Negev

The Israel Land Authority demolished some 170 illegal structures across 538 dunams in the Negev, targeting unauthorized construction in Abu Qrinat and the Rotem Plain.

Shin Bet head David Zini warned the security cabinet of emerging terror cells and Hamas ties in the Negev. Prime Minister Netanyahu ordered heightened security enforcement.

Residents of the Negev region, spanning Jewish and Bedouin localities, grapple with rampant illegal gunfire, weapons testing, and escalating security concerns.

Rotem Amfert workers will protest in Jerusalem on October 19, 2026, over planning delays threatening the plant's closure and endangering 1,000 direct jobs in the Negev.

Over 300 experts urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to freeze Amendment 5 to National Master Plan 35, warning it threatens Negev and Galilee development.

A severe rodent infestation and stray dog crisis are threatening the Western Negev following three years of conflict. Local authorities are demanding a coordinated government response.

A growing convergence between criminal smuggling, terror financing, and strategic threats in southern Israel poses severe security challenges, demanding urgent multi-agency countermeasures.

A motorcycle convoy displaying Ra'am party flags in the Negev sparked public fear and political backlash, prompting police intervention and a denial from delivery firm Wolt.

A motorcycle convoy waving green flags on Negev roads sparked panic among drivers fearing a security breach. Police intercepted the riders, arresting one fleeing suspect.

The head of the Shin Bet warned of military-style infrastructures in the Negev, as rising weapons smuggling and terror links pose growing security threats in southern Israel.

Three years after October 7, the Western Negev is witnessing a demographic and business boom. Survivors, reservists, and evacuees are opening cafes, farms, and fitness centers, turning trauma into community renewal.

A memorial assembly for the October 7 victims was held in the southern Iron Swords Memorial Forest, featuring regional leaders, bereaved families, and calls for a state commission of inquiry.

Criminals in the Negev suspected of torching a wastewater treatment plant electrical room, causing sewage to flood toward Beersheba amid extortion demands.

A Be'er Sheva court released a suspect in an alleged Negev farm break-in, sharply rebuking police for failing to question armed civilians who shot at and seriously wounded a passenger in the fleeing car.

The Zionist Planning Institute launched in Israel to promote Jewish settlement, territorial contiguity, and demographic balance in the Negev and the Galilee regions.

With 33 days until the Knesset elections, a tour of Negev Bedouin localities reveals diverse political intentions, potential protest votes against Itamar Ben Gvir, and possible alliances with Gadi Eisenkot.

Israeli police raided Bir Hadaj in the Negev, detaining 10 suspects in a major crackdown on illegal polygamy involving five men, 15 wives, and 67 children.

A new Riefman Institute report warns that illegal weapons, nationalism, and Iranian espionage in the Negev threaten critical Israeli airbases during wartime.

A high school principal in the Negev was arrested for allegedly attacking and biting a student during a brawl involving his relatives. The principal denies the charges.

Yigal Damri, founder and CEO of Y.H. Dimri, received a lifetime achievement award from the Negev Contractors Association for his decades-long contribution to the real estate sector and the development of the Negev.

A seven-year-old boy was killed in a traffic accident on Route 264 in the Negev on Friday evening, adding to a deadly week on Israeli roads.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir faced sharp criticism and a vocal confrontation during a pre-election campaign visit to the Bedouin village of Bir Hadaj on Wednesday.

Police in Ar'ara in the Negev seized an M-16 rifle and arrested a local resident following a violent clan clash and intelligence-led searches in the town.

A new ACRI report exposes severe safety, sanitation, and electrical hazards in 11 unrecognized Negev schools, serving 7,200 students with raw sewage and crumbling infrastructure.

A 22-year-old woman was seriously injured in a shooting in Umm Batin in the Negev, amid a surge of violent crime and shootings across Israel over the past week.

A 50-year-old resident of the Negev Bedouin sector is accused of concealing marriages to two women from the National Insurance Institute. By presenting them as common-law partners, he fraudulently obtained hundreds of thousands of shekels.

Following the legal battle over the phosphogypsum ponds of Rotem Amfert, thousands of workers in the Negev fear that they will return from the holidays to find there is nowhere to work. Environmental organizations accuse the plant's management of cynically using the workers as a human shield to obtain pollution permits.

Rosh Hashanah is the time when Israelis drink the most wine. Ahead of the holiday, we have put together a selection of ten local wines from the north and south of the country that are worth trying in the new year.

The city will expand north and south to accommodate thousands of new families. The agreement was signed following the completion of the marketing of nearly 3,000 apartments in two new neighborhoods last August.

Naor, one of the founders of Kibbutz Gevim and a fighter in the Palmach's Negev Brigade, served as head of the Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council and was only 29 years old when he was elected the first head of the Kiryat Gat local council. Over decades, he held a series of senior public positions and dedicated his life to developing the periphery. After losing his sight, he founded and managed, as a...

The first Israeli chef to win Michelin stars has been chosen to lead the well-known agricultural brand 'David Moshe' from the Western Negev in a massive new campaign.

The Rotem Amfert Negev plant, which employs thousands of workers in the south, is at a crossroads after appeals against the phosphogypsum reservoir expansion plan were referred to the National Planning and Building Council.

Dozens of suspects have been arrested in recent days, alongside a series of police raids in which significant quantities of weaponry were seized. During one of the operations, an arms cache was found inside a 'shig' — a tent for settling clan disputes. Despite the extensive activity, the struggle against the reality of crime in the Negev is far from over.

The greenhouses were located from the air during a police operation in the Ramat Negev area. Alongside approximately 25,000 seedlings, 15 kg of cannabis ready for distribution were seized. Additionally, dozens of rifle bullets were found.

A new corruption case in a southern local authority was exposed today (Monday). Officers from the Lahav 433 unit arrested a sitting council head in the Negev, his family members, and other senior officials on suspicion of bribery, bid-rigging, and fraud.

Following a covert investigation that lasted for months, large forces raided the local council offices. The suspicion: the council head facilitated the rigging of tenders and the employment of fictitious workers. The alleged attempts to transfer funds from the authority's coffers to their private pockets, and the concern in the police: "They are trying to turn official law enforcement authorities...

Three days before the start of the school year, the budget crisis between the Ministry of Education and the Neve Midbar Regional Council has reached a peak. The council, which serves over 22,000 students in the diaspora while having only 12,000 registered residents, refuses to commit to expenses without full reimbursement. Parent committees have now joined the strike threat, warning that the...

The Yashar! party, led by Gadi Eizenkot, announced today (Sunday) the addition of two new names to its ranks: Tal Ohana-Hakmon, former head of the Yeruham local council, and Colonel (res.) Nir Hajbi, a member of Kibbutz Kissufim and former community manager at the kibbutz.

The chairman of the Yashar! party announced the addition of Tal Ohana-Hachmon, former head of the Yeruham council and project manager for the rehabilitation of northern communities, and Col. (res.) Nir Hachabi, a member of Kibbutz Kissufim who lost his son Yonatan on October 7, to the party's list. According to Eisenkot, the two have "rich experience and a deep commitment to the rehabilitation and...

In a video that arrived from Gaza, a drone is seen arriving from the Egyptian border, landing and releasing a payload. Sources in Gaza told N12: Weapons are also being smuggled using the drones, and the phenomenon has become an industry that generates huge sums.

Fighters from the Magen unit of the Southern District Police thwarted the activity of a smuggling cell on the western border. During the operation, two suspects were arrested, and 21 kilograms of crystal-type drugs were seized in their possession. According to the suspicion, the two were involved in smuggling drugs across the border.

The Finance Minister presented a plan to establish dozens of new settlements in the Negev and the Galilee by handing the Planning Administration and the Israel Land Authority to his party in the next government. He declared: "We will remove all anti-Zionist elements from these systems and cancel the plans that create sequences of Arab settlement and choke Jewish settlements."

The Finance Minister presented a plan to establish dozens of new settlements in the Negev and the Galilee — by handing the Planning Administration and the Israel Land Authority to his party in the next government — and declared: "We will remove all anti-Zionist elements from these systems and cancel the plans that create sequences of Arab settlement and choke Jewish communities."

The chairman of the Yashar! party announced during a tour of the south the establishment of a team that will deal with the rehabilitation and development of the Gaza Envelope and the Western Negev. On the team: Head of the Ramat HaNegev Regional Council Eran Doron, Tair Ifargan, Oshrat Gani Gonen, and representatives of the Gaza Envelope communities. "The rehabilitation of the south begins first...

As part of an investigation against a resident of Rahat, police and enforcement authorities raided a logistics complex suspected of being used to conceal goods. Two trucks and two forklifts worth millions of shekels were seized at the site. An illegal resident who tried to escape after getting off a forklift was detained for questioning.

Dozens of mayors and council heads from the South and the North have appealed to party leaders with a demand to include in their platforms a commitment to establish an international airport in the South. They are asking to agree first on the regional location, while deferring the decision on the specific site.

Five suspects were arrested during a police operation following a conflict between families in the town. During searches, two weapons, ammunition, and items for preparing Molotov cocktails were found. The town has been dealing with violent clan conflicts for years, which have claimed lives and led to a series of shooting incidents and blood feuds.

Get in the car and drive on Highway 40 towards the Negev. You won't believe what awaits you in this perfect region: hospitality tents, hiking trails, family farms, and off-road tours that will remind you that it's worth stopping a bit on the way to Eilat.

As part of a large-scale police operation to combat crime in the Negev, district officers in cooperation with Border Police fighters carried out a proactive raid on a residential house in a local council near Arad, resulting in the arrest of a suspect.

During a Border Police operation near Rahat, a drone identified a suspect removing an object from a vehicle and attempting to flee. Officers apprehended the suspect, and a subsequent search of the area uncovered a Glock pistol wrapped in paper and hidden in an open field. The suspect, an 18-year-old from the Bedouin community, has been arrested and his detention extended.