Israel

Israel 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. 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 (from the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip) 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.

Israel Information

• Population: 6,199,008 note: includes about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank, about 20,000 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, more than 5,000 in the Gaza Strip, and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (July 2004 est.)
• Nationality: noun: Israeli(s) adjective: Israeli
• Location:: Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Lebanon
• Religions:: Jewish 80.1%, Muslim 14.6% (mostly Sunni Muslim), Christian 2.1%, other 3.2% (1996 est.)
• 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.)
• Land Boundaries:: total: 1,017 km border countries: Egypt 266 km, Gaza Strip 51 km, Jordan 238 km, Lebanon 79 km, Syria 76 km, West Bank 307 km
• Area: total: 20,770 sq km water: 440 sq km land: 20,330 sq km
• Coast Line: 273 km
• 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
• Maritime Claims: territorial sea: 12 nm continental shelf: to depth of exploitation
• Land Use: arable land: 16.39% permanent crops: 4.17% other: 79.44% (2001)
• Environmental Issues: 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
• Natural Resources: timber, potash, copper ore, natural gas, phosphate rock, magnesium bromide, clays, sand
• Highways: total: 16,281 km paved: 16,281 km (including 56 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (2000)
• Railways: total: 640 km standard gauge: 640 km 1.435-m gauge (2003)
• Ports & Harbours: Ashdod, Ashqelon, Elat (Eilat), Hadera, Haifa, Tel Aviv-Yafo
• Airports: 51 (2003 est.)