Israel - Country
Overview
Background:
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 occupied by Israel 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. 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 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.
On 24 June 2002, US President Bush
laid out a "road map" for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict, which envisions a two-state solution. However, progress toward
a permanent status agreement has been undermined by Palestinian-Israeli
violence ongoing since September 2000. The conflict may have reached
a turning point with the election in January 2005 of Mahmud Abbas as
the new Palestinian leader following the November 2004 death of Yasir
Arafat.
Location:
Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Lebanon
Climate:
temperate; hot and dry in southern and eastern desert areas
Terrain:
Negev desert in the south; low coastal plain; central mountains; Jordan
Rift Valley
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
highest point: Har Meron 1,208 m
Natural hazards:
sandstorms may occur during spring and summer; droughts; periodic earthquakes
Nationality:
noun: Israeli(s)
adjective: Israeli
Ethnic groups:
Jewish 80.1% (Europe/America-born 32.1%, Israel-born 20.8%, Africa-born
14.6%, Asia-born 12.6%), non-Jewish 19.9% (mostly Arab) (1996 est.)
Religions:
Jewish 76.5%, Muslim 15.9%, Arab Christians 1.7%, other Christian 0.4%,
Druze 1.6%, unspecified 3.9% (2003)
Languages:
Hebrew (official), Arabic used officially for Arab minority, English
most commonly used foreign language
Country name:
conventional long form: State of Israel
conventional short form: Israel
local long form: Medinat Yisra'el
local short form: Yisra'el
Government type:
parliamentary democracy
Capital:
Jerusalem; note - Israel proclaimed Jerusalem as its capital in 1950,
but the US, like nearly all other countries, maintains its Embassy in
Tel Aviv
Administrative divisions:
6 districts (mehozot, singular - mehoz); Central, Haifa, Jerusalem,
Northern, Southern, Tel Aviv
Independence:
14 May 1948 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration)
National holiday:
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
Currency (code):
new Israeli shekel (ILS); note - NIS is the currency abbreviation; ILS
is the International Organization for Standarization (ISO) code for
the NIS
Exchange rates:
new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.482 (2004), 4.5541 (2003), 4.7378
(2002), 4.2057 (2001), 4.0773 (2000)
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