Regional councils (Hebrew: מועצה אזורית‎, Mo'atza Azorit) are one of the three types of local government entities found in Israel, with the other two being cities and local councils. As of 2003, there were 53 regional councils in Israel, usually responsible for governing a number of settlements spread across rural areas. Regional councils include representation of anywhere between 3 and 54 communities, usually spread over a relatively large area within geographical vicinicty of each other.