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 Israel (also see separate Gaza Strip and West Bank entries)



Note: The Arab territories occupied by Israel since the 1967 war are not included in the data below. As stated in the 1978 Camp David Accords and reaffirmed by President Reagan's 1 September 1982 peace initiative, the final status of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, their relationship with their neighbors, and a peace treaty between Israel and Jordan are to be negotiated among the concerned parties. The Camp David Accords further specify that these negotiations will resolve the location of the respective boundaries. Pending the completion of this process, it is US policy that the final status of the West Bank and Gaza Strip has yet to be determined (see West Bank and Gaza Strip entries). On 25 April 1982 Israel relinquished control of the Sinai to Egypt. Statistics for the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights are included in the Syria entry.

Geography

Total area: 20,770 km²; land area: 20,330 km²

Comparative area: slightly larger than New Jersey

Land boundaries: 1,006 km total; Egypt 255 km, Jordan 238 km, Lebanon 79 km, Syria 76 km, West Bank 307, Gaza Strip 51 km

Coastline: 273 km

Maritime claims:
 * Continental shelf: to depth of exploitation
 * Territorial sea: 6 nm

Disputes: separated from Lebanon, Syria, and the West Bank by the 1949 Armistice Line; differences with Jordan over the location of the 1949 Armistice Line which separates the two countries; West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli occupied with status to be determined; Golan Heights is Israeli occupied; Israeli troops in southern Lebanon since June 1982; water-sharing issues with Jordan

Climate: temperate; hot and dry in desert areas

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

Natural resources: copper, phosphates, bromide, potash, clay, sand, sulfur, asphalt, manganese, small amounts of natural gas and crude oil

Land use: 17% arable land; 5% permanent crops; 40% meadows and pastures; 6% forest and woodland; 32% other; includes 11% irrigated

Environment: sandstorms may occur during spring and summer; limited arable land and natural water resources pose serious constraints; deforestation ;

Note: there are 173 Jewish settlements in the West Bank, 35 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, 18 in the Gaza Strip, and 14 Israeli-built Jewish neighborhoods in East Jerusalem

People

Population: 4,409,218 (July 1990), growth rate 1.5% (1989); includes 70,000 Jewish settlers in the West Bank, 10,500 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, 2,500 in the Gaza Strip, and 110,000 in East Jerusalem (1989 est.)

Birth rate: 22 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 6 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 9 deaths/1,000 live births (July 1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 76 years male, 79 years female (July 1990)

Total fertility rate: 2.9 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun—Israeli(s); adjective—Israeli

Ethnic divisions: 83% Jewish, 17% non-Jewish (mostly Arab)

Religion: 83% Judaism, 13.1% Islam (mostly Sunni Muslim), 2.3% Christian, 1.6% Druze

Language: Hebrew (official); Arabic used officially for Arab minority; English most commonly used foreign language

Literacy: 88% Jews, 70% Arabs

Labor force: 1,400,000 (1984 est.); 29.5% public services; 22.8% industry, mining, and manufacturing; 12.8% commerce; 9.5% finance and business; 6.8% transport, storage, and communications; 6.5% construction and public works; 5.5% agriculture, forestry, and fishing; 5.8% personal and other services; 1.0% electricity and water (1983)

Organized labor: 90% of labor force

Government

Long-form name: State of Israel

Type: republic

Capital: Israel proclaimed Jerusalem 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)

Constitution: 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

Legal system: mixture of English common law, British Mandate regulations, and, in personal matters, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim legal systems; in December 1985 Israel informed the UN Secretariat that it would no longer accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday: Independence Day, 10 May 1989; Israel declared independence on 14 May 1948, but the Jewish calendar is lunar and the holiday may occur in April or May

Executive branch: president, prime minister, vice prime minister, Cabinet

Legislative branch: unicameral Knesset

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Leaders: Chief of State—President Gen. Chaim HERZOG (since 5 May 1983);

Head of Government—Prime Minister Yitzhak SHAMIR (since 20 October 1986); Vice Prime Minister Shimon PERES (Prime Minister from 13 September 1984 to 20 October 1986, when he rotated to Vice Prime Minister)

Political parties and leaders: Israel currently has a national unity government comprising five parties that hold 95 of the Knesset's 120 seats; Members of the unity government—Likud bloc, Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir; Labor Party, Vice Prime Minister and Finance Minister Shimon Peres; Sephardic Torah Guardians (SHAS), Minister of Immigrant Absorption Yitzhak Peretz; National Religious Party, Minister of Religious Affairs Zevulun Hammer; Agudat Yisrael, Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Welfare Moshe Zeev Feldman;

Opposition parties—Tehiya Party, Yuval Ne'eman; Tzomet Party, 'Rafael Eytan; Moledet Party, Reḥavam Ze'evi; Degel HaTorah, Avraham Ravitz; Citizens' Rights Movement, Shulamit Aloni; United Workers' Party (MAPAM), Yair Tzaban; Center Movement-Shinui, 153