The Negev or Naqab is the southern region of Israel/Palestine. It is a desert that covers about 60% of the current state of Israel. Only about 10% of the people that live in Israel live there. The Negev has borders with Egypt and the Gaza Strip to the west, the Arabah in the Great Rift Valley in the east, and a line connecting Gaza city to Ein Gedi near the Dead Sea to the north. Beersheba and Eilat are the main cities of the Negev.