HUNDREDS of intrepid Saints fans are today travelling to a region better known for its unrest and violence than it is for its football.

Devoted supporters are following Claude's Puel's men on a 4,000-mile round trip to Israel where they will travel to the southern city of Beer Sheva to face the Israeli champions Hapoel Beer Sheva.

After spending thousands of pounds on flights and hotels to make the journey to one of football's most obscure backwaters for just 90 minutes of Europa League action, the bold travellers will still have to deal with tight security and the ever-present threat of violence in a deeply unsettled region.

Because of the safety issues surrounding the trip, Saints have distributed safety information to each of their fans that will be making the journey.

Saints have also laid on free bus travel to supporters from Tel Aviv to Beer Sheva, which means around an hour's drive through the troubled region to get to the game for some.

The club have warned supporters that they can expect to be questioned repeatedly about the purpose of their trip, where they are staying and other information relating to their visit.

Security forces will even want to know who they met with and if they received a gift.

Saints have tried to put fans at ease, stating: "The main thing to remember is not to worry about this process - their security is outstanding for your safety, it is their job to ask the question, and you can remain calm and relaxed throughout."

It is some contrast to your average Premier League away day.

There is even a 600m exclusion zone outside the stadium for security reasons on match days, which means no cars get close to the stadium, including taxis.

On top of advice not to bring flags that contain any abusive, political or inflammatory words or phrases, Saints have also told fans that security forces will be far less tolerant of drunken behaviour than the police in the UK.

"Police are less tolerant of drunken behaviour," the document states.

"You can and will be arrested and detained. This may results in you missing your flights, and travel insurance will most likely become invalid."

The newly built 16,000-seater Turner Stadium where Hapoel are based bizarrely has, along with bans on smoking, alcohol, drugs, fireworks and weapons, a restriction on bringing in seeds and nut cracking inside the ground.

"Please note the unusual ban - 'No seeds/nut cracking'. So please, for everyone's safety and wellbeing, leave your pistachios at home!!" Saints' information document states.

Beer Sheva is known as the major city in Negev, a neglected region with a poor image.

Travelling to Israel, a deeply unsettled region, has its risks with ongoing tensions surrounding the Palestine-Israel Conflict.

But, now, Saints find themselves setting camp up there ahead of their first ever match in Israel.

The city itself has a population of more than 200,000 people.

It is the sixth largest city in the country and is the gateway to the Negev region.

Because of its desert location, the city is well spread out and it is a mostly middle class town.

However, the area has been blighted by conflict since in the mid-20th century and while there is cessation in the most dramatic violence around the Gaza Strip, there are still many problems.

Beer Sheva isn’t far from two of the areas known to be among the most unsettled, with the West Bank less than 30 minutes to the north and the Gaza Strip to the west around half an hour drive away.

Hapoel's have just clinched a fairytale domestic title.

They’ve been chasing the league crown for the last three seasons and finally managed to upset the nation’s big guns Maccabi Tel Aviv by winning it.

It was their first league title in 40 years.

For a long time Hapoel had been underachievers, for most of the last ten years they’ve yo-yoed up and down from the second division to the top-flight without ever doing anything remarkable.

But then things changed.

It was down to a change of ownership in 2007 that hailed the beginning of a new era, which has brought them to this point.

Nine years ago, Alona Barkat became the first female owner of a football club in Israel, which marked the beginning of Beer Sheva's upturn in fortunes.

Before Barkat stepped in, Hapoel were crumbling in the second tier and owned by a local businessman, suffering under debts and poor results.

Hapoel have built themselves a plush new stadium after spending the last 50 years in the poorly equipped Wasermil Stadium.

Barkat, injected money, and, after some early mistakes, has been influential in turning their fortunes around.