Mount Harif ( he, הר חריף) is a mountain at an elevation of located in 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 southe ...

desert in southern Israel. The mountain is located in the central part of the

desert, about southwest of the city of

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. ...

, northwest of the city of

Eilat Eilat ( , ; he, אֵילַת ; ar, إِيلَات, Īlāt) is Israel's southernmost city, with a population of , a busy 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 Jorda ...

, at the border with

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...

. The mountain is the second highest peak in the Negev desert, after the peak of Mount Ramon. An

IDF IDF or idf may refer to: Defence forces *Irish Defence Forces *Israel Defense Forces * Iceland Defense Force, of the US Armed Forces, 1951-2006 *Indian Defence Force, a part-time force, 1917 Organizations *Israeli Diving Federation *Interaction ...

military base is situated on the mountain due to its strategic location on the border with Egypt. Remains of a prehistoric settlement have been discovered in the past in the site. A cluster of 17 water cisterns exist approximately 5 km east of the mountain which were estimated to have been built during the reign of king Solomon, and were active apparently until the

Babylonian exile The Babylonian captivity or Babylonian exile is the period in Jewish history during which a large number of Judeans from the ancient Kingdom of Judah were captives in Babylon, the capital city of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, following their def ...

. Some of the water cisterns still fill up with water during the winter seasons. On 21 September 2012 IDF forces, whom were safeguarding civilian workers constructing the Israel–Egypt barrier, were ambushed by three heavily armed militants who opened fire at them and managed to kill one soldier and lightly injured another.

References

External links

מסלולי טיול – מניצנה להר חריף – תאור המסלול
- published on the website of

Midreshet Ben-Gurion Midreshet Ben-Gurion ( he, מִדְרֶשֶׁת בֶּן גּוּרְיוֹן), also known as Midreshet Sde Boker, is an educational center and boarding school in southern Israel. Located in the Negev next to kibbutz Sde Boker, it falls under the ...

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