Following World War II, the British withdrew from their mandate of Palestine, and the UN partitioned the area into Arab and Jewish states, an arrangement rejected by the Arabs. Subsequently, the Israelis defeated the Arabs in a series of wars without ending the deep tensions between the two sides. The territories Israel occupied since the 1967 war are not included in the Israel country profile, unless otherwise noted. On 25 April 1982, Israel withdrew from the Sinai pursuant to the 1979 Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty. In keeping with the framework established at the Madrid Conference in October 1991, bilateral negotiations were conducted between Israel and Palestinian representatives and Syria to achieve a permanent settlement. Israel and Palestinian officials signed on 13 September 1993 a Declaration of Principles (also known as the "Oslo Accords") guiding an interim period of Palestinian self-rule. Outstanding territorial and other disputes with Jordan were resolved in the 26 October 1994 Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace. In addition, on 25 May 2000, Israel withdrew unilaterally from southern Lebanon, which it had occupied since 1982. In April 2003, US President BUSH, working in conjunction with the EU, UN, and Russia - the "Quartet" - took the lead in laying out a roadmap to a final settlement of the conflict by 2005, based on reciprocal steps by the two parties leading to two states, Israel and a democratic Palestine. However, progress toward a permanent status agreement was undermined by Israeli-Palestinian violence between September 2003 and February 2005. In the summer of 2005, Israel unilaterally disengaged from the Gaza Strip, evacuating settlers and its military while retaining control over most points of entry into the Gaza Strip. The election of HAMAS to head the Palestinian Legislative Council froze relations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA). Ehud OLMERT became prime minister in March 2006 and presided over a 34-day conflict with Hizballah in Lebanon in June-August 2006 and a 23-day conflict with HAMAS in the Gaza Strip during December 2008 and January 2009. OLMERT, who in June 2007 resumed talks with PA President Mahmoud ABBAS, resigned in September 2008. Prime Minister Binyamin NETANYAHU formed a coalition in March 2009 following a February 2009 general election. Peace talks are currently stalled.

Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Lebanon

31 30 N, 34 45 E

Middle East

slightly smaller than New Jersey

273 km

temperate; hot and dry in southern and eastern desert areas

Negev desert in the south; low coastal plain; central mountains; Jordan Rift Valley

timber, potash, copper ore, natural gas, phosphate rock, magnesium bromide, clays, sand

1,940 sq km (2003)

1.7 cu km (2001)

sandstorms may occur during spring and summer; droughts; periodic earthquakes

limited arable land and natural fresh water resources pose serious constraints; desertification; air pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions; groundwater pollution from industrial and domestic waste, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides

there are about 340 Israeli civilian sites - including 100 small outpost communities in the West Bank - as well as 42 sites in the Golan Heights, 0 in the Gaza Strip, and 29 in East Jerusalem (July 2008 est.); Lake Tiberias (Sea of Galilee) is an important freshwater source

7,353,985

1.628% (2010 est.)

19.51 births/1,000 population (2010 est.)

5.45 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.)

2.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2010 est.)

2.72 children born/woman (2010 est.)

0.1% (2007 est.)

5,100 (2007 est.)

fewer than 200 (2007 est.)

Jewish 76.4% (of which Israel-born 67.1%, Europe/America-born 22.6%, Africa-born 5.9%, Asia-born 4.2%), non-Jewish 23.6% (mostly Arab) (2004)

Jewish 76.4%, Muslim 16%, Arab Christians 1.7%, other Christian 0.4%, Druze 1.6%, unspecified 3.9% (2004)

Hebrew (official), Arabic used officially for Arab minority, English most commonly used foreign language

6.9% of GDP (2004)

parliamentary democracy

6 districts (mehozot, singular - mehoz); Central, Haifa, Jerusalem, Northern, Southern, Tel Aviv

14 May 1948 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration)

Independence Day, 14 May (1948); note - Israel declared independence on 14 May 1948, but the Jewish calendar is lunar and the holiday may occur in April or May

no formal constitution; some of the functions of a constitution are filled by the Declaration of Establishment (1948), the Basic Laws of the parliament (Knesset), and the Israeli citizenship law; note - since May 2003 the Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee of the Knesset has been working on a draft constitution

mixture of English common law, British Mandate regulations, and in personal matters Jewish, Christian, and Muslim legal systems; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal

unicameral Knesset (120 seats; political parties are elected by popular vote and assigned seats for members on a proportional basis; members serve four-year terms)

Supreme Court (justices appointed by Judicial Selection Committee - made up of all three branches of the government; mandatory retirement age is 70)

Balad [Azmi BISHARA]; Democratic Front for Peace and Equality (HADASH) [Muhammad BARAKEH]; Kadima [Tzipora "Tzipi" LIVNI]; Labor Party [Ehud BARAK]; Likud [Binyamin NETANYAHU]; National Union [Yaakov KATZ]; SHAS [Eliyahu YISHAI]; The Jewish Home (HaBayit HaYehudi) [Daniel HERSCHKOWITZ]; The New Movement-Meretz [Haim ORON]; United Arab List-Ta'al [Ibrahim SARSUR]; United Torah Judaism or UTJ [Yaakov LITZMAN]; Yisrael Beiteinu or YB [Avigdor LIEBERMAN]

B'Tselem [Jessica MONTELL, Executive Director] monitors human rights abuses; Peace Now [Yariv OPPENHEIMER, Secretary General] supports territorial concessions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; YESHA Council of Settlements [Danny DAYAN, Chairman] promotes settler interests and opposes territorial compromise; Breaking the Silence [Yehuda SHAUL, Executive Director] collects testimonies from soldiers who served in the West Bank and Gaza Strip

BIS, BSEC (observer), CERN (observer), CICA, EBRD, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, OAS (observer), OECD (accession state), OPCW (signatory), OSCE (partner), Paris Club (associate), PCA, SECI (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

white with a blue hexagram (six-pointed linear star) known as the Magen David (Shield of David) centered between two equal horizontal blue bands near the top and bottom edges of the flag; the basic design resembles a Jewish prayer shawl (tallit), which is white with blue stripes; the hexagram as a Jewish symbol dates back to medieval times

Israel has a technologically advanced market economy. It depends on imports of crude oil, grains, raw materials, and military equipment. Despite limited natural resources, Israel has intensively developed its agricultural and industrial sectors over the past 20 years. Cut diamonds, high-technology equipment, and agricultural products (fruits and vegetables) are the leading exports. Israel usually posts sizable trade deficits, which are covered by large transfer payments from abroad and by foreign loans. Roughly half of the government's external debt is owed to the US, its major source of economic and military aid. Israel's GDP, after contracting slightly in 2001 and 2002 due to the Palestinian conflict and troubles in the high-technology sector, grew about 5% per year from 2004-07. The global financial crisis of 2008-09 spurred a brief recession in Israel, but the country entered the crisis with solid fundamentals - following years of prudent fiscal policy and a series of liberalizing reforms - and a resilient banking sector, and the economy has shown signs of an early recovery. Following GDP growth of 4% in 2008, Israel's GDP grew by 0.5% in 2009 and is expected to expand in 2010. The global economic downturn affected Israel's economy primarily through reduced demand for Israel's exports in the United States and EU, Israel's top trading partners. Exports account for about 45% of the country's GDP. The Israeli Government responded to the recession by implementing a modest fiscal stimulus package and an aggressive expansionary monetary policy - including cutting interest rates to record lows, purchasing government bonds, and intervening in the foreign currency market. The Bank of Israel began raising interest rates in the summer of 2009 when inflation rose above the upper end of the Bank's target and the economy began to show signs of recovery.

$206.8 billion (2009 est.)

$205.8 billion (2008 est.)

$197.5 billion (2007 est.)

$194 billion (2009 est.)

0.5% (2009 est.)

4.2% (2008 est.)

5.2% (2007 est.)

$28,400 (2009 est.)

$28,900 (2008 est.)

$28,300 (2007 est.)

3.01 million (2009 est.)

7.4% (2009 est.)

6.1% (2008 est.)

23.6%

39.2 (2008)

35.5 (2001)

16% of GDP (2009 est.)

78% of GDP (2009 est.)

76.8% of GDP (2008 est.)

3.9% (2009 est.)

3.5% (2008 est.)

1.25% (31 December 2009)

2.25% (31 December 2008)

6.06% (31 December 2008)

6.27% (31 December 2007)

$18.9 billion (31 December 2008)

$20.73 billion (31 December 2007)

$171.6 billion (31 December 2008)

$154.3 billion (31 December 2007)

$145.2 billion (31 December 2007)

$113.4 billion (31 December 2006)

$189.4 billion (31 December 2009)

$134.5 billion (31 December 2008)

$236.4 billion (31 December 2007)

citrus, vegetables, cotton; beef, poultry, dairy products

high-technology products (including aviation, communications, computer-aided design and manufactures, medical electronics, fiber optics), wood and paper products, potash and phosphates, food, beverages, and tobacco, caustic soda, cement, construction, metals products, chemical products, plastics, diamond cutting, textiles, footwear

-1.5% (2009 est.)

54.5 billion kWh (2008 est.)

46.38 billion kWh (2007 est.)

2.081 billion kWh (2007)

0 kWh (2008)

5,246 bbl/day (2008 est.)

235,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)

69,580 bbl/day (2007 est.)

318,900 bbl/day (2007 est.)

1.94 million bbl (1 January 2009 est.)

1.19 billion cu m (2008 est.)

1.19 billion cu m (2008 est.)

0 cu m (2008 est.)

0 cu m (2008 est.)

30.44 billion cu m (1 January 2009 est.)

$7.2 billion (2009 est.)

$1.596 billion (2008)

$44.35 billion (2009 est.)

$60.83 billion (2008 est.)

machinery and equipment, software, cut diamonds, agricultural products, chemicals, textiles and apparel

US 32.5%, Belgium 7.5%, Hong Kong 6.7% (2008)

$47.4 billion (2009 est.)

$67.66 billion (2008)

raw materials, military equipment, investment goods, rough diamonds, fuels, grain, consumer goods

US 12.3%, Belgium 6.5%, China 6.5%, Switzerland 6.1%, Germany 6% (2008)

$60.6 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$42.51 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

$84.69 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$86.08 billion (31 December 2008)

$60.68 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$56.93 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

$55.65 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$54.55 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

new Israeli shekels (ILS) per US dollar - 3.93 (2009), 3.588 (2008), 4.14 (2007), 4.4565 (2006), 4.4877 (2005)

3.1 million (2008)

9.5 million (2009)

AM 23, FM 15, shortwave 0 (2010)

7 (2009)

.il

1.544 million (2009)

2.106 million (2008)

47 (2009)

3 (2009)

gas 176 km; oil 442 km; refined products 261 km (2009)

Ashdod, Elat (Eilat), Hadera, Haifa

Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Israel Naval Forces (IN), Israel Air Force (IAF) (2010)

18 years of age for compulsory (Jews, Druzes) and voluntary (Christians, Muslims, Circassians) military service; both sexes are obligated to military service; conscript service obligation - 36 months for enlisted men, 21 months for enlisted women, 48 months for officers; pilots commit to 9 years service; reserve obligation to age 41-51 (men), 24 (women) (2010)

7.3% of GDP (2006)

West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation; Israel continues construction of a "seam line" separation barrier along parts of the Green Line and within the West Bank; Israel withdrew its settlers and military from the Gaza Strip and from four settlements in the West Bank in August 2005; Golan Heights is Israeli-occupied (Lebanon claims the Shab'a Farms area of Golan Heights); since 1948, about 350 peacekeepers from the UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) headquartered in Jerusalem monitor ceasefires, supervise armistice agreements, prevent isolated incidents from escalating, and assist other UN personnel in the region

increasingly concerned about ecstasy, cocaine, and heroin abuse; drugs arrive in country from Lebanon and, increasingly, from Jordan; money-laundering center