In Israel, three species in the genus fox are known. The most common and familiar of them is the species Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes), which thrives in human surroundings and successfully lives in densely populated areas.

Recently, the following article was published on the Maariv website:
Fox on the Edge: Unique Fox Species Identified in the Judean Desert
The article contains several inaccuracies, perhaps intentionally, in order to attract and captivate readers. Since some of the quicker ones had already managed to copy several mistakes and incorporate them into the Wikipedia entry, and as of now they are even published on the HaLahat website, the following corrections are presented so that up-to-date information will also be available on the web.   

First, although I do not personally know all wildlife researchers in Israel, contrary to what was written, it is hard to believe that any of them feared that the species had gone extinct completely. Some of them were involved in its discovery in Israel, which occurred earlier than was reported, in the early 1980s.
In fact, already in the mid and late 1970s David Menninger and the late Giora Ilani observed foxes that caught their attention. In the winter of 1981, a Rock Fox (Vulpes cana) was trapped and identified for the first time in the Ein Gedi area. Until then, the nearest site to Israel where Rock Foxes were known was in eastern Iran, since at the time the species had not yet been identified in the neighboring countries of Israel. The species is indeed associated with the Judean Desert, but it is by no means restricted to this area. The Rock Fox lives in desert, dissected, and cliffy areas also in the Negev Highlands, southern Negev, and the Arava. The cautious estimate, according to which "it is very likely that Rock Foxes are common beyond the Judean Desert," is not an estimate at all but a well-documented fact, known for many years and mentioned in many sources. Although it is not easy to observe Rock Foxes directly in the Negev, their tracks can be found quite easily in every place in the Negev where, as far as is known, the conditions necessary for its existence are present.

The second species mentioned in the article is Sand Fox (Vulpes rueppelli), known in the Academy of the Hebrew Language (and only in the Academy of the Hebrew Language) as the Negev Fox. Like the Rock Fox, the typical habitat of the Sand Fox is under severe threats, but compared with it, the threat appears to be worsening at a rapid pace. Sites in the Negev Highlands are known where the first two species, the Rock Fox and the Red Fox, live alongside each other. The Rock Fox succeeds in living in crevices, steep slopes, and cliffs, while the Red Fox is limited to areas where the terrain is more favorable. For this reason, Rock Foxes can be found relatively close to settlements, and the Maariv article provides an excellent example of this. The habitat of the Sand Fox, compared with that of the Rock Fox, is more vulnerable. Vast sandy areas and plains in the Negev and the Arava were converted into agricultural land. As a result of human activity there, the landscape changed completely and no longer provides the conditions necessary for the Sand Fox's existence. Other canid species, including the Red Fox and the Golden Jackal, have become common in these areas. Over the past decades, the Sand Fox has retreated from areas where it was formerly present and appears to be becoming increasingly rare. Anyone interested in observing Sand Foxes is advised to do so as soon as possible; time may be short.
A.V