The Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council , is a regional 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...

 in the north-western Negev

Negev

The Negev is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The Arabs, including the native Bedouin population of the region, refer to the desert as al-Naqab. The origin of the word Neghebh is from the Hebrew root denoting 'dry'...

, in Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

's Southern District. The Regional Council's territory lies midway between Beersheba

Beersheba

Beersheba is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the seventh-largest city in Israel with a population of 194,300....

 and Ashkelon

Ashkelon

Ashkelon is a coastal city in the South District of Israel on the Mediterranean coast, south of Tel Aviv, and north of the border with the Gaza Strip. The ancient seaport of Ashkelon dates back to the Neolithic Age...

, bounded on the west by the Gaza Strip

Gaza Strip

thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...

. The eastern border abuts Bnei Shimon

Bnei Shimon Regional Council

The Bnei Shimon Regional Council , is a regional council in the northern Negev in the south of Israel. Most of its territory lies north of Beersheba and the rest bounds Beersheba on the west and east sides as well. The eastern border of this territory straddles the Green Line.There are 13...

. The city of Sderot

Sderot

Sderot is a western Negev city in the Southern District of Israel. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics , at the end of 2009 the city had a total population of 20,700. The city has been an ongoing target of Qassam rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip...

 forms an enclave within Sha'ar HaNegev.

The region's population is over 6,000, and covers an area of over 45,000 acres (approx. 180 km² or 70 sq. mi.). The average elevation is approximately 180 m (495 ft.) above sea level. The geographic center of the region is around 31°29′00"N 34°36′00"E.

Settlements

There are 11 communities, including 10 kibbutz

Kibbutz

A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...

im and one moshav

Moshav

Moshav is a type of Israeli town or settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists during the second aliyah...

.

Kibbutzim

• Bror Hayil
  Bror Hayil
  Bror Hayil is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located near Sderot, it fall under the jurisdiction of Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council. In 2007 it had a population of 462....
  
  
• Dorot
  Dorot
  Dorot is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located on Route 334 near Sderot, it falls under the municipal jurisdiction of the Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council. In 2008, it had a population of 454....
  
  
• Erez
  Erez
  Erez , is a kibbutz in south-western Israel. Located in the north-western Negev around 18 kilometres south of Ashkelon, it falls under the jurisdiction of Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 333.-History:...
  
  
• Gavem
  Gavem
  Gevim is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located in the northwestern Negev desert near Sderot, it falls under the jurisdiction of Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 360.-History:...
  
  
• Kfar Aza
  Kfar Aza
  Kfar Aza is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located between Netivot and Sderot around three kilometres east of Gaza, it falls under the jurisdiction of Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council...
  
  
• Mefalsim
  Mefalsim
  Mefalsim is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located near the Gaza Strip and covering 11,000 dunams, it fall under the jurisdiction of Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 573....
  
  
• Nahal Oz
  Nahal Oz
  Nahal Oz is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located in the northwestern part of the Negev desert close to the border with the Gaza Strip and near the development towns of Sderot and Netivot, it falls under the jurisdiction of Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of...
  
  
• Nir Am
  Nir Am
  Nir Am is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located near Sderot and covering 20,000 dunams, it fall under the jurisdiction of Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council. In 2007 it had a population of 281....
  
  
• Or HaNer
• Ruhama
  Ruhama
  Ruhama is a kibbutz in the Negev desert in southern Israel. The original settlement established in 1911, is considered the first modern Jewish settlement in the Negev....
  
  

Moshav

• Yakhini

Educational institutions

• Ibim
  Ibim
  Ibim is a student village in southern Israel. Located near Sderot, it falls under the jurisdiction of Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council.The village was established in 1992 in order to provide dwellings for immigrants from Ethiopia and the former Soviet Union who were studying at the nearby Sapir...
  
  

Historical sites

• Shikmim http://www.anthro.ucsd.edu/~tlevy/shiqmim/shiqmim_home_page.htmhttp://library.thinkquest.org/3011/shiqmim.htm

External links

• Official website