"text":"Israel has become a regional economic and military powerhouse, leveraging its prosperous high-tech sector, large defense industry, and concerns about Iran to foster partnerships around the world. The State of Israel was established in 1948. The UN General Assembly proposed in 1947 partitioning the British Mandate for Palestine into an Arab and Jewish state. The Jews accepted the proposal, but the local Arabs and the Arab states rejected the UN plan and launched a war. The Arabs were subsequently defeated in the 1947-1949 war that followed the UN proposal and the British withdrawal. Israel joined the UN in 1949 and saw rapid population growth, primarily due to Jewish refugee migration from Europe and the Middle East. Israel and its Arab neighbors fought wars in 1956, 1967, and 1973, and Israel signed peace treaties with Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994. Israel took control of the West Bank, the eastern part of Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, the Sinai Peninsula, and the Golan Heights in the course of the 1967 war. It ceded the Sinai back to Egypt in the 1979-1982 period but has continued to administer the other territories through military authorities. Israel and Palestinian officials signed interim agreements in the 1990s that created a period of Palestinian self-rule in parts of the West Bank and Gaza. Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005. The most recent formal efforts between Israel and the Palestinian Authority to negotiate final status issues occurred in 2013 and 2014, and the US continues its efforts to advance peace. Israel signed the US-brokered normalization agreements (the Abraham Accords) with Bahrain, the UAE, and Morocco in 2020 and reached an agreement with Sudan in 2021. Immigration to Israel continues, with more than 44,000 estimated new immigrants, mostly Jewish, in the first 11 months of 2023.<br><br>Former Prime Minister Benjamin NETANYAHU returned to office in 2022, continuing his dominance of Israel's political landscape at the head of Israel's most rightwing and religious government. NETANYAHU previously served as premier from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021, becoming Israel's longest serving prime minister.<br><br>On 7 October 2023, HAMAS militantslaunched a combined unguided rocket and ground terrorist attack from Gaza into southern Israel. The same day Israel’s Air Force launched air strikes inside Gaza and initiated a sustained air campaign against HAMAS targets across the Gaza Strip. The following day, NETANYAHU formally declared war on HAMAS, and on 28 October, theIsrael Defense Forceslaunched a large-scale ground assault inside Gaza.<br><br>The Israeli economy has undergone a dramatic transformation in the last 30 years, led by cutting-edge high-tech sectors. Offshore gas discoveries in the Mediterranean place Israel at the center of a potential regional natural gas market. In 2022, a US-brokered agreement between Israel and Lebanon established their maritime boundary, allowing Israel to begin production on additional gas fields in the Mediterranean. However, Israel's economic development has been uneven. Structural issues such as low labor-force participation among religious and minority populations,low workforce productivity, high costs for housing and consumer staples, and high income inequality concern both economists and the general population. The current war with Hamas disrupted Israel’s solid economic fundamentals,but it is not likely to have long-term structural implications for the economy.<br>"
"text":"Mitspe Shlagim 2,224 m; note - this is the highest named point, the actual highest point is an unnamed dome slightly to the west of Mitspe Shlagim at 2,236 m; both points are on the northeastern border of Israel, along the southern end of the Anti-Lebanon mountain range"
"text":"Dead Sea (shared with Jordan and West Bank) - 1,020 sq km<br>note - endorheic hypersaline lake; 9.6 times saltier than the ocean; lake shore is 431 meters below sea level"
"text":"population concentrated in and around Tel-Aviv, as well as around the Sea of Galilee; the south remains sparsely populated, with the exception of the shore of the Gulf of Aqaba"
"text":"<strong>note 1:</strong> Lake Tiberias (Sea of Galilee) is an important freshwater source; the Dead Sea is the second saltiest body of water in the world (after Lake Assal in Djibouti)<br><br><strong>note 2:</strong>the Malham Cave in Mount Sodom is the world's longest salt cave at 10 km (6 mi); Mount Sodom is a hill about 220 m (722 ft) high that is 80% salt, with multiple salt layers covered by a veneer of rock"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> approximately 236,600 Israeli settlers live in East Jerusalem (2021); following the March 2019 US recognition of the Golan Heights as being part of Israel, <em>The World Factbook</em> no longer includes Israeli settler population of the Golan Heights (estimated at 23,400 in 2019) in its overall Israeli settler total"
"text":"population concentrated in and around Tel-Aviv, as well as around the Sea of Galilee; the south remains sparsely populated, with the exception of the shore of the Gulf of Aqaba"
"text":"limited arable land and restricted natural freshwater resources; desertification; air pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions; groundwater pollution from industrial and domestic waste, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides"
"text":"named after the ancient Kingdom of Israel; according to Biblical tradition, the Jewish patriarch Jacob received the name Israel (meaning \"He who struggles with God\") after he wrestled with an angel of the Lord"
"text":"the meaning of the ancient name is unclear; the city is called Ursalim or Urusalimmi in Egyptian texts from the 14th century B.C., which may come from the Western Semitic verb <em>yaru</em>, meaning \"to establish,\"<em></em>and the name Shalim, the Canaanite god of dusk; another theory says the root letters s-l-m in the name refer to <em>shalom</em>, meaning \"peace\""
},
"note":"<strong>note: </strong>the US recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in 2017, without taking a position on the specific boundaries of Israeli sovereignty"
"text":"no formal constitution; some functions of a constitution are filled by the Declaration of Establishment (1948), the Basic Laws, and the Law of Return (as amended)"
"text":"proposed by Government of Israel ministers or by the Knesset; passage requires a majority vote of Knesset members and subject to Supreme Court judicial review"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> Israeli law (Law of Return, 5 July 1950) provides for the granting of citizenship to any Jew - defined as a person being born to a Jewish mother or having converted to Judaism while renouncing any other religion - who immigrates to and expresses a desire to settle in Israel on the basis of the Right of aliyah; the 1970 amendment of this act extended the right to family members including the spouse of a Jew, any child or grandchild, and the spouses of children and grandchildren"
"text":"president indirectly elected by the Knesset for a single 7-year term; following legislative elections, the president, in consultation with party leaders, tasks a Knesset member (usually the member of the largest party) with forming a new government"
"text":"<br><em>2021:</em> Isaac HERZOG elected president; Knesset vote in first round - Isaac HERZOG (independent) 87, Miriam PERETZ (independent) 26, invalid/blank 7<br><br><em>2014:</em> Reuven RIVLIN elected president in second round; Knesset vote - Reuven RIVLIN (Likud) 63, Meir SHEETRIT (The Movement) 53, other/invalid 4"
"note":"<strong>note 1:</strong> a 3.25% vote threshold is required to gain representation<br><br><strong>note 2:</strong> following the 1 November 2022 election, the Religious Zionism Alliance split into its three constituent parties in the Knesset: Religious Zionism 7 seats, Jewish Power (Otzma Yehudit) 6, and Noam 1"
"text":"Supreme Court (consists of the president, deputy president, 13 justices, and 2 registrars) and normally sits in panels of 3 justices; in special cases, the panel is expanded with an uneven number of justices"
},
"judge selection and term of office":{
"text":"judges selected by the 9-member Judicial Selection Committee, consisting of the Minister of Justice (chair), the president of the Supreme Court, two other Supreme Court justices, 1 other Cabinet minister, 2 Knesset members, and 2 representatives of the Israel Bar Association; judges can serve up to mandatory retirement at age 70"
"text":"Balad<br>Blue and White<br>Hadash<br>Labor Party or HaAvoda<br>Likud<br>Meretz<br>National Unity (alliance includes Blue and White and New Hope)<br>New Hope<br>Noam<br>Otzma Yehudit<br>Religious Zionist Party<br>Shas<br>Ta'al<br>United Arab List<br>United Torah Judaism or UTJ (alliance includes Agudat Israel and Degel HaTorah)<br>Yesh Atid<br>Yisrael Beiteinu"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> on 14 May 2018, the US Embassy relocated to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv; on 4 March 2019, Consulate General Jerusalem merged into US Embassy Jerusalem to form a single diplomatic mission"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> Israel declared independence on 14 May 1948, but the Jewish calendar is lunar, so the holiday can occur in April or May"
"text":"<strong>description:</strong> white with a blue hexagram (six-pointed linear star) known as the Magen David (Star of David or Shield of David) centered between two equal horizontal blue bands near the top and bottom edges of the flag<br><br><strong>history:</strong> the design resembles a traditional Jewish prayer shawl (<em>tallit</em>), which is white with blue stripes; the hexagram as a Jewish symbol dates back to medieval times",
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> the Israeli flag proclamation states that the flag colors are sky blue and white, but the exact shade of blue has never been set and can vary"
"text":"adopted 2004, unofficial since 1948; used as the anthem of the Zionist movement since 1897; the 1888 arrangement by Samuel COHEN is thought to be based on the Romanian folk song \"Carul cu boi\" (The Ox-Driven Cart)"
"text":"Masada; Old City of Acre; White City of Tel-Aviv - the Modern Movement; Biblical Tels - Megiddo, Hazor, Beer Sheba; Incense Route - Desert Cities in the Negev; Bahá’i Holy Places; Sites of Human Evolution at Mount Carmel; Caves of Maresha and Bet-Guvrin; Necropolis of Bet She’arim"
"text":"high-income, technology- and industrial-based economy; economic contraction and fiscal deficits resulting from war in Gaza; labor force stabilizing following military reservist mobilization; high-tech industry remains resilient while construction and tourism among hardest-hit sectors"
"text":"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, pharmaceuticals, construction, metal products, chemical products, plastics, cut diamonds, textiles, footwear"
"note":"<b>note:</b> central government revenues (excluding grants) and expenditures converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated"
"text":"the Israel Broadcasting Corporation (IBC) has 3 channels, two in Hebrew and one in Arabic; multi-channel satellite and cable TV packages provide access to foreign channels; IBC broadcasts on 8 radio networks with multiple repeaters, and Israel Defense Forces Radio broadcasts over multiple stations; about 15 privately owned radio stations (2019)"
"text":"Israel Defense Forces (IDF): Ground Forces, Israel Naval Force (IN, includes commandos), Israel Air Force (IAF, includes air defense)<br><br>Ministry of National Security: Israeli Police (2025)"
"text":"the majority of the IDF's inventory is comprised of weapons that are domestically produced or imported from Europe and the US; the US has been the leading supplier of arms in recent years; Israel's defense industry can develop, produce, support, and sustain a wide variety of weapons systems for both domestic use and export, particularly armored vehicles, unmanned aerial systems, air defense, and guided missiles (2025)"
"text":"18-28 years of age for voluntary military service; 18 months service for men, 12 months for women; 18-21 years of age for compulsory military service for men and women; Jews and Druze can be conscripted; Christians, Circassians, and Muslims may volunteer; conscript service obligation is up to 36 months for enlisted personnel (depending on sex, marital status, and military occupation); officers serve 48 months; Air Force pilots commit to 9 years of service (2024)"
"text":"the IDF is responsible for external defense but also has some domestic security responsibilities; its primary operational focuses include the threat posed by Iran, instability in Syria, and terrorist organizations, including HAMAS, Hizballah, and Palestine Islamic Jihad; since its creation from armed Jewish militias during the First Arab-Israeli War in 1948-49, the IDF, particularly the Ground Force, has been guided by a requirement to rapidly mobilize and defend the country’s territory from numerically superior neighboring countries; the active-duty military is backed up by a large force of trained reserves--approximately 300-400,000 personnel--that can be mobilized rapidly<br><br>Israel’s primary security partner is the US; consistent with a 10-year (2019-2028) Memorandum of Understanding, the US annually provides over $3 billion in military financing and cooperative military programs, such as missile defense; the US also provides Israel access to US-produced military weapons systems including advanced fighter aircraft; Israel has Major Non-NATO Ally status with the US, a designation under US law that provides foreign partners with certain benefits in the areas of defense trade and security cooperation<br><br>the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) has operated in the Golan between Israel and Syria since 1974 to monitor the ceasefire following the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and supervise the areas of separation between the two countries; UNDOF consists of about 1,300 total personnel (2025)"
"text":"Israel Space Agency (ISA; established 1983 under the Ministry of Science and Technology; origins go back to the creation of a National Committee for Space Research, established 1960); Ministry of Defense Space Department (2025)"
"text":"has an ambitious space program that is one of the most advanced in the region; designs, builds, operates, and launches communications, remote sensing (RS), and scientific satellites; designs, builds, and operates orbital satellite/space launch vehicles (SLVs); researches and develops a range of other space-related capabilities, with a focus on lightweight and miniaturized technologies; has relations with a variety of foreign space agencies and industries, including those of Canada, the ESA, individual ESA member states (such as France, Germany, and Italy), India, Japan, Mexico, and the US; has a substantial commercial space sector, as well as state-owned enterprises (2025)"
"text":"1961 - first sounding rocket launched<br><br>1988 - first operational launch of small-lift satellite launch vehicle (SLV) (Shavit) placed first domestically produced technology-demonstrator satellite (Ofeq-1) in orbit<br><br>1995 - launched first fully operational remote sensing satellite (Ofeq-3) on Shavit SLV<br><br>2007 - unveiled Shavit-2 small-lift 3-stage SLV<br><br>2014 - joined ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) project; domestically built lunar probe (Beresheet) launched by US (crashed on Moon’s surface)<br><br>2022 - joined US Artemis Moon exploration project"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in the Terrorism reference guide"
