Eshkol Regional Council ( he, מועצה אזורית אשכול, ''Mo'atza Ezorit Eshkol'') is a

regional council Regional Council may refer to: * Regional Council (Hong Kong), disbanded in 1999 ** Regional Council (constituency) Regional council may refer to: * Regional council (Cameroon) * Regional council (France), the elected assembly of a region of Fran ...

in the north-western

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 ...

, in

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 Southern District. The regional council's territory lies midway between

Ashkelon Ashkelon or Ashqelon (; Hebrew: , , ; Philistine: ), also known as Ascalon (; Ancient Greek: , ; Arabic: , ), is a coastal city in the Southern District of Israel on the Mediterranean coast, south of Tel Aviv, and north of the border wit ...

and

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. ...

, bounded on the west by 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.. ...

while the eastern border abuts the territory of the

Bnei Shimon Regional Council The Bnei Shimon Regional Council ( he, מועצה אזורית בני שמעון, ''Mo'atza Azorit Bnei Shim'on'', ''lit.'' Regional Council 'Sons of Shimon'), is a regional council in the northern Negev in the south of Israel. Most of its territ ...

. Due to its proximity to the Gaza Strip, the region has experienced numerous sporadic waves of violence, primarily as a result of rocket attacks, mortar strikes, and fires caused by incendiary kites and balloons launched from Gaza Strip. These waves of violence often result in widespread damage to farms and structures within the region.

Transport

Eshkol Regional Council is linked to

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 ...

by bus routes 379 (local) and route 479 (express), to Be'er Sheva by bus route 35, to

by bus route 36 and to

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

by bus 495. Inside the regional council's territory there are six bus routes linking the

kibbutzim A kibbutz ( he, קִבּוּץ / , lit. "gathering, clustering"; plural: kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1909, was Degania. Today, farming ha ...

and the

moshavim A moshav ( he, מוֹשָׁב, plural ', lit. ''settlement, village'') is a type of Israeli town or settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists between 1904 ...

to the regional council offices. All bus routes are operated by Dan BaDarom.

Security

The Eshkol region has been the target of thousands of rocket attacks since 2000. Despite Iron Dome coverage in the region, usage of the system is generally limited to populated areas and allows other rockets to land in open areas. As a result, there has been widespread damage to farms, vehicles and various outlying structures. During the

2014 Israel–Gaza conflict The 2014 Gaza War, also known as Operation Protective Edge ( he, מִבְצָע צוּק אֵיתָן, translit=Miv'tza Tzuk Eitan, ), was a military operation launched by Israel on 8 July 2014 in the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory that h ...

, farmers reported massive damages to their crops due to rockets landing in open fields. On 26 August 2014 a mortar shell fired from Gaza was reported to have killed one person and seriously wounded two others at the Eshkol Regional Council. Since 2016, the region has experienced waves of fires caused by incendiary balloons released from Gaza. The fires have caused widespread damage to farms and local infrastructure. More than 100 fires were reported in June 2019 alone, with reported damage to at least 4,500 acres of farmland. This tactic by

Hamas Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni- Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qas ...

and other militant groups in Gaza is considered to be a form of agro-terrorism.

Villages

Kibbutzim

* Be'eri *

Alumim Alumim ( he, עֲלוּמִים, lit=Youth) is a kibbutz located in the northwestern Negev desert in southern Israel, near the Gaza Strip. It falls under the jurisdiction of Sdot Negev Regional Council. In it had a population of . History Kibb ...

* Ein HaShlosha * Gvulot * Magen * Nir Oz * Nir Yitzhak * Nirim *

Holit Holit ( he, חוֹלִית, ''lit.'' Dune) is a kibbutz in the Hevel Shalom region of south-west Israel. Located near Nir Yitzhak, the kibbutz is under the jurisdiction of Eshkol Regional Council. In it had a population of . History The kibbut ...

* Kerem Shalom *

Kissufim Kissufim ( he, כִּסּוּפִים, ''lit.'' Yearning) is a kibbutz in the northwestern Negev desert in Israel. Located adjacent to the Gaza Strip at an altitude of 92 meters above sea level, it falls under the jurisdiction of Eshkol Regional ...

* Re'im * Sufa * Tze'elim *

Urim In the Hebrew Bible, the Urim ( he, ''ʾŪrīm'', "lights") and the Thummim ( he, ''Tummīm'', meaning uncertain, possibly "perfections") are elements of the ''hoshen'', the breastplate worn by the High Priest attached to the ephod. They are ...

Moshavim

* Amioz * Ein HaBesor * Dekel *

Mivtahim Mivtahim ( he, מִבְטַחִים, ''lit.'' Safe Havens) is a moshav in southern Israel. Located in the Hevel Eshkol area of the north-western Negev desert near the Gaza Strip border and covering an area of 4,000 dunams, it falls under the juris ...

* Naveh * Ohad * Peri Gan *

Sde Nitzan Sde Nitzan ( he, שְׂדֵה נִצָּן, ''lit.'' Field of (Flower) Buds) is a moshav in the northern Negev desert in Israel. Located twelve kilometres east of Kerem Shalom and near Beersheba, it falls under the jurisdiction of Eshkol Regional ...

* Sdei Avraham * Talmei Eliyahu *

Talmei Yosef Talmei Yosef ( he, תַּלְמֵי יוֹסֵף, ''lit.'' Yosef Furrows) is a moshav in southern Israel. Located in the Hevel Shalom area of the north-western Negev desert near the Gaza Strip border, it falls under the jurisdiction of Eshkol ...

* Yated *

Yesha Yesha ( he, יש"ע) is a Hebrew acronym for " Judea, Samaria, Gaza" (, "Yehuda Shomron 'Azza") – a geographical area, roughly corresponding to the West Bank and Gaza Strip combined. ''Yesha'' is one of a number of terms used to describe the ...

* Yevul

Other locations

* Avshalom * Tzohar * Shlomit

References

External links

Official website
{{Coord, 31, 22, 27, N, 34, 23, 58, E, display=title, type:city(8300)_source:cawiki 1951 establishments in Israel Commemoration of Levi Eshkol Regional councils in Israel