thumb|250px|The route from [[Jerusalem to Ashdod]]

The Southern District (, Meḥoz HaDarom; ) is one of Israel's six administrative districts, the largest in terms of land area but the most sparsely populated. It covers most of the Negev desert, as well as the Arava valley. The population of the Southern District is 1,086,240 and its area is 14,185&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>. Its population is 79.66% Jewish and 12.72% Arab (mostly Muslim), with 7.62% of other origins.

thumb|Geographical distribution of the main ethno-cultural communities in the Southern District in 2008.

The district capital is Beersheba, while the largest city is Ashdod. Beersheba's dormitory towns of Omer, Meitar, and Lehavim are affluent relative to other Israeli cities, while the development towns of Dimona, Sderot, Netivot, Ofakim, and Yeruham and the seven Bedouin cities are lower on the socio-economic scale.

Administrative local authorities

{| class="wikitable"

! style="font-size:larger; background:#00008B; color:white;" colspan="3" | Subdistricts

|-

| colspan="3" |

  • Ashkelon
  • Beersheba

|-

! width="250;" style="font-size:larger; background:#00008B; color:white;" | Cities

! width="250;" style="font-size:larger; background:#00008B; color:white;" | Local Councils

! width="250;" style="font-size:larger; background:#00008B; color:white;" | Regional Councils

|-

| valign="top" |

  • Arad
  • Ashdod
  • Ashkelon
  • Beersheba
  • Dimona
  • Eilat
  • Kiryat Gat
  • Kiryat Malakhi
  • Netivot
  • Ofakim
  • Rahat
  • Sderot

| valign="top" |

  • Ar'arat an-Naqab
  • Hura
  • Kuseife
  • Lakiya
  • Lehavim
  • Meitar
  • Mitzpe Ramon
  • Omer
  • Shaqib al-Salam
  • Tel as-Sabi
  • Yeruham

| valign="top" |

  • Al-Kasom
  • Be'er Tuvia
  • Bnei Shimon
  • Central Arava
  • Eshkol
  • Hevel Eilot
  • Hof Ashkelon
  • Lakhish
  • Merhavim
  • Neve Midbar
  • Ramat HaNegev
  • Sdot Negev (Azata)
  • Sha'ar HaNegev
  • Shafir
  • Tamar
  • Yoav

|}

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

  • Mahane Yatir
  • Umm al-Hiran (unrecognised Bedouin village)

See also

  • List of cities in Israel
  • Arab localities in Israel
  • Gaza Strip

References