Map of Arabic speaking localities in Israel

Arab localities in Israel include all population centers with a 50% or higher

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

population in

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

East Jerusalem East Jerusalem (, ; , ) is the portion of Jerusalem that was Jordanian annexation of the West Bank, held by Jordan after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, as opposed to West Jerusalem, which was held by Israel. Captured and occupied in 1967, th ...

and

Golan Heights The Golan Heights, or simply the Golan, is a basaltic plateau at the southwest corner of Syria. It is bordered by the Yarmouk River in the south, the Sea of Galilee and Hula Valley in the west, the Anti-Lebanon mountains with Mount Hermon in t ...

are not internationally recognized parts of Israel proper but have been included in this list. According to the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics census in 2010, "the Arab population lives in 134 towns and villages. About 44 percent of them live in towns (compared to 81 percent of the Jewish population); 48 percent live in villages with local councils (compared to 9 percent of the Jewish population). Four percent of the Arab citizens live in small villages with regional councils, while the rest live in unrecognized villages (the proportion is much higher, 31 percent in the Negev)". The Arab population in Israel is located in five main areas:

Galilee Galilee (; ; ; ) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon consisting of two parts: the Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and the Lower Galilee (, ; , ). ''Galilee'' encompasses the area north of the Mount Carmel-Mount Gilboa ridge and ...

(54.6% of total Israeli Arabs),

Triangle A triangle is a polygon with three corners and three sides, one of the basic shapes in geometry. The corners, also called ''vertices'', are zero-dimensional points while the sides connecting them, also called ''edges'', are one-dimension ...

(23.5% of total Israeli Arabs),

, and Northern

Negev The Negev ( ; ) or 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 southern end is the Gulf of Aqaba and the resort town, resort city ...

(13.5% of total Israeli Arabs). Around 8.4% of Israeli Arabs live in officially mixed Jewish-Arab cities (excluding Arab residents in East Jerusalem), including

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, 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 metropolitan area i ...

, Lod, Ramle,

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

Jaffa Jaffa (, ; , ), also called Japho, Joppa or Joppe in English, is an ancient Levantine Sea, Levantine port city which is part of Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, located in its southern part. The city sits atop a naturally elevated outcrop on ...

Acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

, Nof HaGalil, and Ma'alot Tarshiha. In 2021, there were 163 localities in which all residents are

Arab citizens of Israel The Arab citizens of Israel form the country's largest ethnic minority. Their community mainly consists of former Palestinian Citizenship Order 1925, Mandatory Palestine citizens (and their descendants) who continued to inhabit the territory ...

, 69 of these are Arab local councils and 12 are Arab

city councils A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counci ...

. According to the Israel Democracy Institute about 49.1% of Israeli Arabs live in Arab local councils, 30.9% live in Arab

and 8.3% live in officially Mixed cities. Another 5.5% of Arab citizens live in 47 small localities that are incorporated into regional councils, 4.2% live in unrecognized villages (mostly in the Negev), and 1.8% live in cities with Jewish majority (including

West Jerusalem West Jerusalem or Western Jerusalem (, ; , ) refers to the section of Jerusalem that was controlled by Israel at the end of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. As the city was divided by the Green Line (Israel's erstwhile border, established by ...

). The percentages do not including East Jerusalem Arab residents. The city of

has an Arab minority of 30.1%, while its Old City is 95% Arab. While Arabs constitute 11% of

's total population, they make up 70% of Lower Haifa's residents. In 2011,

has an Arab population of 30.3%, Lod is 24.3% Arab, while

Ramla Ramla (), also known as Ramle (, ), is a city in the Central District of Israel. Ramle is one of Israel's mixed cities, with significant numbers of both Jews and Arabs. The city was founded in the early 8th century CE by the Umayyad caliph S ...

is 22.2% Arab. In 2015, 23% of the population of Nof HaGalil was Arab. According to ''

Ha'aretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew and English in the Berliner fo ...

'' in 2015, only 16,000 Arabs are thought to be living in 16 localities not officially defined as mixed cities, or in Jewish neighborhoods of Haifa, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.: "Some 16,000 Arabs are estimated to be living in 16 cities not officially defined as mixed, or in predominantly Jewish neighborhoods of big cities such as Haifa, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv." According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, a sizeable percentage of Arabs lives in the Jewish majority cities of

Eilat Eilat ( , ; ; ) is Israel's southernmost city, with a population of , a busy port of Eilat, port and popular resort at the northern tip of the Red Sea, on what is known in Israel as the Gulf of Eilat and in Jordan as the Gulf of Aqaba. The c ...

(5% Arab), Carmiel (4%), Qiryat Shemona (3%), Arad (3%),

Beersheva Beersheba ( / ; ), officially Be'er-Sheva, is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the centre of the fourth-most populous metropolitan area in Israel, the List of cities ...

(3%), Nahariyya (2%),

Safed Safed (), also known as Tzfat (), is a city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevation of up to , Safed is the highest city in the Galilee and in Israel. Safed has been identified with (), a fortif ...

(2%) and

Tiberias Tiberias ( ; , ; ) is a city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's Four Holy Cities, along with Jerusalem, Heb ...

(2%).

Central and Haifa Districts

158,900 Arabs live in the Central District, which has a total population of 1,931,000. 237,200 Arabs live in the

Haifa District Haifa District () is an administrative district surrounding the city of Haifa in Israel. The district is one of the seven administrative districts of Israel, and its capital is Haifa. The district land area is 864 km2 (299.3 mi2). D ...

, which has a total population of 939,000. The majority of the Arab population in these areas live along or near the Green Line which separates

from the

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

in an area known as the "

", split into the "Northern Triangle" (or

Wadi Ara Wadi Ara (, ) or Nahal 'Iron (), is a valley and its surrounding area in Israel populated mainly by Arab citizens of Israel, Arab Israelis. The area is also known as the "Triangle (Israel), Northern Triangle". Wadi Ara is located northwest of t ...

) and the "Southern Triangle". There is a substantial

Druze The Druze ( ; , ' or ', , '), who Endonym and exonym, call themselves al-Muwaḥḥidūn (), are an Arabs, Arab Eastern esotericism, esoteric Religious denomination, religious group from West Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic ...

and Christian population in the Carmel region and the Wadi Nisnas neighborhood of Haifa.

Southern Triangle

Estimated population figures for are listed below. *

Jaljulia Jaljulia (, ), officially also spelled Jaljulye, is an Arab citizens of Israel, Arab town in Israel near Kfar Saba. In it had a population of . History An archaeological dig started in 2017 at Jaljulia uncovered, at about a five-meter depth, ...

: * Kafr Bara: * Kafr Qasim: * Qalansawe: * Tayibe: * Tira: * Zemer:

Northern Triangle

* Ar'ara * Baqa al-Gharbiyye * al-Arian * Basma * Jatt * Kafr Qara * Ma'ale Iron * Meiser *

Umm al-Fahm Umm al-Fahm ( , ''Umm al-Faḥm''; ''Um el-Faḥem'') is a city located northwest of Jenin in the Haifa District of Israel. In its population was , nearly all of whom are Palestinian citizens of Israel. The city is situated on the Umm al-Fahm ...

* Umm al-Qutuf

Lod

* Lod: 19,800 (estimated population figures for 2011)†

Ramla

: 15,100 (Estimated population figures for 2011)†

Haifa and Carmel region

* Wadi Nisnas, Halisa, Kababir and Abbas (

neighborhoods)† * Daliyat al-Karmel☆ * Ein Hawd * Fureidis * Ibtin *

Isfiya Isfiya (, ), also known as Usfiya, is a Druze-majority village in northern Israel, governed by a Local council (Israel), local council. It also includes Christians, Muslims and a few Jews, Jewish households. Located on Mount Carmel, it is part of ...

☆† * Jisr az-Zarqa * Khawaled † Significant presence of

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

population ☆ Significant presence of

population

Tel Aviv District

18,500 Arabs live in the Tel Aviv District, which has a total population of 1,318,300. 16,000 of them live in

, where they make up around a third of the population. In 2019 the population of

was 89.9% Jewish, and 4.5% Arab; among Arabs, 82.8% were Muslim, 16.4% were Christian, and 0.8% were

Jerusalem District

310,700 Arabs live in the

Jerusalem District The Jerusalem District (; ) is one of the six administrative districts of Israel. The district capital is Jerusalem and its total land area is 652 km2. The population of 1,159,900 is 66.3% Jewish and 32.1% Arab. A fifth (21%) of the Arab ...

, which has a total population of 987,400. The Arab populations of the Jerusalem District are primarily concentrated in

, which is internationally not considered part of Israel, but there are four other towns that exist within the district's jurisdiction. Abu Ghosh is the largest of them.

West Jerusalem

* Abu Ghosh *

Beit Jimal Beit Jimal (or Beit Jamal; ; ), Beit el Jemâl, meaning "The house of the camel"Palmer, 1881, p286/ref> is a Catholic monastery run by Salesians of Don Bosco, Salesian priests and brothers near Beit Shemesh, Israel. The Christian tradition identi ...

Ein Naqquba Ein Naqquba (, ) is an Arab citizens of Israel, Arab village in central Israel. Located west of Jerusalem, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Yehuda Regional Council. In it had a population of . History The village was established in 196 ...

* Ein Rafa

East Jerusalem

was annexed by Israel after its victory over

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

during the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 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, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...

in 1967. East Jerusalem was joined with

, along with several surrounding

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

towns and villages. Today, Arabs constitute 61% of the population of East Jerusalem and 38% of that of

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

as a whole. The following are Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem. * Beit Hanina (al-Jadid or Eastern portion)† * Beit Safafa * Jabel Mukaber * Old City (

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

Quarters)† * Ras al-Amud * Sheikh Jarrah * Shuafat * Silwan * Sur Baher * At-Tur * Umm Tuba * Wadi al-Joz * al-Walaja † Significant presence of

population

Southern District

216,200 Arabs live in the Southern District, which has a total population of 1,146,600. The Arab population lives primarily in the northwestern

and is entirely composed of

Bedouins. Several towns in the area are not formally recognized by the government and do not receive basic utilities from the state (see

unrecognized Bedouin villages in Israel Unrecognized Bedouin villages in Israel are rural Bedouin communities in the Negev and the Galilee which the Israeli government does not recognize as legal. They are often referred to as "unrecognized villages". General data Number of the vil ...

). The largest Arab locality in the Negev is

Rahat Rahat (, ) is an Arab Bedouin city in the Southern District (Israel), Southern District of Israel. In , it had a population of . As such, it is the largest Bedouin city in Israel, and the only one to have city council (Israel), city status. Ra ...

. * Abu Qrenat * Abu Talul * Ar'arat an-Naqab * Ateer * al-Atrash * Bir Hadaj * Dhahiyah * Drijat * Ghazzah * Hura * Kukhleh * Kuseife * Lakiya * Makhul * Mitnan * Mulada * Qasr al-Sir *

* al-Sayyid * Shaqib al-Salam * Tirabin al-Sana * Tel as-Sabi * Umm Batin

Northern District

705,200 Arabs live in the Northern District, which has a total population of 1,320,800. In 2008,

Arabs Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...

made up 53% of the Northern District's population, making it Israel's only district with an Arab majority. 44% of the Arab population lives in this district.

Nazareth Nazareth is the largest Cities in Israel, city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. In its population was . Known as "the Arab capital of Israel", Nazareth serves as a cultural, political, religious, economic and ...

is the largest city, with a population of approximately 66,000. One of the Arab groups living in the Northern District are the Galilee Bedouin. * Abu Sinan☆† * Arab al-Aramshe * Arab al-Subeih * Arab al-Na'im * Arraba† * Basmat Tab'un * Beit Jann☆ * Bi'ina† * Bir al-Maksur * Bu'eine Nujeidat * Daburiyya * Ed Dahi * Deir al-Asad * Deir Hanna† * Dmeide * Eilabun† * Ein al-Asad☆ * Ein Mahil * Fassuta† * Hamaam * Hamdon * Hurfeish☆† * Hussniyya * I'billin† * Iksal * Ilut * Jadeidi-Makr * Jish† * Julis☆ * Ka'abiyye-Tabbash-Hajajre *

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

* Kafr Kanna† * Kafr Manda * Kafr Misr * Kafr Yasif†☆ * Kamanneh * Kaukab Abu al-Hija * Kfar Kama * Kisra-Sumei☆† * Maghar☆† *

Majd al-Krum Majd al-Krum ( ''Majd al-Kurūm'', ) is an Arab citizens of Israel, Arab town located in the Galilee in Israel's Northern District (Israel), Northern District about 16 kilometers (10 miles) east of Acre, Israel, Acre. Its inhabitants are primaril ...

* Manshiya Zabda *

Mashhad Mashhad ( ; ), historically also known as Mashad, Meshhed, or Meshed in English, is the List of Iranian cities by population, second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about from Tehran. ...

* Mazra'a† *

Mi'ilya Mi'ilya (, ), also called Mi'elya, is an Arab local council in the western Galilee in the Northern District of Israel. Its name during the Kingdom of Jerusalem era in Galilee was Castellum Regis. In it had a population of , all of whom are M ...

† * Muqeible† * Nahf *

Na'ura Na'ura (, ) is an Arab village in northern Israel. Located to the east of Afula, it falls under the jurisdiction of the Gilboa Regional Council. In it had a population of . History In 1517 Na'ura was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire with ...

† * Nein * Peki'in☆† * Rameh†☆ * Ras al-Ein† * Rehaniya * Reineh† * Rumana * Rumat al-Heib * Sajur☆ * Sakhnin† *

Sallama Sallama (; ) is a Bedouin village in northern Israel. Located in the Galilee near the Tzalmon Stream, it falls under the jurisdiction of Misgav Regional Council. In its population was . The village was recognized by the state in 1976. History ...

* Sandala * Sha'ab * Shefa-'Amr†☆ * Sheikh Danun * Shibli–Umm al-Ghanam * Sulam * Suweid Hamira * Tarshiha† * Tamra City, Akka Subdistrict * Tamra Village, Jezreel sub-district * Tuba-Zangariyye * Tur'an† * Uzeir * Yafa an-Naseriyye† * Yanuh-Jat☆ * Yarka☆ * Zarzir † Significant presence of

population († - Christian majority) ☆ Significant presence of

population (☆ - Druze majority)

Golan Heights

The

was captured during the Six-Day War in 1967 and de facto

annexed Annexation, in international law, is the forcible acquisition and assertion of legal title over one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. In current international law, it is generally held to ...

by Israel in 1981. Israel governs the Golan Heights as a part of the Northern District. As a result of the war, many villages were abandoned. The Israeli Head of Surveying and Demolition Supervision for the Golan Heights proposed the demolition of 127 of the unpopulated villages, with about 90 abandoned villages demolished shortly after 15 May 1968."The Fate of Abandoned Arab Villages, 1965-1969" by Aron Shai (History & Memory - Volume 18, Number 2, Fall/Winter 2006, pp. 86-106) The demolitions were carried out by contractors hired for the job. Five Arab towns remain today. 23,900 Arabs live in the Golan Heights. The area is home to an approximately equal number of non-Arab Israelis. *

Buq'ata Buq'ata (; ) is a Druze town, administered as a Local council (Israel), local council, in the northern section of the Israeli-occupied territories, Israeli-occupied portion of the Golan Heights. Buq'ata covers an area of 7,000 dunams (7 km² ...

☆ *

Ein Qiniyye Ein Qiniyye or 'Ayn Qunya (; ) is a Druze village in the Israeli-occupied southern foothills of Mount Hermon, 750 meters above sea level. It was granted local council status in 1982. Its inhabitants are mostly Syrian citizens with permanent ...

☆† * Ghajar *

Majdal Shams Majdal Shams (; ) is a predominantly Druze town in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, located in the southern foothills of Mount Hermon. It is known as the informal "capital" of the region. Majdal Shams played a significant role in the Great ...

☆† *

Mas'ade Mas'ade (, ) is a Druze village in the northern Golan Heights, Syria. It covers an area of , and in had a population of . It was given the status of a local council in 1982. Its inhabitants are mostly Syrian citizens and have permanent residency ...

☆ ☆ Significant presence of

population (☆ - Druze majority) † Significant presence of

population

Notes

References

{{Israeli administrative jurisdictions Arab localities in Israel

Central and Haifa Districts

Southern Triangle

Northern Triangle

Lod

Ramla

Haifa and Carmel region

Tel Aviv District

Jerusalem District

West Jerusalem

East Jerusalem

Southern District

Northern District

Golan Heights

See also

Notes

References