The British position in Palestine at the end of World War II
was becoming increasingly untenable. Hundreds of thousands of
Jewish Holocaust survivors temporarily housed in displaced persons
camps in Europe were clamoring to be settled in Palestine. The fate
of these refugees aroused international public opinion against
British policy. Moreover, the administration of President Harry S
Truman, feeling morally bound to help the Jewish refugees and
exhorted by a large and vocal Jewish community, pressured Britain
to change its course in Palestine. Postwar Britain depended on
American economic aid to reconstruct its war-torn economy.
Furthermore, Britain's staying power in its old colonial holdings
was waning; in 1947 British rule in India came to an end and
Britain informed Washington that London could no longer carry the
military burden of strengthening Greece and Turkey against
communist encroachment.
In May 1946, the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry
unanimously declared its opposition to the White Paper of 1939 and
proposed, among other recommendations, that the immigration to
Palestine of 100,000 European Jews be authorized at once. The
British Mandate Authority rejected the proposal, stating that such
immigration was impossible while armed organizations in Palestine--
both Arab and Jewish--were fighting the authority and disrupting
public order.
Despite American, Jewish, and international pressure and the
recommendations of the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry, the new
Labour Party government of Prime Minister Clement Atlee and his
foreign minister, Ernest Bevin, continued to enforce the policy
articulated in the White Paper. British adamancy on immigration
radicalized the Yishuv. Under Ben-Gurion's direction, the Jewish
Agency decided in October 1945 to unite with Jewish dissident
groups in a combined rebellion against the British administration
in Palestine. The combined Jewish resistance movement organized
illegal immigration and kidnapping of British officials in
Palestine and sabotaged the British infrastructure in Palestine. In
response Bevin ordered a crackdown on the Haganah and arrested many
of its leaders. While the British concentrated their efforts on the
Haganah, the Irgun and Lehi carried out terrorist attacks against
British forces, the most spectacular of which was the bombing of
the King David Hotel in Jerusalem in July 1946. The latter event
led Ben-Gurion to sever his relationship with the Irgun and Lehi.
By 1947 Palestine was a major trouble spot in the British
Empire, requiring some 100,000 troops and a huge maintenance
budget. On February 18, 1947, Bevin informed the House of Commons
of the government's decision to present the Palestine problem to
the United Nations (UN). On May 15, 1947, a special session of the
UN General Assembly established the United Nations Special
Committee on Palestine (UNSCOP), consisting of eleven members. The
UNSCOP reported on August 31 that a majority of its members
supported a geographically complex system of partition into
separate Arab and Jewish states, a special international status for
Jerusalem, and an economic union linking the three members. Backed
by both the United States and the Soviet Union, the plan was
adopted after two months of intense deliberations as the UN General
Assembly Resolution of November 29, 1947. Although considering the
plan defective in terms of their expectations from the League of
Nations Mandate twenty-five years earlier, the Zionist General
Council stated willingness in principle to accept partition. The
League of Arab States (Arab League) Council, meeting in December
1947, said it would take whatever measures were required to prevent
implementation of the resolution.
Despite the passage of the UN partition plan, the situation in
Palestine in early 1948 did not look auspicious for the Yishuv.
When the AHC rejected the plan immediately after its passage and
called for a general strike, violence between Arabs and Jews
mounted. Many Jewish centers, including Jerusalem, were besieged by
the Arabs. In January 1948, President Truman, warned by the United
States Department of State that a Jewish state was not viable,
reversed himself on the issue of Palestine, agreeing to postpone
partition and to transfer the Mandate to a trusteeship council.
Moreover, the British forces in Palestine sided with the Arabs and
attempted to thwart the Yishuv's attempts to arm itself.
In mid-March the Yishuv's military prospects changed
dramatically after receiving the first clandestine shipment of
heavy arms from Czechoslovakia. The Haganah went on the offensive
and, in a series of operations carried out from early April until
mid-May, successfully consolidated and created communications links
with those Jewish settlements designated by the UN to become the
Jewish state. In the meantime, Weizmann convinced Truman to reverse
himself and pledge his support for the proposed Jewish state. In
April 1948, the Palestinian Arab community panicked after Begin's
Irgun killed 250 Arab civilians at the village of Dayr Yasin near
Jerusalem. The news of Dayr Yasin precipitated a flight of the Arab
population from areas with large Jewish populations.
On May 14, 1948, Ben-Gurion and his associates proclaimed the
establishment of the State of Israel. On the following day Britain
relinquished the Mandate at 6:00 P.M. and the United States
announced de facto recognition of Israel. Soviet recognition was
accorded on May 18; by April 1949, fifty-three nations, including
Britain, had extended recognition. In May 1949, the UN General
Assembly, on recommendation of the Security Council, admitted
Israel to the UN.
Meanwhile, Arab military forces began their invasion of Israel
on May 15. Initially these forces consisted of approximately 8,000
to 10,000 Egyptians, 2,000 to 4,000 Iraqis, 4,000 to 5,000
Transjordanians, 3,000 to 4,000 Syrians, 1,000 to 2,000 Lebanese,
and smaller numbers of Saudi Arabian and Yemeni troops, about
25,000 in all. Israeli forces composed of the Haganah, such
irregular units as the Irgun and the Stern Gang, and women's
auxiliaries numbered 35,000 or more. By October 14, Arab forces
deployed in the war zones had increased to about 55,000, including
not more than 5,000 irregulars of Hajj Amin al Husayni's Palestine
Liberation Force. The Israeli military forces had increased to
approximately 100,000. Except for the British-trained Arab Legion
of Transjordan, Arab units were largely ill-trained and
inexperienced. Israeli forces, usually operating with interior
lines of communication, included an estimated 20,000 to 25,000
European World War II veterans.
By January 1949, Jewish forces held the area that was to define
Israel's territory until June 1967, an area that was significantly
larger than the area designated by the UN partition plan. The part
of Palestine remaining in Arab hands was limited to that held by
the Arab Legion of Transjordan and the Gaza area held by Egypt at
the cessation of hostilities. The area held by the Arab Legion was
subsequently annexed by Jordan and is commonly referred to as the
West Bank (see Glossary).
Jerusalem was divided. The Old City, the
Western Wall and the site of Solomon's Temple, upon which stands
the Muslim mosque called the Dome of the Rock, remained in
Jordanian hands; the New City lay on the Israeli side of the line.
Although the West Bank remained under Jordanian suzerainty until
1967, only two countries--Britain and Pakistan--granted de jure
recognition of the annexation.
Early in the conflict, on May 29, 1948, the UN Security Council
established the Truce Commission headed by a UN mediator, Swedish
diplomat Folke Bernadotte, who was assassinated in Jerusalem on
September 17, 1948. He was succeeded by Ralph Bunche, an American,
as acting mediator. The commission, which later evolved into the
United Nations Truce Supervision Organization-Palestine (UNSTOP),
attempted to devise new settlement plans and arranged the truces of
June 11-July 8 and July 19-October 14, 1948. Armistice talks were
initiated with Egypt in January 1949, and an armistice agreement
was concluded with Egypt on February 24, with Lebanon on March 23,
with Transjordan on April 3, and with Syria on July 20. Iraq did
not enter into an armistice agreement but withdrew its forces after
turning over its positions to Transjordanian units.
|
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.)
|
|
Population below poverty line(%) | | 21.60%
note: Israel's poverty line is $7.30 per person per day (2005)
|
|
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.)
|
|
Budget | | revenues: $59.98 billion
expenditures: $64.21 billion (2008 est.)
|
|
Inflation rate (consumer prices)(%) | | 4.6% (2008 est.)
0.5% (2007 est.)
|
|
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)
|
|
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)
|
|
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.)
|
|
Natural gas - exports(cu m) | | 0 cu m (2008)
|
|
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)
|
