Ma'ayan Harod National Park

The Battle of Ain Jalut (Arabic: معركة عين جالوت, romanized: Ma'rakat ‘Ayn Jālūt), also spelled Ayn Jalut, was fought between the Bahri Mamluks of Egypt and the Mongol Empire on 3 September 1260 (25 Ramadan 658 AH) near the spring of Ain Jalut in southeastern Galilee in the Jezreel Valley. Continuing the westward expansion of the Mongol Empire, the armies of Hulagu Khan captured and sacked Baghdad in 1258, along with the Ayyubid capital of Damascus sometime later. Hulagu sent envoys to Cairo demanding Qutuz surrender Egypt, to which Qutuz responded by killing the envoys and displaying their heads on the Bab Zuweila gate of Cairo. Shortly after this, Möngke Khan was slain in battle against the Southern Song. Hulagu returned to Mongolia with the bulk of his army to attend the kurultai in accordance with Mongol customs, leaving approximately 10,000 troops west of the Euphrates under the command of Kitbuqa. Learning of these developments, Qutuz quickly advanced his army from Cairo towards Palestine. Kitbuqa sacked Sidon, before turning his army south towards the Spring of Harod to meet Qutuz' forces. Using hit-and-run tactics and a feigned retreat by Mamluk general Baibars, combined with a final flanking maneuver by Qutuz, the Mongol army was forced to retreat toward Bisan, after which the Mamluks led a final counterattack, which resulted in the deaths of many Mongols, including Kitbuqa himself. The battle has been cited as the first time the Mongols were permanently prevented from expanding their influence; It also marked the first of two defeats the Mongols would face in their attempts to invade Egypt and the Levant, the other being the Battle of Marj al-Saffar in 1303. The earliest known use of the hand cannon in any military conflict is also documented to have taken place in this battle by the Mamluks, who used it to frighten the Mongol armies, according to Arabic military treatises of the 13th and 14th centuries.

Ma'ayan Harod (Hebrew: מעיין חרוד, lit. 'Harod's spring') or Ain Jalut (Arabic: عين جالوت ‘ayn Jālūt, or عين جالود ‘ayn Jālūd, and Hebrew: גילות, romanized: ain djeluth) is an all-year spring in the Jezreel Valley on the northwest corner of Mount Gilboa that was the location of the 13th-century Battle of Ain Jalut. This was a major turning point in world history that saw the Mamluks inflict the first of two defeats on the Mongols that ultimately halted their invasion of the Levant and Egypt.The traditional name of Ain Jalut has been in use since the 12th century, and is commonly believed to mean "Spring of Goliath", although alternative etymologies have suggested that it might be derived from the name Gilead, potentially an archaic name for Mount Gilboa. Other names given to the site include "En Harod" or "Ein Harod", a biblical place name that was associated with Ain Jalut in the 19th century, though subsequent scholarship, specifically the work of Israel Finkelstein and Oded Lipschits, has refuted this connection. Other associations have also been suggested, including in the 1841 Biblical Researches in Palestine, which linked it to the "spring in Jezreel" where Saul pitched his tent before his final battle, but this was rejected in 1847 and has gained little traction since. The spring is still sometimes known as the "Fountain of Jezreel", as well as "Gideon's Fountain".According to the medieval chronicler Baha ad-Din ibn Shaddad there was a prosperous village at the site in the Middle Ages. It was captured by the Crusaders and retaken by Saladin in 579. A later Palestinian village was also established in the area in the late 19th century. In the 1920s, the Zionist activist Yehoshua Hankin purchased the surrounding area as part of the Sursock Purchases through the Palestine Land Development Company, and founded a kibbutz, which he called Ein Harod, near the spring. The site is today incorporated into the Ma'ayan Harod National Park, administered by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority.

Gidona or Gid'onah (Hebrew: גִּדְעוֹנָה) is a community settlement in northern Israel. Located near Ein Harod, it falls under the jurisdiction of Gilboa Regional Council. In 2021 it had a population of 505.

Nurit (Hebrew: נורית) is a community settlement in northern Israel. Located on Mount Gilboa, it falls under the jurisdiction of Gilboa Regional Council.

Nuris (Arabic: نورِِِس) was a Palestinian Arab village in the District of Jenin. In 1945, Nuris had 570 inhabitants. It was depopulated during the 1948 War on 29 May 1948 under Operation Gideon. The Israeli moshav of Nurit was built on Nuris' village land in 1950.

Kfar Yehezkel (Hebrew: כְּפַר יְחֶזְקֵאל, lit. Yehezkel Village) is a moshav ovdim in northern Israel. Located in the Jezreel Valley, six kilometres southeast of Afula, it falls under the jurisdiction of Gilboa Regional Council. In 2021 the moshav had a population of 1,254.

The Gan Ner Sports Hall (Hebrew: היכל הספורט גן נר) is an indoor sporting arena located in Gan Ner, Israel, and is the home of basketball team Hapoel Gilboa Galil. When the arena was inaugurated in 2008 it held 900 seats. The arena was expanded to 2,057 in 2010 to meet ULEB criteria for hosting a game in the Eurocup competition. The arena has not been approved even after the expansion, as ULEB demand a capacity of 3,000 seats.In April 2012, the arena hosted the 2011–12 BIBL final four, which saw the home team take the cup.

Gan Ner (Hebrew: גַּן נֵר) is a community settlement in northern Israel. Located near the Green Line to the south of Afula, it falls under the jurisdiction of Gilboa Regional Council. In 2021, it had a population of 2,671.

Highway 71 is an east-west highway that passes through the eastern Jezreel Valley and the Beit She'an Valley, below the north slopes of the Gilboa mountains, in northern Israel. The road follows a path parallel to the Harod Creek in the Harod Valley and to the Jezreel Valley railway. It is 35 kilometres (22 mi) long, and leads from Afula in the west, via Beit She'an, to the Jordan River Border Crossing in the east. The Navot interchange located approximately 10 km southeast of Afula provides a shortcut via Route 675 through the Ta'anakh region from Highway 71 and Beit She'an to Highway 65 and central Israel.

Al-Mazar (Arabic: المزار) was a Palestinian Arab village in the District of Jenin. Situated on Mount Gilboa, its history stretched back to the period of Mamluk rule over Palestine (13th century). An agricultural village, it was depopulated during the 1948 Palestine war, and incorporated into the newly established state of Israel. The Israeli villages of Prazon, Meitav, and Gan Ner were established on al-Mazar's former lands.

Zir'in (Arabic: زرعين, also spelled Zerein) was a Palestinian Arab village of over 1,400 in the Jezreel Valley, located 11 kilometers (6.8 mi) north of Jenin. Identified as the ancient town of Yizre'el (Jezreel), it was known as Zir'in during Islamic rule, and was near the site of the Battle of Ain Jalut, in which the Mamluks halted Mongol expansion southward. Under the Ottomans, it was a small village, expanding during the British Mandate in the early 20th century. After its capture by Israel in 1948, Zir'in was destroyed. The Israeli kibbutz of Yizre'el was established shortly after on the village lands of Zir'in.

Geva (Hebrew: גֶּבַע, lit. Hill) is a kibbutz in the Jezreel Valley in Israel. Located near the city of Afula, it falls under the jurisdiction of Gilboa Regional Council. In 2021 it had a population of 605.