The Southern District ( he, מחוז הדרום, ''Meḥoz HaDarom''; ar, لواء الجنوب) is one 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 ...

's six administrative districts, the largest in terms of land area but the most sparsely populated. It covers most of the

Negev The Negev or Negeb (; he, הַנֶּגֶב, hanNegév; ar, ٱلنَّقَب, an-Naqab) is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The region's largest city and administrative capital is Beersheba (pop. ), in the north. At its sout ...

desert, as well as the Arava valley. The population of the Southern District is 1,086,240 and its area is 14,185 km². Its population is 79.66% Jewish and 12.72% Arab (mostly Muslim), with 7.62% of other origins. The district capital is

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. ...

, while the largest city is Ashdod. Beersheba's dormitory towns of Omer,

Meitar Meitar ( he, מֵיתָר) is a small local council north-east of Beersheba, in Israel's Southern District. The town lies on Highway 60 just south of the Green Line on the southern edge of Mount Hebron, alongside the Yatir Forest. Metar is 19 ...

, and Lehavim are affluent on an Israel scale, while the development towns of Dimona, Sderot, Netivot, Ofakim, and Yeruham and the seven

Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu (; , singular ) are nomadic Arabs, Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. The Bedouin originated in the Syrian Desert ...

cities are lower on the socio-economic scale.Current Plans for Developing the Negev: A Critical Perspective
Adva Center

Administrative local authorities

Some villages do not fall under the jurisdiction of a regional council. These include: *

Mahane Yatir , lit. ''Yatir Camp''), also known as Lev Yatir ( he, לב יתיר, ''Heart of Yatir''), is a village in the Yatir Forest in southern Israel. History The village was established in 1979, and was named after a biblical city (Joshua 15:48) here in ...

Umm al-Hiran Umm al-Hiran ( ar, أم الحيران; he, אום אל-חיראן) is a Bedouin village settled by the Abu Alkian tribe located in the Wadi Atir area of the Negev desert in southern Israel. Located near Hura, the village was established in 19 ...

(unrecognised Bedouin village)

References

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Administrative local authorities

See also

References