 Until 2008 it was known as the Beit She'an Valley Regional Council ("Mo'atza Azorit Bik'at Beit She'an").The territory of the regional council is bounded by the Jezreel Valley in the west, in the north by the Lower Galilee, to the east by the Jordan River, and the south by the Jordan Valley and Samarian hills.About 12,000 people live in the sixteen kibbutzim, six moshavim, and 2 community villages located in its municipal territory.