National parks and nature reserves of Israel

Masada National Park
Ruins of the ancient synagogue at Bar'am National Park
Natural warm water pool at Gan HaShlosha
Makhtesh Ramon

National parks of Israel are declared historic sites or nature reserves, which are mostly operated and maintained by the National Nature and Parks Authority. As of 2015, Israel maintains 81 national parks and more than 400 nature reserves, many of them in the occupied West Bank, that protect 2,500 species of indigenous wild plants, 32 species of fish, 530 species of birds and 100 species of mammals.[1][2]

The parks and reserves were frequently declared around the ruins of the depopulated and subsequently demolished towns and villages of the 1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight; 182 historical Palestinian built up areas are located within Israel's parks and reserves.[3][4] Some parks are located at archaeological sites such as Tel Megiddo, Beit She'an, Ashkelon and Kursi. Others, such as the Alexander stream, Mount Carmel National Park or Hurshat Tal focus on nature and the preservation of local flora and fauna. Several parks and nature reserves have camping options, such as tent grounds and bungalows, open to small groups and individual campers.[5] Some of them are located in the Israeli-occupied territories of the Golan Heights and the West Bank.

In 2011, the most popular national parks were Yarkon National Park, Caesarea, Ein Gedi and Tel Dan.[6]

  1. ^ Where the Golan’s rivers flow into the Sea of Galilee The Times of Israel. Aviva and Shmuel Bar-am. 29/08/15: "As time passed, and with the help of some extraordinary personalities with drive and ambition, the Knesset legislated two official Authorities to deal with our natural heritage: The National Parks Authority and the Nature Reserves Authority. Both began operating in 1964. The two authorities merged in April of 1998. Today, as the Israel Nature and Parks Authority (INPA), they work together to preserve, protect and develop this country’s 81 national parks and 400 nature reserves."
  2. ^ 1001 Facts Everyone Should Know About Israel, Mitchell Geoffrey Bard and Moshe Schwartz
  3. ^ Noga Kadman (7 September 2015). Erased from Space and Consciousness: Israel and the Depopulated Palestinian Villages of 1948. Indiana University Press. pp. 112–113. ISBN 978-0-253-01682-9.
  4. ^ Irus Braverman, Planting the Promised Landscape: Zionism, Nature, and Resistance in Israel/Palestine, 49 Nat. Resources J. 317 (2009)
  5. ^ Ecotourism in Israel
  6. ^ 130,000 travelers visit Israel's national parks