Biq'at Hayarden Regional Council
Encyclopedia
Bik'at HaYarden Regional Council , also Aravot HaYarden (lit. Jordan Plains) is a regional council
covering 21 Israeli settlement
s in the Jordan Valley
in the West Bank
. The municipal territory of the council reaches from Mehola
in the north, near the Beit She'an Valley, to Jericho
in the south.
Most of the settlements are located on the two major north-south roads traversing the council's territory. The Allon Road
on the west and Highway 90 on the east. The town of Ma'ale Efraim
, a local council
, is located within the regional council's borders, but constitutes an independent municipality. The regional council offices are located at the Shlomtzion regional centre.
As of 2006, Dovi Tal is the head of the council.
Regional council (Israel)
Regional councils are one of the three types of local government entities found in Israel, with the other two being cities and local councils. As of 2003, there were 53 regional councils in Israel, usually responsible for governing a number of settlements spread across rural areas...
covering 21 Israeli settlement
Israeli settlement
An Israeli settlement is a Jewish civilian community built on land that was captured by Israel from Jordan, Egypt, and Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War and is considered occupied territory by the international community. Such settlements currently exist in the West Bank...
s in the Jordan Valley
Jordan Valley (Middle East)
The Jordan Valley forms part of the larger Jordan Rift Valley. It is 120 kilometers long and 15 kilometers wide, where it runs from Lake Tiberias in the north to northern Dead Sea in the south. It runs for an additional 155 kilometer south of the Dead Sea to Aqaba, an area also known as Wadi...
in the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
. The municipal territory of the council reaches from Mehola
Mehola
Mehola is a religious moshav and Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Located in the Jordan Valley near the Green Line with an area of 5,000 dunams, it falls under the jurisdiction of Bik'at HaYarden Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 351...
in the north, near the Beit She'an Valley, to Jericho
Jericho
Jericho ; is a city located near the Jordan River in the West Bank of the Palestinian territories. It is the capital of the Jericho Governorate and has a population of more than 20,000. Situated well below sea level on an east-west route north of the Dead Sea, Jericho is the lowest permanently...
in the south.
Most of the settlements are located on the two major north-south roads traversing the council's territory. The Allon Road
Allon Road
The Allon Road is the name commonly given by Israelis to routes #578, #508, and #458 in the West Bank, running roughly north-south between Mehola in the central Jordan Valley and east of Ma'ale Adummim on the eastern outskirts of Jerusalem....
on the west and Highway 90 on the east. The town of Ma'ale Efraim
Ma'ale Efraim
Ma'ale Efrayim is an Israeli settlement and local council located along the eastern slopes of the Samarian mountains in the Jordan Valley, within the West Bank. Founded in 1978, the town's municipal status was upgraded to local council in 1981. Over 1,400 people now live in the yishuv...
, a local council
Local council (Israel)
Local councils are one of the three types of local government found in Israel, with the other two being cities and regional councils. As of 2003, there were 144 local councils in Israel, these being settlements which pass a minimum threshold enough to justify their operations as independent...
, is located within the regional council's borders, but constitutes an independent municipality. The regional council offices are located at the Shlomtzion regional centre.
As of 2006, Dovi Tal is the head of the council.
List of villages
This regional council provides various municipal services for the villages within its territory:- ArgamanArgamanArgaman is a moshav and Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Located in the Jordan Valley eight kilometres north of the Damia Bridge with an area of 4,500 dunams, it falls under the jurisdiction of Bik'at HaYarden Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 166...
(moshav) - Beka'otBeka'otBeka'ot is a moshav and Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Located in the Jordan Valley with an area of 1,800 dunams, it falls under the jurisdiction of Bik'at HaYarden Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 171...
(moshav) - GilgalGilgal, Bik'at HaYardenGilgal is a kibbutz and Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Located in the Jordan Valley around 16 kilometres north of Jericho with an area of 1,400 dunams, it falls under the jurisdiction of Bik'at HaYarden Regional Council...
(kibbutz) - GititGititGitit is a moshav and Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Located in the Jordan Valley with an area of 1,500 dunams, it falls under the jurisdiction of Bik'at HaYarden Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 214....
(moshav) - HamraHamra, Bik'at HaYardenHamra is a moshav and Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Located in the Jordan Valley and covering 3,500 dunams, it falls under the jurisdiction of Bik'at HaYarden Regional Council...
(moshav) - HemdatHemdatHemdat is a village and Israeli settlement in the West Bank located in the Jordan River Valley on a plain at an altitude of 178 metres along the Allon Road in the municipal jurisdiction of the Bik'at HaYarden Regional Council. Other villages in the area are Ro'i, Beka'ot. The closet city, Beit...
(Nahal) - MaskiotMaskiotMaskiot is an Israeli settlement in the West Bank. It is named after the Bible : "A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in arty bowls." Located in the northern Jordan Valley, it falls under the jurisdiction of Bik'at HaYarden Regional Council...
(communal settlement) - MasuaMasuaMasua is a moshav shitufi and Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Located in the Jordan Valley with an area of 6,000 dunams, it falls under the jurisdiction of Bik'at HaYarden Regional Council...
(moshav) - MeholaMeholaMehola is a religious moshav and Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Located in the Jordan Valley near the Green Line with an area of 5,000 dunams, it falls under the jurisdiction of Bik'at HaYarden Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 351...
(moshav) - MekhoraMekhoraMekhora is a moshav and Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Located in the Jordan Valley, it falls under the jurisdiction of Bik'at HaYarden Regional Council...
(moshav) - Mevo'ot YerichoMevo'ot YerichoMevo'ot Yericho , founded in 1999, is an Israeli settlement and a communal settlement located in the West Bank's southern Jordan Valley just north of Jericho, in the Yitav Valley. The site is 150m below sea level. It falls under the municipal jurisdiction of the Bik'at HaYarden Regional Council...
(communal settlement)
- Netiv HaGdudNetiv HaGdudNetiv HaGdud is a moshav and Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Located in the Jordan Valley around twenty kilometres north of Jericho, it falls under the jurisdiction of Bik'at HaYarden Regional Council...
(moshav) - NiranNiranNiran is a kibbutz and Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Located in the Jordan Valley near Jericho, it falls under the jurisdiction of Bik'at HaYarden Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 80, 30 of whom were new arrivals....
(kibbutz) - Na'omiNa'omiNa'omi is a moshav shitufi and Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Located in the Jordan Valley three kilometres north of Hisham's Palace, it falls under the jurisdiction of Bik'at HaYarden Regional Council...
(moshav) - Petza'elPetza'elPetza'el is a moshav and Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Located in the Jordan Valley, 34.5 kilometers from the Green line, it falls under the jurisdiction of Bik'at HaYarden Regional Council. In 2009 it had a population of 205....
(moshav) - Ro'iRo'iRo'i is a moshav and Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Located in the Jordan Valley, it falls under the jurisdiction of Bik'at HaYarden Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 128....
(moshav) - RotemRotem, Bik'at HaYardenRotem is an Israeli settlement in the West Bank located in the northern Jordan River Valley along the Allon Road south-west of Shadmot Mehola. The village receives its municipal services from the Bik'at HaYarden Regional Council...
(communal settlement) - Shadmot MeholaShadmot MeholaShadmot Mehola is a national-religious moshav shitufi and Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Located in the Beit She'an Valley, it falls under the jurisdiction of Bik'at HaYarden Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 536...
(moshav) - TomerTomerTomer is a moshav and Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Located in the Jordan Valley, it falls under the jurisdiction of Bik'at HaYarden Regional Council. In 2010 it had a population of 483....
(moshav) - YafitYafitYafit is a moshav shitufi and Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Located in the Jordan Valley near Alexandrium, it falls under the jurisdiction of Bik'at HaYarden Regional Council...
(moshav) - YitavYitavYitav is an Israeli settlement and moshav shitufi in the southern Jordan Valley of the West Bank. Located just north of Jericho and west of the Palestinian village of al-Auja, it falls under the jurisdiction of Bik'at HaYarden Regional Council...
(moshav)