Israel

Israel

General Information
Geography
Government
Economy
Population
Health
Communications and media
Chronology


GENERAL INFORMATION

National name Medinat Israel/State of Israel Area 20,800 sq km/8,030 sq mi (as at 1949 armistice) Capital Jerusalem (not recognized by the United Nations) Language Hebrew, Arabic (both official), English, Yiddish, other European and west Asian languages Religion Israel is a secular state, but the predominant faith is Judaism 80%; also Sunni Muslim (about 15%), Christian, and Druze Time difference GMT +2 Major holidays 1 January, 14 May; variable: New Year (Jewish, September/October), Purim (March), first day of Passover (April), last day of Passover (April), Pentecost (June), Fast of Av (August), Yom Kippur (October), Feast of Tabernacles (October, 2 days)


GEOGRAPHY

Major towns/cities Tel Aviv-Yafo, Haifa, Bat-Yam, Holon, Ramat Gan, Petach Tikva, Rishon Le Ziyyon, Beersheba Major ports Tel Aviv-Yafo, Haifa, 'Akko (formerly Acre), Eilat Physical features coastal plain of Sharon between Haifa and Tel Aviv noted since ancient times for its fertility; central mountains of Galilee, Samaria, and Judea; Dead Sea, Lake Tiberias, and River Jordan Rift Valley along the east are below sea level; Negev Desert in the south; Israel occupies Golan Heights, West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip (the last was awarded limited autonomy, with West Bank town of Jericho, in 1993) Airports three international airports; domestic airports in all major cities; total passengers carried: 3.7 million (2003 est) Railways total length: 640 km/398 mi; total passenger journeys: 17.5 million (2002) Roads total road network: 17,237 km/10,711 mi, of which 100% paved (2003 est); passenger cars: 284.4 per 1,000 people (2003 est)


GOVERNMENT

Head of state Shimon Peres from 2007 Head of government Ehud Olmert from 2006 Political system liberal democracy Political executive parliamentary Administrative divisions six districts, 61 municipalities, 150 local councils, and 53 regional councils Political parties Israel Labour Party, moderate, left of centre; Consolidation Party (Likud), right of centre; Meretz (Vitality), left-of-centre alliance Death penalty abolished for ordinary crimes; laws provide for the death penalty for exceptional crimes, such as crimes committed in wartime Armed forces 168,300; plus 408,000 reservists an paramilitary forces of 8,000 (2006 est) Conscription voluntary for Christians, Circassians, and Muslims; compulsory for Jews and Druzes (men 36 months, women 21 months) Defence spend (% GDP) 8 (2005 est) Education spend (% GDP) 7.3 (2003 est) Health spend (% GDP) 6.1 (2004)


ECONOMY

Currency shekel GDP (US$) 123.4 billion (2005 est) Real GDP growth (% change on previous year) 4.1 (2006 est) GNI (US$) 128.7 billion (2005 est) GNI per capita (PPP) (US$) 25,280 (2005 est) Consumer price inflation 2.2% (2006 est) Unemployment 8.7% (2006 est) Labour force 2% agriculture, 21.7% industry, 76.3% services (2005) Foreign debt (US$) 76.5 billion (2005 est) Major trading partners USA, Belgium, UK, Germany, Hong Kong, Switzerland, the Netherlands Resources potash, bromides, magnesium, sulphur, copper ore, gold, salt, petroleum, natural gas Industries food processing, beverages, tobacco, electrical machinery, chemicals, petroleum and coal products, metal products, diamond polishing, transport equipment, tourism Exports machinery and parts, citrus fruits, worked diamonds, electronic components and computers, food products, chemical products, textiles and clothing. Principal market: USA 42.4% (2005) Imports machinery and parts, rough diamonds, chemicals and related products, crude petroleum and petroleum products, military equipment, motor vehicles. Principal source: USA 19.7% (2005) Arable land 15.5% (2006 est) Agricultural products citrus fruits, vegetables, potatoes, wheat, melons, pumpkins, avocados; poultry and fish production


POPULATION

Population 6,846,800 (2006 est) Population growth rate 1.7% (2005–10) Population density (per sq km) 329 (2006 est) Urban population (% of total) 92 (2005 est) Age distribution (% of total population) 0–14 28%, 15–59 59%, 60+ 13% (2005 est) Ethnic groups around 81% of the population is Jewish, the majority of the remainder Arab. Under the Law of Return 1950, ‘every Jew shall be entitled to come to Israel as an immigrant’; those from the East and Eastern Europe are Ashkenazim, and those from Mediterranean Europe (Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Greece) and Arab Africa are Sephardim (over 50% of the population is now of Sephardic descent); an Israeli-born Jew is a Sabra Life expectancy 78 (men); 83 (women) (2005–10) Child mortality rate (under 5, per 1,000 live births) 6 (2004) Education (compulsory years) 11 Literacy rate 97% (men); 93% (women) (2004 est)


HEALTH

Physicians (per 10,000 people) 39.1 (2004 est) Hospital beds (per 1,000 people) 6.1 (2003 est) HIV infection (% of population aged 15–49) 0.1 (2005 est) Access to drinking-water source (% of total population) 100 (urban); 100 (rural) (2002)


COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA

Landline telephones (per 100 people) 42.6 (2005 est) Mobile phone subscribers (per 100 people) 112.4 (2005 est) Radios (per 1,000 people) 526 (2001 est) TV sets (per 1,000 people) 354 (2004 est) Personal computer users (per 100 people) 73.4 (2005 est) Internet users (per 100 people) 46.6 (2005 est)


CHRONOLOGY

c. 2000 BC Abraham, father of the Jewish people, is believed to have come to Palestine from Mesopotamia. c. 1225 BC Moses led the Jews out of slavery in Egypt towards the promised land of Palestine. 11th century BC Saul established a Jewish kingdom in Palestine; developed by kings David and Solomon. 586 BC Jews defeated by Babylon and deported; many returned to Palestine in 539 BC. 333 BC Alexander the Great of Macedonia conquered the entire region. 3rd century BC Control of Palestine contested by Ptolemies of Egypt and Seleucids of Syria. 142 BC Jewish independence restored after Maccabean revolt. 63 BC Palestine fell to Roman Empire. 70 AD Romans crushed Zealot rebellion and destroyed Jerusalem; start of dispersion of Jews (diaspora). 614 Persians took Jerusalem from Byzantine Empire. 637 Muslim Arabs conquered Palestine. 1099 First Crusade captured Jerusalem; Christian kingdom lasted a century before falling to sultans of Egypt. 1517 Palestine conquered by the Ottoman Turks. 1897 Theodor Herzl organized the First Zionist Congress at Basel to publicize Jewish claims to Palestine. 1917 The Balfour Declaration: Britain expressed support for the creation of a Jewish National Home in Palestine. 1918 British forces expelled the Turks from Palestine, which became a British League of Nations mandate in 1920. 1929 Severe violence around Jerusalem caused by Arab alarm at doubling of Jewish population in ten years. 1933 Jewish riots in protest at British attempts to restrict Jewish immigration. 1937 The Peel Report, recommending partition, accepted by most Jews but rejected by Arabs; open warfare ensued between 1937 and 1938. 1939 Britain postponed independence plans on account of World War II, and increased military presence. 1946 Resumption of terrorist violence; Jewish extremists blew up British headquarters in Jerusalem. 1947 United Nations (UN) voted for partition of Palestine. 1948 Britain withdrew; Independent State of Israel proclaimed with David Ben-Gurion as prime minister; Israel repulsed invasion by Arab nations; many Palestinian Arabs settled in refugee camps in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. 1952 Col Gamal Nasser of Egypt stepped up blockade of Israeli ports and support of Arab guerrillas in Gaza. 1956 War between Israel and Egypt; Israeli invasion of Gaza and Sinai followed by withdrawal in 1957. 1964 Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) founded to unite Palestinian Arabs with the aim of overthrowing the state of Israel. 1967 Israel defeated Egypt, Syria, and Jordan in the Six-Day War; Gaza, West Bank, east Jerusalem, Sinai, and Golan Heights captured. 1969 Yassir Arafat became chair of the PLO; escalation of terrorism and border raids. 1973 Yom Kippur War: Israel repulsed surprise attack by Egypt and Syria. 1977 President Anwar Sadat of Egypt began peace initiative. 1979 Camp David talks ended with signing of peace treaty between Israel and Egypt; Israel withdrew from Sinai. 1980 United Jerusalem was declared the capital of Israel. 1982 Israeli forces invaded southern Lebanon to drive out PLO guerrillas; occupation continued until 1985. 1988 Israeli handling of Palestinian uprising (Intifada) in the occupied territories provoked international criticism. 1990 PLO formally recognized state of Israel. 1991 Iraq launched missile attacks on Israel during Gulf War; Middle East peace talks began in Madrid. 1992 Labour government elected under Yitzhak Rabin. 1993 Rabin and Arafat signed peace accord; Israel granted limited autonomy to Gaza Strip and Jericho. Ezer Weizman elected president. 1994 Arafat became the head of autonomous Palestinian authority in Gaza and Jericho; peace deal reached between Israel and Jordan. 1995 Rabin assassinated by Jewish opponent of peace accord. 1996 Likud government elected under Binyamin Netanyahu, a critic of the peace accord. Communal violence reignited and peace process threatened. Opening of 2,000-year-old tunnel near Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem provoked renewed Palestinian–Israeli conflict. 1997 Jewish settlement in east Jerusalem widely condemned. Hamas suicide bomber struck in Jerusalem. Partial, limited withdrawal from West Bank. 1998 Violence flared on West Bank between Palestinians and Israeli troops; peace process stalled again. Wye Peace Agreement signed with PLO. Land-for-security deal approved by Knesset, and promised Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon placed in doubt. US president Clinton attempted to restart peace process. 1999 South Lebanon ‘security zone’ expanded. Arafat delayed declaration of independent state until after Israeli elections. New Labour prime minister Ehud Barak restarted peace negotiations. 2000 Israel withdrew from Golan Heights. Moshe Katsav, became president. In September, renewed violence between Palestinians and Israeli security forces broke out and quickly escalated, following visit by right-wing Israeli politican Ariel Sharon to Haram al-Sharif (Temple Mount) in Jerusalem. Efforts to end violence failed; Barak announced his resignation in December. 2001 Ariel Sharon elected prime minister. 2002 After months of violence and military reprisals against Palestinians, army besieged Yassir Arafat's Ramallah headquarters for 11 days before withdrawing under US pressure and UN Security Council demands. Labour Party left 20-month-old administration; Prime Minister Sharon's government collapsed. 2003 International blueprint (so-called ‘road map’, designed by USA, European Union, UN, and Russia) for phased settlement of Palestinian-Israeli conflict by 2005–06 endorsed by the government under US diplomatic pressure. However, government authorized building controversial security wall. Palestine National Authority's government under Mahmoud Abbas sworn in, but Abbas later forced to resign; replaced by Ahmed Qureia. Palestinian suicide bombings and Israeli retaliation, including first direct air attack on Syrian territory since 1973, continued throughout the year. 2004 International Court of Justice ruled that Israeli security barrier violated international law and had to be torn down. Israeli air strikes targeted and killed two Hamas leaders. Hamas claimed responsibility for two bus explosions in Beer Sheeba that killed 16 people. Three blasts killed 40 people at tourist resorts in Egypt where Israelis were vacationing. Soldiers finished withdrawal from positions in northern Gaza. Knesset narrowly backed Sharon's withdrawal plan from Gaza and part of West Bank. Palestinian Authority President Yassir Arafat died in November. 2005 Mahmoud Abbas elected president of Palestinian National Authority (PNA). Abbas and Sharon announced ceasefire. Violence flared in Gaza, as Israeli militant settlers disrupted traffic and clashed with troops. Israeli evacuation of Gaza settlements and four West Bank settlements completed. Sharon resigned as leader of Likud Party; set up new centrist party, Kadima, which quickly took lead in polls. Former prime minister Shimon Peres quit Labour Party to join Kadima. 2006 Sharon's political career ended after he suffered major stroke. Hamas won Palestinian legislative elections by landslide; Israel, USA, and EU cut off aid to Palestinians; they considered Hamas a terrorist organization. Acting prime minister Ehud Olmert's Kadima party won majority in parliament. Israeli cabinet authorized ‘severe and harsh’ retaliation on Lebanon after Hezbollah guerrillas kidnapped two soldiers and killed three others in cross-border raid; Israel–Lebanon conflict began. Violence and rivalry erupted between Fatah and Hamas; fears of civil war. In Egyptian-brokered deal, Fatah and Hamas agreed to end fighting. Palestinian militants in Gaza fired two rockets into Israel, hours after total ceasefire in Gaza had been agreed upon by Israeli government and Palestinian factions. 2007 Israel transferred $100 million in tax revenues to cover humanitarian needs to office of President Abbas, as part of plan to support him and keep money away from Hamas government. Deadly battles between Hamas and Fatah broke out in Gaza, leaving at least 25 dead. Hamas militants hailed series of victories over Fatah as new ‘liberation’ of Gaza; at least 20 Palestinians died in fighting. Israel's parliament chose Shimon Peres to succeed Moshe Katsav as president. Katsav took of absence after being accused of various sexual offences. US secretary of state Rice met with Israeli leaders and with President Abbas; discussions included Middle East peace summit scheduled to be held in November. Talks with Abbas held one day after Israeli cabinet declared Gaza a hostile entity.


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