ABSTRACT
In 1981 there were 37 settlements in Israel that had achieved town status, but were quite different from other towns because of their settlement history, number of inhabitants and municipal area. Most of these towns gained their municipal urban status only after the establishment of the State. It appears that the veteran agricultural Moshavot (1), which had more favourable urban conditions in comparison to other forms of agricultural settlements, and which make up more than one third of the towns in Israel, are not the largest towns in the country. Veteran towns such as Petah Tiqva, Rishon LeZion, Rehovot, Hadera and Kefar Sava are considered to be small and medium-sized towns in the country.
