The precarious sectarian balance prevailing in Lebanon has
presented Israeli policy makers with opportunities and risks.
Lebanon's Christian Maronites, who under French tutelage occupied
the most important political and economic posts in the country,
were, like Israeli Jews, a minority among the region's Muslim
majority. As early as 1954, Ben-Gurion had proposed that Israel
support the establishment in part of Lebanon of a Maronite-
dominated Christian ministate that would ally itself with Israel.
During the Lebanese Civil War (1975-76), then Prime Minister Rabin
reportedly invested US$150 million in equipping and training the
Maronite Phalange Party's militia.
The instability of Lebanon's sectarian balance, however,
enabled hostile states or groups to use Lebanon as a staging ground
for attacks against Israel. The PLO, following its expulsion from
Jordan in September 1970, set up its major base of operations in
southern Lebanon from which it attacked northern Israel. The number
and size of PLO operations in the south accelerated throughout the
late 1970s as central authority deteriorated and Lebanon became a
battleground of warring militias. In March 1978, following a
fedayeen attack, originating in Lebanon, on the Tel Aviv-Haifa road
that killed thirty-seven people, Israel launched Operation Litani,
a massive military offensive that resulted in Israeli occupation of
southern Lebanon up to the Litani River. By June Prime Minister
Begin, under intense American pressure, withdrew Israeli forces,
which were replaced by a UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). The
withdrawal of Israeli troops without having removed the PLO from
its bases in southern Lebanon became a major embarrassment to the
Begin government.
By the spring of 1981, Bashir Jumayyil (also cited as Gemayel)
emerged as the Maronite strong man and major Israeli ally in
Lebanon. Having ruthlessly eliminated his Maronite rivals, he was
attempting to extend his authority to other Lebanese Christian
sects. In late 1980 and early 1981, he extended the protection of
his Maronite militia to the Greek Orthodox inhabitants of Zahlah,
in eastern Lebanon. Syrian president Hafiz al Assad considered
Zahlah, which was located near the Beirut-Damascus road, a
stronghold that was strategically important to Syria. In April
1981, Syrian forces bombed and besieged Zahlah, ousting the
Phalangists, the Maronite group loyal to Jumayyil, from the city.
In response to the defeat of its major Lebanese ally, Israeli
aircraft destroyed two Syrian helicopters over Lebanon, prompting
Assad to move Soviet-made SAMs into Lebanon. Israel threatened to
destroy the missiles but was dissuaded from doing so by the
administration of President Ronald Reagan. In the end, the Zahlah
crisis, like the Litani Operation, badly tarnished the image of the
Begin government, which had come to power in 1977 espousing a hard-
line security policy.
In June 1981, Israel held Knesset elections that focused on the
Likud's failure to stop the PLO buildup in southern Lebanon or to
remove Syrian missile batteries from the Biqa (Bekaa) Valley in
eastern Lebanon. To remove a potential nuclear threat and also to
bolster its public image, the IDF launched a successful attack on
the French-built Iraqi Osiraq (acronym for Osiris-Iraq) nuclear
reactor three weeks before the elections. Begin interpreted
widespread public approval of the attack as a mandate for a more
aggressive policy in Lebanon. The Likud also rallied a large number
of undecided voters by reducing import duties on luxury goods,
enabling Israeli consumers to go on an unprecedented buying spree
that would later result in spiraling inflation. Although Labor
regained an additional fifteen seats over its poor showing in 1977
when it won only thirty-two seats, it was unable to prevail over
Likud.
Begin's perception that the Israeli public supported a more
active defense posture influenced the composition of his 1981
postelection cabinet. His new minister of defense, Ariel Sharon,
was unquestionably an Israeli war hero of longstanding; he had
played an important role in the 1956, 1967, and 1973 wars and was
widely respected as a brilliant military tactician. Sharon,
however, was also feared as a military man with political
ambitions, one who was ignorant of political protocol and who was
known to make precipitous moves. Aligned with Sharon was chief of
staff General Rafael Eytan who also advocated an aggressive Israeli
defense posture. Because Begin was not a military man, Israel's
defense policy was increasingly decided by the minister of defense
and the chief of staff. The combination of wide discretionary
powers granted Sharon and Eytan over Israeli military strategy, the
PLO's menacing growth in southern Lebanon, and the existence of
Syrian SAMs in the Biqa Valley pointed to imminent Syrian-PLO-
Israeli hostilities.
In July 1981, Israel responded to PLO rocket attacks on
northern Israeli settlements by bombing PLO encampments in southern
Lebanon. United States envoy Philip Habib eventually negotiated a
shaky cease-fire that was monitored by UNIFIL.
Another factor that influenced Israel's decision to take action
in Lebanon was the disarray of the Arab world throughout the early
1980s. The unanimity shown by the Arab states in Baghdad in
condemning Sadat's separate peace with Israel soon dissipated. The
1979 Iranian Islamic Revolution, the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq War
in September 1980, and the December 1980 Soviet invasion of
Afghanistan badly divided the Arab world. The hard-line countries,
Syria and Libya, supported Iran, and the moderate countries,
Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the Gulf states, supported Iraq.
Moreover, Syrian president Assad's regime, dominated by the
minority Alawi Muslim sect, was confronted with growing domestic
opposition from the Muslim Brotherhood, which Assad violently
quelled in February 1982 by besieging the city of Hamah. Finally,
early United States opposition to an invasion of Lebanon appeared
to have weakened, following Israel's final withdrawal from Sinai in
May 1982.
Israel's incursion into Lebanon, called Operation Peace for
Galilee, was launched in early June 1982. After an attack on
Israel's ambassador in London carried out by the Abu Nidal group
but blamed on the PLO, Israeli troops marched into southern
Lebanon. On the afternoon of June 4 the Israeli air force bombed a
sports stadium in Beirut, said to be used for ammunition storage by
the PLO. The PLO responded by shelling Israeli towns in Galilee. On
June 5, the government of Israel formally accused the PLO of
breaking the cease-fire. At 11 A.M. on June 6, Israeli ground
forces crossed the border into Lebanon. The stated goals of the
operation were to free northern Israel from PLO rocket attacks by
creating a forty-kilometer-wide security zone in southern Lebanon
and by signing a peace treaty with Lebanon (see
1982 Invasion of Lebanon, ch. 5).
The June 1982 invasion of Lebanon was the first war fought by
the IDF without a domestic consensus. Unlike the 1948, 1967, and
1973 wars, the Israeli public did not view Operation Peace for
Galilee as essential to the survival of the Jewish state. By the
early 1980s--less than forty years after its establishment--Israel
had attained a military prowess unmatched in the region. The
architects of the 1982 invasion, Ariel Sharon and Rafael Eitan,
sought to use Israel's military strength to create a more favorable
regional political setting. This strategy included weakening the
PLO and supporting the rise to power in Lebanon of Israel's
Christian allies. The attempt to impose a military solution to the
intractable Palestinian problem and to force political change in
Lebanon failed. The PLO, although defeated militarily, remained an
important political force, and Bashir Jumayyil, Israel's major ally
in Lebanon, was killed shortly after becoming president. Inside
Israel, a mounting death toll caused sharp criticism by a war-weary
public of the war of and of the Likud government.
The literature on the cultural, political, and religious
history of Israel is immense. The works noted here and those listed
in the bibliography include easily available English-language
materials that are valuable futher reading not only for the serious
student but also for the interested layperson.
For a comprehensive and very detailed view of Jewish history
see the eighteen-volume work by Salo W. Baron and A History of
the Jewish People, edited by H.H. Ben Sasson. Another valuable
source covering all aspects of Jewish history is the
Encyclopaedia Judaica; a condensed history of the Jews is
contained in the sixteen volumes of the Israel Pocket Library. Paul
Johnson's A History of the Jews provides a more recent
overview.
A valuable summary of the origins of Zionism is set forth in
Arthur Hertzberg's introduction to The Zionist Idea: A
Historical Analysis and Reader. David Vital's books, The
Origins of Zionism and Zionism: The Formative Years,
offer scholarly accounts of the history of Zionism. More recent
works on Zionism include Shlomo Avineri's The Making of Modern
Zionism and Bernard Avishai's The Tragedy of Zionism.
The most comprehensive history of the modern State of Israel is
Howard Morley Sachar's two-volume A History of Israel. Two
other reliable general histories of Israel are Noah Lucas's The
Modern History of Israel and The Siege by Connor Cruise
O'Brien. A solid account of Israel's wars is provided by Chaim
Herzog's The Arab-Israeli Wars.
The most authoritative source on Israel's settlement policy in
the occupied territories is Meron Benvenisti's The West Bank and
Gaza Data Project. Two seminal works on Arabs in Israel are
Sammy Smooha's Israel: Pluralism and Conflict and Sabri
Jiryis's The Arabs in Israel. The best accounts of Israel's
incursion into Lebanon are Itamar Rabinovich's The War for
Lebanon, 1970-1983 and Zeev Schiff and Ehud Yaari's Israel's
War in Lebanon. (For further information and complete
citations,
see
Bibliography.)
|
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 Israel occupied 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. 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. 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 April 2003, US President BUSH, working in conjunction with the EU, UN, and Russia - the "Quartet" - took the lead in laying out a roadmap to a final settlement of the conflict by 2005, based on reciprocal steps by the two parties leading to two states, Israel and a democratic Palestine. However, progress toward a permanent status agreement was undermined by Israeli-Palestinian violence between September 2003 and February 2005. In the summer of 2005, Israel unilaterally disengaged from the Gaza Strip, evacuating settlers and its military while retaining control over most points of entry into the Gaza Strip. The election of HAMAS to head the Palestinian Legislative Council froze relations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA). Ehud OLMERT became prime minister in March 2006 and presided over a 34-day conflict with Hizballah in Lebanon in June-August 2006 and a 23-day conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip during December 2008 and January 2009. OLMERT, who in June 2007 resumed talks with PA President Mahmoud ABBAS, resigned in September 2008. Prime Minister Binyamin NETANYAHU formed a coalition in March 2009 following a February 2009 general election. Peace talks are currently stalled.
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Location | | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Lebanon
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Area(sq km) | | total: 22,072 sq km
land: 21,642 sq km
water: 430 sq km
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Geographic coordinates | | 31 30 N, 34 45 E
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Land boundaries(km) | | 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
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Coastline(km) | | 273 km
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Climate | | temperate; hot and dry in southern and eastern desert areas
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Elevation extremes(m) | | lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
highest point: Har Meron 1,208 m
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Natural resources | | timber, potash, copper ore, natural gas, phosphate rock, magnesium bromide, clays, sand
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Land use(%) | | arable land: 15.45%
permanent crops: 3.88%
other: 80.67% (2005)
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Irrigated land(sq km) | | 1,940 sq km (2003)
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Total renewable water resources(cu km) | | 1.7 cu km (2001)
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Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural) | | total: 2.05 cu km/yr (31%/7%/62%)
per capita: 305 cu m/yr (2000)
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Natural hazards | | sandstorms may occur during spring and summer; droughts; periodic earthquakes
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Environment - current 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
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Environment - international agreements | | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation
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Geography - note | | there are about 340 Israeli civilian sites - including 100 small outpost communities in the West Bank - as well as 42 sites in the Golan Heights, 0 in the Gaza Strip, and 29 in East Jerusalem (July 2008 est.); Lake Tiberias (Sea of Galilee) is an important freshwater source
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Population | | 7,233,701
note: includes about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank, about 20,000 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (July 2009 est.)
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Age structure(%) | | 0-14 years: 27.9% (male 1,031,629/female 984,230)
15-64 years: 62.3% (male 2,283,034/female 2,221,301)
65 years and over: 9.9% (male 311,218/female 402,289) (2009 est.)
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Median age(years) | | total: 29.1 years
male: 28.4 years
female: 29.8 years (2009 est.)
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Population growth rate(%) | | 1.671% (2009 est.)
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Birth rate(births/1,000 population) | | 19.77 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
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Death rate(deaths/1,000 population) | | 5.43 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)
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Net migration rate(migrant(s)/1,000 population) | | 2.37 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
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Urbanization(%) | | urban population: 92% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization: 1.7% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
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Sex ratio(male(s)/female) | | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female
total population: 1 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
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Infant mortality rate(deaths/1,000 live births) | | total: 4.22 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.39 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 4.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
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Life expectancy at birth(years) | | total population: 80.73 years
male: 78.62 years
female: 82.95 years (2009 est.)
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Total fertility rate(children born/woman) | | 2.75 children born/woman (2009 est.)
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Nationality | | noun: Israeli(s)
adjective: Israeli
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Ethnic groups(%) | | Jewish 76.4% (of which Israel-born 67.1%, Europe/America-born 22.6%, Africa-born 5.9%, Asia-born 4.2%), non-Jewish 23.6% (mostly Arab) (2004)
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Religions(%) | | Jewish 76.4%, Muslim 16%, Arab Christians 1.7%, other Christian 0.4%, Druze 1.6%, unspecified 3.9% (2004)
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Languages(%) | | Hebrew (official), Arabic used officially for Arab minority, English most commonly used foreign language
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Country name | | conventional long form: State of Israel
conventional short form: Israel
local long form: Medinat Yisra'el
local short form: Yisra'el
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Government type | | parliamentary democracy
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Capital | | name: Jerusalem
geographic coordinates: 31 46 N, 35 14 E
time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Friday in March; ends the Sunday between the holidays of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur
note: Israel proclaimed Jerusalem as its capital in 1950, but the US, like nearly all other countries, maintains its Embassy in Tel Aviv
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Administrative divisions | | 6 districts (mehozot, singular - mehoz); Central, Haifa, Jerusalem, Northern, Southern, Tel Aviv
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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; note - since May 2003 the Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee of the Knesset has been working on a draft constitution
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Legal system | | mixture of English common law, British Mandate regulations, and, in personal matters, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim legal systems; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
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Suffrage | | 18 years of age; universal
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Executive branch | | chief of state: President Shimon PERES (since 15 July 2007)
head of government: Prime Minister Binyamin NETANYAHU (since 31 March 2009)
cabinet: Cabinet selected by prime minister and approved by the Knesset
elections: president is largely a ceremonial role and is elected by the Knesset for a seven-year term (one-term limit); election last held 13 June 2007 (next to be held in 2014 but can be called earlier); following legislative elections, the president assigns a Knesset member - traditionally the leader of the largest party - the task of forming a governing coalition
election results: Shimon PERES elected president; number of votes in first round - Shimon PERES 58, Reuven RIVLIN 37, Colette AVITAL 21; PERES elected president in second round with 86 votes (unopposed)
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Legislative branch | | unicameral Knesset (120 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 10 February 2009 (next scheduled election to be held in 2013)
election results: percent of vote by party - Kadima 23.2%, Likud-Ahi 22.3%, YB 12.1%, Labor 10.2%, SHAS 8.8%, United Torah Judaism 4.5%, United Arab List 3.5%, NU 3.4%, Hadash 3.4%, The Jewish Home 3%, The New Movement-Meretz 3%, Balad 2.6%; seats by party - Kadima 28, Likud-Ahi 27, YB 15, Labor 13, SHAS 11, United Torah Judaism 5, United Arab List 4, NU 4, HADASH 4, The Jewish Home 3, The New Movement-Meretz 3, Balad 3
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Judicial branch | | Supreme Court (justices appointed by Judicial Selection Committee - made up of all three branches of the government; mandatory retirement age is 70)
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Political pressure groups and leaders | | B'Tselem [Jessica MONTELL, Executive Director] monitors human rights abuses; Peace Now [Yariv OPPENHEIMER, Secretary General] supports territorial concessions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; YESHA Council of Settlements [Danny DAYAN, Chairman] promotes settler interests and opposes territorial compromise
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International organization participation | | BIS, BSEC (observer), CERN (observer), EBRD, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, OAS (observer), OECD (accession state), OPCW (signatory), OSCE (partner), Paris Club (associate), PCA, SECI (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
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Flag description | | white with a blue hexagram (six-pointed linear star) known as the Magen David (Shield of David) centered between two equal horizontal blue bands near the top and bottom edges of the flag
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Economy - overview | | Israel has a technologically advanced market economy with substantial, though diminishing, government participation. It depends on imports of crude oil, grains, raw materials, and military equipment. Despite limited natural resources, Israel has intensively developed its agricultural and industrial sectors over the past 20 years. Israel imports substantial quantities of grain but is largely self-sufficient in other agricultural products. Cut diamonds, high-technology equipment, and agricultural products (fruits and vegetables) are the leading exports. Israel usually posts sizable trade deficits, which are covered by large transfer payments from abroad and by foreign loans. Roughly half of the government's external debt is owed to the US, its major source of economic and military aid. Israel's GDP, after contracting slightly in 2001 and 2002 due to the Palestinian conflict and troubles in the high-technology sector, has grown by about 5% per year since 2003. The economy grew an estimated 3.9% in 2008, slowed by the global financial crisis. The government's prudent fiscal policy and structural reforms over the past few years have helped to induce strong foreign investment, tax revenues, and private consumption, setting the economy on a solid growth path.
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GDP (purchasing power parity) | | $203.4 billion (2008 est.)
$195.2 billion (2007 est.)
$185.6 billion (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars
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GDP (official exchange rate) | | $202.1 billion (2008 est.)
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GDP - real growth rate(%) | | 4.2% (2008 est.)
5.2% (2007 est.)
5.3% (2006 est.)
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GDP - per capita (PPP) | | $28,600 (2008 est.)
$27,900 (2007 est.)
$27,000 (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars
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GDP - composition by sector(%) | | agriculture: 2.6%
industry: 32.4%
services: 65% (2008 est.)
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Labor force | | 2.957 million (2008 est.)
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Labor force - by occupation(%) | | agriculture: 2%
industry: 16%
services: 82% (30 September 2008)
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Unemployment rate(%) | | 6.1% (2008 est.)
7.3% (2007 est.)
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Population below poverty line(%) | | 21.60%
note: Israel's poverty line is $7.30 per person per day (2005)
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Household income or consumption by percentage share(%) | | lowest 10%: 2.6%
highest 10%: 24.2% (2007)
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Distribution of family income - Gini index | | 38.6 (2005)
35.5 (2001)
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Investment (gross fixed)(% of GDP) | | 18.1% of GDP (2008 est.)
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Budget | | revenues: $59.98 billion
expenditures: $64.21 billion (2008 est.)
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Inflation rate (consumer prices)(%) | | 4.6% (2008 est.)
0.5% (2007 est.)
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Stock of money | | $NA (31 December 2008)
$15.36 billion (31 December 2006)
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Stock of quasi money | | $NA (31 December 2008)
$154.3 billion (31 December 2007)
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Stock of domestic credit | | $NA (31 December 2008)
$113.4 billion (31 December 2006)
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Market value of publicly traded shares | | $134.5 billion (31 December 2008)
$236.4 billion (31 December 2007)
$173.3 billion (31 December 2006)
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Economic aid - recipient | | $240 million from US (FY06)
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Public debt(% of GDP) | | 76.8% of GDP (2008 est.)
104.5% of GDP (2004 est.)
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Agriculture - products | | citrus, vegetables, cotton; beef, poultry, dairy products
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Industries | | high-technology projects (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, construction, metals products, chemical products, plastics, diamond cutting, textiles, footwear
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Industrial production growth rate(%) | | 3.5% (2008 est.)
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Current account balance | | $2.213 billion (2008 est.)
$4.185 billion (2007 est.)
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Exports | | $57.16 billion (2008 est.)
$50.07 billion (2007 est.)
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Exports - commodities(%) | | machinery and equipment, software, cut diamonds, agricultural products, chemicals, textiles and apparel
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Exports - partners(%) | | US 32.5%, Belgium 7.5%, Hong Kong 6.7% (2008)
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Imports | | $64.4 billion (2008 est.)
$55.93 billion (2007 est.)
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Imports - commodities(%) | | raw materials, military equipment, investment goods, rough diamonds, fuels, grain, consumer goods
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Imports - partners(%) | | US 12.3%, Belgium 6.5%, China 6.5%, Switzerland 6.1%, Germany 6% (2008)
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Reserves of foreign exchange and gold | | $42.51 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
$28.52 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
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Debt - external | | $86.08 billion (31 December 2008)
$89.58 billion (31 December 2007)
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Stock of direct foreign investment - at home | | $56.93 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
$55.7 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
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Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad | | $54.55 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
$48.47 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
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Exchange rates | | new Israeli shekels (ILS) per US dollar - 3.56 (2008 est.), 4.14 (2007), 4.4565 (2006), 4.4877 (2005), 4.482 (2004)
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Currency (code) | | new Israeli shekel (ILS); note - NIS is the currency abbreviation; ILS is the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) code for the NIS
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Telephones - main lines in use | | 2.9 million (2008)
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Telephones - mobile cellular | | 8.902 million (2008)
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Telephone system | | general assessment: most highly developed system in the Middle East although not the largest
domestic: good system of coaxial cable and microwave radio relay; all systems are digital; four privately-owned mobile-cellular service providers with countrywide coverage
international: country code - 972; submarine cables provide links to Europe, Cyprus, and parts of the Middle East; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) (2008)
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Internet country code | | .il
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Internet users | | 2.106 million (2008)
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Airports | | 47 (2009)
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Pipelines(km) | | gas 176 km; oil 442 km; refined products 261 km (2008)
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Roadways(km) | | total: 17,870 km
paved: 17,870 km (includes 146 km of expressways) (2007)
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Ports and terminals | | Ashdod, Elat (Eilat), Hadera, Haifa
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Military branches | | Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Israel Naval Forces (INF), Israel Air Force (IAF) (2009)
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Military service age and obligation(years of age) | | 18 years of age for compulsory (Jews, Druzes) and voluntary (Christians, Muslims, Circassians) military service; both sexes are obligated to military service; conscript service obligation - 36 months for enlisted men, 21 months for enlisted women, 48 months for officers; reserve obligation to age 41-51 (men), 24 (women) (2008)
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Manpower available for military service | | males age 16-49: 1,717,362
females age 16-49: 1,636,574 (2008 est.)
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Manpower fit for military service | | males age 16-49: 1,474,966
females age 16-49: 1,404,712 (2009 est.)
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Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually | | male: 61,223
female: 58,219 (2009 est.)
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Military expenditures(% of GDP) | | 7.3% of GDP (2006)
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Disputes - international | | West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation; Israel continues construction of a "seam line" separation barrier along parts of the Green Line and within the West Bank; Israel withdrew its settlers and military from the Gaza Strip and from four settlements in the West Bank in August 2005; Golan Heights is Israeli-occupied (Lebanon claims the Shab'a Farms area of Golan Heights); since 1948, about 350 peacekeepers from the UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) headquartered in Jerusalem monitor ceasefires, supervise armistice agreements, prevent isolated incidents from escalating, and assist other UN personnel in the region
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Refugees and internally displaced persons | | IDPs: 150,000-420,000 (Arab villagers displaced from homes in northern Israel) (2007)
|
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Electricity - production(kWh) | | 50.41 billion kWh (2007 est.)
|
|
Electricity - production by source(%) | | fossil fuel: 99.9%
hydro: 0.1%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)
|
|
Electricity - consumption(kWh) | | 46.15 billion kWh (2007 est.)
|
|
Electricity - exports(kWh) | | 2.081 billion kWh (2007 est.)
|
|
Electricity - imports(kWh) | | 0 kWh (2008 est.)
|
|
Oil - production(bbl/day) | | 5,246 bbl/day (2008 est.)
|
|
Oil - consumption(bbl/day) | | 235,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)
|
|
Oil - exports(bbl/day) | | 69,580 bbl/day (2007 est.)
|
|
Oil - imports(bbl/day) | | 318,900 bbl/day (2007 est.)
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Oil - proved reserves(bbl) | | 1.94 million bbl (1 January 2009 est.)
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Natural gas - production(cu m) | | 1.19 billion cu m (2008 est.)
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Natural gas - consumption(cu m) | | 1.19 billion cu m (2008 est.)
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Natural gas - exports(cu m) | | 0 cu m (2008)
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Natural gas - proved reserves(cu m) | | 30.44 billion cu m (1 January 2009 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate(%) | | 0.1% (2007 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS | | 5,100 (2007 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - deaths | | fewer than 200 (2007 est.)
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Literacy(%) | | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.1%
male: 98.5%
female: 95.9% (2004 est.)
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School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)(years) | | total: 15 years
male: 15 years
female: 16 years (2006)
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Education expenditures(% of GDP) | | 6.9% of GDP (2004)
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