Fatima Gate (Wikipedia)
Fatima Gate, also known as the Good Fence Crossing, is a former border crossing between Lebanon and Israel. On the Lebanese side, it is close to the village of Kfar Kila and on the Israeli side, it is west of Metula. The crossing has been closed since the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon at the end of the 1982-2000 South Lebanon conflict, and since the summer of 2000 has been the site of many anti-Israeli demonstrations and cross-border stone throwing from Lebanon to Israel.- Jerusalem (Wikipedia)
Jerusalem (/dʒəˈruːsələmˌ -zə-/ jə-ROO-sə-ləm, -zə-; Hebrew: יְרוּשָׁלַיִם Yerushaláyim, pronounced [jeʁuʃaˈlajim]; Arabic: القُدس al-Quds, pronounced [al.quds], local pronunciation: [il.ʔuds]) is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the oldest cities in the world, and is considered holy to the three major Abrahamic religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Both the State of Israel and Palestine claim Jerusalem as their capital. Israel maintains its primary governmental institutions there, and Palestine ultimately foresees it as its seat of power. Neither claim is widely recognized internationally.
- Nazareth (Wikipedia)
Nazareth (/ˈnæzərəθ/ NAZ-ər-əth; Arabic: النَّاصِرَة, romanized: an-Nāṣira; Hebrew: נָצְרַת, romanized: Nāṣəraṯ; Syriac: ܢܨܪܬ, romanized: Naṣrath) is the largest city in the Northern District of Israel. In 2022 its population was 78,007. Known as “the Arab capital of Israel”, Nazareth serves as a cultural, political, religious, economic and commercial center for the Arab citizens of Israel, as well as a center of Arab and Palestinian nationalism. The inhabitants are predominantly Arab citizens of Israel, of whom 69% are Muslim and 30.9% Christian. The city also commands immense religious significance, deriving from its status as the hometown of Jesus, the central figure of Christianity and a prophet in Islam.
clockwise around the Mediterranean
- Gaza Strip (Wikipedia)
The Gaza Strip (/ˈɡɑːzə/; Arabic: قِطَاعُ غَزَّةَ Qiṭāʿ Ġazzah [qɪˈtˤɑːʕ ˈɣaz.za]), or simply Gaza, is a polity and the smaller of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the West Bank). On the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, Gaza is bordered by Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the east and north.
clockwise around the Red Sea
- Jordan (Wikipedia)
Jordan (Arabic: الأردن, romanized: al-ʾUrdunn [al.ʔur.dunː]), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in West Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan River. Jordan is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south and east, Iraq to the northeast, Syria to the north, and the Palestinian West Bank and Israel to the west. The Dead Sea is located along its western border and the country has a 26 km (16 mi) coastline in its southwest on the Gulf of Aqaba’s Red Sea, which separates Jordan from Egypt. Amman is Jordan’s capital and largest city, as well as its economic, political, and cultural centre.
- Israel (/ˈɪzri.əl, -reɪ-/; Hebrew: יִשְׂרָאֵל Yisrāʾēl [jisʁaˈʔel]; Arabic: إِسْرَائِيل ʾIsrāʾīl), officially the State of Israel (מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל Medīnat Yisrāʾēl [mediˈnat jisʁaˈʔel]; دَوْلَة إِسْرَائِيل Dawlat Isrāʾīl), is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Lebanon to the north, by Syria to the northeast, by Jordan to the east, by the Red Sea to the south, by Egypt to the southwest, by the Mediterranean Sea to the west, and by the Palestinian territories – the West Bank along the east and the Gaza Strip along the southwest. Tel Aviv is the financial, economic, and technological center of the country, while its seat of government is in its proclaimed capital of Jerusalem, although Israeli sovereignty over East Jerusalem is unrecognized internationally.
- Gulf of Aqaba (Wikipedia)
The Gulf of Aqaba (Arabic: خَلِيج الْعَقَبَة, romanized: Khalīj al-ʿAqaba) or Gulf of Eilat (Hebrew: מפרץ אילת, romanized: Mifrátz Eilát) is a large gulf at the northern tip of the Red Sea, east of the Sinai Peninsula and west of the Arabian Peninsula. Its coastline is divided among four countries: Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. The northernmost coral reef in the world is situated near the Eilat shore.
- Edom (Wikipedia)
Edom (/ˈiːdəm/; Edomite: 𐤀𐤃𐤌 ʾDM; Hebrew: אֱדוֹם ʾĔḏōm, lit.: “red”; Akkadian: 𒌑𒁺𒈪 Údumi, 𒌑𒁺𒈬 Údumu; Ancient Egyptian: jdwmꜥ) was an ancient kingdom that stretched across areas in the south of present-day Jordan and Israel.
- Kingdom of Judah (Wikipedia)
The Kingdom of Judah was an Israelite kingdom of the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. Centered in the highlands to the west of the Dead Sea, the kingdom’s capital was Jerusalem. It was ruled by the Davidic line for four centuries. Jews are named after Judah, and primarily descend from people who lived in the region.
- Benjamin Netanyahu (Wikipedia)
Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician, serving as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office in 1996–1999 and 2009–2021. He is chair of the Likud party. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime minister in Israel’s history, having served a total of over 16 years.