Mampsis

Dimona (Hebrew: דִּימוֹנָה, Arabic: ديمونا) is an Israeli city in the Negev desert, 30 kilometres (19 mi) to the south-east of Beersheba and 35 kilometres (22 mi) west of the Dead Sea above the Arava valley in the Southern District of Israel. In 2023 its population was 39,230. The Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center, colloquially known as the Dimona Reactor, is located 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) southeast of the city.

The geography of Israel is very diverse, with desert conditions in the south, and snow-capped mountains in the north. Israel is located at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea in West Asia. It is bounded to the north by Lebanon, the northeast by Syria, the east by Jordan and the West Bank, and to the southwest by Egypt. To the west of Israel is the Mediterranean Sea, which makes up the majority of Israel's 273 km (170 mi) coastline, and the Gaza Strip. Israel has a small coastline on the Red Sea in the south. Israel's area is approximately 20,770 km2 (8,019 sq mi), which includes 445 km2 (172 sq mi) of inland water. Israel stretches 424 km (263 mi) from north to south, and its width ranges from 114 km (71 mi) at its widest point to 10 km (6.2 mi) at its narrowest point. It has an Exclusive Economic Zone of 26,352 km2 (10,175 sq mi). The Israeli-occupied territories include the West Bank, 5,879 km2 (2,270 sq mi), East Jerusalem, 70 km2 (27 sq mi) and the Golan Heights, 1,150 km2 (444 sq mi). Geographical features in these territories will be noted as such. Of these areas, Israel has annexed East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, an act not recognized by the international community. Southern Israel is dominated by the Negev desert, covering some 16,000 square kilometres (6,178 sq mi), more than half of the country's total land area. The north of the Negev contains the Judean Desert, which, at its border with Jordan, contains the Dead Sea which, at −417 m (−1,368 ft) is the lowest point on Earth. The inland area of central Israel is dominated by the Judean Hills of the West Bank, whilst the central and northern coastline consists of the flat and fertile Israeli coastal plain. Inland, the northern region contains the Mount Carmel mountain range, which is followed inland by the fertile Jezreel Valley, and then the hilly Galilee region. The Sea of Galilee is located beyond this region and is bordered to the east by the Golan Heights, a plateau bordered to the north by the Israeli-occupied part of the Mount Hermon massif, which includes the highest point under Israel's control, a peak of 2,224 meters (7,297 ft). The highest point in territory internationally recognized as Israeli is Mount Meron at 1,208 meters (3,963 ft).

Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. It shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. It occupies the Palestinian territories of the West Bank in the east and the Gaza Strip in the south-west, as well as the Syrian Golan Heights in the northeast. Israel also has a small coastline on the Red Sea at its southernmost point, and part of the Dead Sea lies along its eastern border. Its proclaimed capital is Jerusalem, while Tel Aviv is its largest urban area and economic centre. Israel is located in a region known as the Land of Israel, synonymous with Canaan, the Holy Land, the Palestine region, and Judea. In antiquity it was home to the Canaanite civilisation, followed by the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Situated at a continental crossroad, the region experienced demographic changes under the rule of empires from the Romans to the Ottomans. European antisemitism in the late 19th century galvanised Zionism, a movement which sought to colonise Palestine to establish a homeland for the Jewish people. Zionists gained British support with the Balfour Declaration. After World War I, Britain occupied the region and established Mandatory Palestine in 1920. Increased Jewish immigration in the lead-up to the Holocaust and British foreign policy in the Middle East led to intercommunal conflict between Jews and Arabs, which escalated into a civil war in 1947 after the United Nations (UN) proposed partitioning the land between them. After the end of the British Mandate for Palestine, Israel declared independence on 14 May 1948. Neighbouring Arab states invaded the area the next day, beginning the First Arab–Israeli War. An armistice in 1949 left Israel in control of more territory than the UN partition plan had called for; and no new independent Arab state was created as the rest of the former Mandate territory was held by Egypt and Jordan, respectively the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. The majority of Palestinian Arabs either fled or were expelled by Zionist militias in an ethnic cleansing known as the Nakba, with those remaining becoming the new state's main minority. Over the following decades, Israel's population increased greatly as the country received an influx of Jews who emigrated, fled or were expelled from the Arab world. Following the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel occupied the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Egyptian Sinai Peninsula and Syrian Golan Heights. After the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Israel signed peace treaties with Egypt—returning the Sinai in 1982—and Jordan. In 1993, Israel signed the Oslo Accords, which established mutual recognition and limited Palestinian self-governance in parts of the West Bank and Gaza. In the 2020s, it normalised relations with several more Arab countries via the Abraham Accords. However, efforts to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict after the interim Oslo Accords have not succeeded, and the country has engaged in several wars and clashes with Palestinian militant groups. Israel established and continues to expand settlements across the illegally occupied territories, contrary to international law, and has effectively annexed East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights in moves largely unrecognised internationally. Israel's practices in its occupation of the Palestinian territories have drawn sustained international criticism—along with accusations that it has committed war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide against the Palestinians—from experts, human rights organisations and UN officials. The country's Basic Laws establish a parliament elected by proportional representation, the Knesset, which determines the makeup of the government headed by the prime minister and elects the figurehead president. Israel has one of the largest economies in the Middle East, one of the highest standards of living in Asia, the world's 26th-largest economy by nominal GDP and 16th by nominal GDP per capita. One of the most technologically advanced and developed countries globally, Israel spends proportionally more on research and development than any other country in the world. It is widely believed to possess nuclear weapons. Israeli culture comprises Jewish and Jewish diaspora elements alongside Arab influences.

Dimona railway station (Hebrew: תחנת הרכבת דימונה, Takhanat HaRakevet Dimona) is a train station in Dimona, Israel, opened in 2005. It is on a 35-kilometre-long (22 mi) line between Dimona and Beersheba, a separate operating line within Israel Railways. The track carries on beyond the actual town itself to mines and freight yards. Partly due to the station's distance from central Dimona, ridership is very low. With only 14,745 passengers recorded in 2019, the station was the least used in all of Israel. However, proposals to close it on account of poor usage have been rejected in order to preserve passenger rail service to the historically deprived development town.

Qasr al-Sir (Arabic: قصر السر; Hebrew: קסר א-סיר, lit. 'Fortress of Mystery') is a Bedouin village in the Negev desert in southern Israel, adjacent to highway 25. The village covers 4,776 dunams (477.6 hectares). Located three kilometres west of Dimona, it falls under the jurisdiction of Neve Midbar Regional Council. In 2023 it had a population of 3,363.

Abu Qrenat or Abu Karinat (Arabic: ابو قرينات; Hebrew: אבו קרינאת) is a Bedouin village in Israel. Located in the northwestern Negev, it falls under the jurisdiction of Neve Midbar Regional Council. The village was established for the Abu Qrenat tribe from which the village receives its name. In 2021 its population was 2,081.In 2016 a trial archaeological excavation took place at the El-Ghanami Neighborhood ahead of development work. The excavation revealed intensive agricultural activity in the region, mostly from the Byzantine (4th-7th centuries CE), Mamluk and Ottoman periods (15th-19th centuries CE). The findings included poor remains of structures (including a possible open mosque), installations, dams, cave dwellings, tombs and terraces.

Ar'arat an-Naqab (Arabic: عرعرة النقب) or Ar'ara BaNegev (Hebrew: עַרְעָרָה בַּנֶּגֶב), previously called Aroer, is a Bedouin town (local council) in the Southern District of Israel. Its name stands for "the juniper tree in Negev". It is situated not far from the archaeological site of Aroer. Ar'arat an-Naqab was founded in 1982 as part of a government project to settle Bedouins in permanent settlements. It is one of seven Bedouin townships in the Negev desert with approved plans and developed infrastructure (other six are: Hura, Lakiya, Shaqib al-Salam (Segev Shalom), Kuseife (Kseife), Tel as-Sabi (Tel-Sheva) and the city of Rahat, the largest among them).

Yeruham (Hebrew: יְרוֹחַם, romanized: Yeroham) is a town (local council) in the Southern District of Israel, in the Negev desert. It covers 38,584 dunams (38.584 km2; 14.897 sq mi), and had a population of 11,031 in 2021. It is named after the Biblical Jeroham. Until early 2011 the mayor of Yeruham was Amram Mitzna, and he was succeeded by Michael Biton of Kadima, who was elected mayor in November 2010. In 2018, dark horse candidate Tal Ohana was elected the first female mayor of Yeruham. For many years, Yeruham was economically depressed and suffered from image problems, but major efforts to improve the quality of life took place during the early 2000s.

Yeshiva Yerucham Yeshivat Hesder Yerucham (Hebrew: ישיבת הסדר ירוחם) is a hesder yeshiva located in the development town of Yeruham, Israel. It was founded in 1993 and currently there are over 220 students. It is known for its high level of Gemara learning.

Tel-Yeruham Dam, also known as, Yeruham Dam is a masonry dam situated on the Revivim Stream, a tributary of the HaBesor Stream, in Yeruham, Southern District, Israel. The dam has many purposes which include flood control, irrigation, municipal water supply, tourism and recreation. It impounded Lake Yeruham between 1953 and 1954. In 1974 the area around the lake was improved with plants and facilities to improve recreation.

Nevatim Airbase (Hebrew: בסיס נבטים, English: sprouts) (IATA: VTM, ICAO: LLNV), also Air Force Base 28, is an Israeli Air Force (IAF) base, located 15 km east-southeast of Beersheba, near moshav Nevatim in the northern Negev desert. It is one of the largest in Israel and has three runways of different lengths. Stealth fighter jets, transport aircraft, tanker aircraft and machines for electronic reconnaissance/surveillance, as well as the Wing of Zion, are stationed there. The air base was long considered for dual use, military and civilian, as an airport for the growing city of Beersheba (see International Airport).

The School for Infantry Corps Professions and Squad Commanders (Hebrew: Beit HaSefer LiMfakdei Kitot UMiktzo'ot Heil HaRaglim, best known by its acronym Bislamach) is the Israel Defense Forces body responsible for the training of all Infantry Corps squad commanders and platoon sergeants. Established in 1974 under the command of Yaakov Hasdai, the school comprises three operative battalions (17th, 906th, and 450th), ordinarily used for training. During wars or emergencies, as was the case during the Yom Kippur War, these serve as fully operational combat forces. Since 2006 these battalions form the 828th Brigade (formerly 772th Brigade), referred to as the Bislamach Brigade (formerly called Bislach Brigade). The brigade has three bases, all located in the Negev. Before Operation Rainbow, during the Al-Aqsa Intifada, the brigade's soldiers participated in searching the Philadelphi Route for the bodies of the soldiers from the Sayeret Yahalom, who were killed during the armoured personnel carrier disaster of May 11–12, 2004. They also took part in the Gaza disengagement plan, following which they were the first to hold the border with the Gaza Strip. The 17th Battalion of the Bislamach Brigade was involved in combat in the Battle of Zikim, claiming to have killed four militants at Zikim Beach in a video posted to social media on 10 October 2023.