximately 45 kilometers (28 miles) from the major cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa. The city is located along 7 km (5& ...

Central District

Central District (, ''Mehoz HaMerkaz'') :Population ( 2018): 2,196,100 :Area: 1,294 km² District capital:

Ramla Ramla or Ramle ( he, רַמְלָה, ''Ramlā''; ar, الرملة, ''ar-Ramleh'') is a city in the Central District of Israel. Today, Ramle is one of Israel's mixed cities, with both a significant Jewish and Arab populations. The city was ...

* Sharon (sub-district)population: 477,400 **411

Western Sharon Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

**412

Eastern Sharon Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

* 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 Rehovot ( he, רְחוֹבוֹת ''Rəḥōvōt'', ar, رحوڤوت ''Reḥūfūt'') is a city in the Central District of Israel, about south of Tel Aviv. In it had a population of . Etymology Israel Belkind, founder of the Bilu movement, ...

**442 Rishon LeZiyyon Region

Tel Aviv District

Tel Aviv District The Tel Aviv District ( he, מָחוֹז תֵּל אָבִיב; ar, منطقة تل أبيب) is the smallest and most densely populated of the six administrative districts of Israel with a population of 1.35 million residents. It is 98.9% Jewi ...

( 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 , wiktionary:בית, :he:בית, house * * * * E , wiktionary:עין, spring, fountain * * , wiktionary:עמק, :he:עמק, valley * G , wiktionary:גן, :he:גן, "garden" * , wiktionary:גבעה, :he:גבעה ...

* 513

Holon Region Holon ( he, חוֹלוֹן ) is a city on the central coastal strip of Israel, south of Tel Aviv. Holon is part of the metropolitan Gush Dan area. In it had a population of . Holon has the second-largest industrial zone in Israel, after Haifa. ...

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 Hevel Lakhish ( he, חבל לכיש, lit. ''Lakhish Region'') is an area of south-central Israel. Part of the southern Shephelah, it is located between the Judean Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea and is named after the Biblical city of Lac ...

**613

Ashdod Region Ashdod ( he, ''ʾašdōḏ''; ar, أسدود or إسدود ''ʾisdūd'' or '' ʾasdūd'' ; Philistine: 𐤀𐤔𐤃𐤃 *''ʾašdūd'') is the sixth-largest city in Israel. Located in the country's Southern District, it lies on the Mediterran ...

**614 Ashqelon Region * Be'er Sheva (sub-district)population: 750,700 **621

Gerar Region Gerar ( ''Gərār'', "lodging-place") was a Philistine town and district in what is today south central Israel, mentioned in the Book of Genesis and in the Second Book of Chronicles of the Hebrew Bible. Identification According to the Internatio ...

**622

Besor Region The Besor ( he, נחל הבשור, ''Nahal HaBesor'') is a wadi in southern Israel. The stream begins at Mount Boker (near Sde Boker), and spills into the Mediterranean Sea near Al-Zahra in the Gaza Strip, where it is called Wadi Gaza ( ar, واد ...

**623 Be’er Sheva Region **624 Dead Sea Region **625

Arava Region Arava, Aravah or Arabah may refer to: Places *Arava, Estonia, a village in Anija Commune, Harju County, Estonia *Arava(h) (Hebrew) or Arabah (Arabic), a section of the Great Rift Valley between the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba in Israel and Jord ...

**626 Northern Negev Mountain **627

Southern Negev Mountain Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express ...

Formerly the

Hof Aza Regional Council The Hof Aza Regional Council ( he, מועצה אזורית חוף עזה, "Gaza Coast Regional Council") was a regional council of Israel until 2005 when its residents were evicted from their homes and the area was liquidated as part of Israel's ...

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 The Judea and Samaria Area ( he, אֵזוֹר יְהוּדָה וְשׁוֹמְרוֹן, translit=Ezor Yehuda VeShomron; ar, يهودا والسامرة, translit=Yahūda wa-s-Sāmara) is an administrative division of Israel. It encompasses th ...

( 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, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...

/ 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 granted c ...

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 south ...

. 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 world, Arab states (primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, S ...

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 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