The Palmahim structure — A model of continuous tectonic activity since the Upper Miocene in the Southeastern Mediterranean off Israel

Several morphotectonic features trending NW-SE have been reported along the continental slope of Israel, and the Palmahim structure served as a model for their present tectonic interpretation. It is suggested that the Palmahim structure is a large strike-slip fault, extending from the continental shelf to the marine Levantine Platform along some 80 km, and is associated with various secondary faulted and folded structures. The fault has been active apparently since at least the Upper Miocene, but the intensity of the tectonic activity seems to have decreased since the Pleistocene. There are grounds to assume that the NW-SE-trending faults in the continental slope correlate to the tectonic activities in the Coastal Plain and in the Dead Sea Rift Valley.