Ein Netafim is a water spring in the

Eilat Eilat ( , ; ; ) is Israel's southernmost city, with a population of , a busy port of Eilat, port and popular resort at the northern tip of the Red Sea, on what is known in Israel as the Gulf of Eilat and in Jordan as the Gulf of Aqaba. The c ...

mountains located near the Israeli border with Egypt. The spring is located about seven kilometers north of the city of Eilat, near the

Highway 12 A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights of way. In the United States, it is also used as an equivalent term to controlled-access highway, or ...

road which leads to Eilat. Ein Netafim is the only natural water source in the

Eilat Mountains The Eilat Mountains ( ''Harei Eilat'') are a mountain range within the southern Negev in southern Israel. The ranges of the Timna Valley belong to the Eilat Mountains. Among the central block of mountains, Mount Hezekiah is the highest, followed ...

that is flowing all year round and serves as the main source of drinking water for the animals in its surrounding. During the evening and the night various animals tend to gather in the site in order to drink from the spring water. The more prevalent animals whom gather at the site are

gazelles A gazelle is one of many antelope species in the genus ''Gazella'' . There are also seven species included in two further genera; '' Eudorcas'' and '' Nanger'', which were formerly considered subgenera of ''Gazella''. A third former subgenus, ' ...

goats The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a species of goat-antelope that is mostly kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the famil ...

rabbits Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also includes the hares), which is in the order Lagomorpha (which also includes pikas). They are familiar throughout the world as a small herbivore, a prey animal, a domesticated form ...

and

birds Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

History

In 1950 Israel attempted to construct an agriculture settlement nearby which was eventually abandoned. Until the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states, primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...

an Israeli military post existed nearby Ein Netafim. The spring also influenced the determined of the boundary line between the British Empire and the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, which is the border between Israel and

Egypt today ''Egypt Today'' is an Egyptian English-language monthly news magazine owned by United Media Services (UMS), a company owned by General Intelligence Service (Mukhabarat). History and profile ''Egypt Today'' was first published in 1979. It cover ...

. The British built a basin at the site to collect the spring water. The basin was destroyed during a subsequent rock collapse. In 1965 the staff of the Eilat Field School constructed a new basin, but it was also destroyed in a flood. The most recent basin was built in 1968. The area of Ein Netafim on

was the site of two major terror attacks—one in 1990 and one in 2011.

External links

Ein Netafim - An Israel Desert Hike with Rami
– published on israelinsideout.com
Birding Sites in Israel : Ein-Netafim
– published on science.co.il {{Coord, 29.597014, N, 34.883171, E, type:landmark, display=title Springs of Israel