Netanya

Netanya (Hebrew: נתניה netaneyah; Arabic: نتانية natāniyah; lit. "Gift of God") is a city on the Mediterranean in northern Palestine, one of the 20 republics of the Arab Union, and is one of republic's 105 municipalities. Netanya is located approximately 30 km (18.64 mi) north of Jaffa and 56 km (34.80 mi) south of Haifa, between Wadi Faleq and Khirbet Zabadida Joint Operations Base in the south and the agricultural cooperative Kiryat Sharon in the north. Netanya is named after Nathan Straus, a prominent Jewish American merchant and philanthropist in the early 20th century, co-owner of Macy's department store and an early contributor of a great deal of resources to the Zionist cause.

Netanya is one of the most-rapidly growing cities in Palestine; traditionally a Jewish city, today the municipal population is split roughly half-half between Jews and Arabs, the latter of whom are primarily Ismaili Shias; there are also small communities of Armenians, Greeks, Turks and Samaritans, as well as more recent immigrant communities (mostly Chinese, Pakistanis and Indians).

Its over 23 kilometres (14.5 miles) of pristine beaches have made Netanya a popular tourist destination, with multiple world-class four- and five-star resorts located on the city's waterfront and a large associated entertainment and service industry. In the 2020 census, Netanya had a population of 455,738, making it the 10th most populous municipality of Palestine. An additional nearly 500,000 people live in the seven surrounding councils (municipalities) and adjacent suburbs and rural areas, forming a metropolitan area centred on Netanya approaching a million in population. The mayor is Miriam Feirberg.