Israel

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

total:

2.05 cu km/yr (31%/7%/62%)

per capita:

305 cu m/yr (2000)

• sandstorms may occur during spring and summer;
• droughts;
• periodic earthquakes

• 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

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

• 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

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.)

noun:

Israeli(s)

adjective:

Israeli

conventional long form:

State of Israel

conventional short form:

Israel

local long form:

Medinat Yisra'el

local short form:

Yisra'el

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

• 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

• mixture of English common law, British Mandate regulations, and, in personal matters, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim legal systems;
• has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

chief of state:

President Shimon PERES (since 15 July 2007)

head of government:

• Prime Minister Binjamin NETANYAHU (since 31 March 2009);
• Vice Prime Minister Silvan SHALOM (since 31 March 2009);
• Vice Prime Minister Moshe YAALON (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)

• Balad [Azmi BISHARA];
• Democratic Front for Peace and Equality (HADASH) [Muhammad BARAKEH];
• Kadima [Tzipora "Tzipi" LIVNI];
• Labor Party [Ehud BARAK];
• Likud [Binyamin NETANYAHU];
• National Union [Yaakov KATZ];
• The Jewish Home (HaBayit HaYehudi) [Daniel HERSCHKOWITZ];
• SHAS [Eliyahu YISHAI];
• The New Movement-Meretz [Haim ORON];
• United Arab List-Ta'al [Ibrahim SARSUR];
• United Torah Judaism or UTJ [Yaakov LITZMAN];
• Yisrael Beiteinu or YB [Avigdor LIEBERMAN]

• 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

chief of mission:

Ambassador Michael OREN

chancery:

3514 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 364-5500

FAX:

[1] (202) 364-5607

consulate(s) general:

Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco

chief of mission:

Ambassador James B. CUNNINGHAM

embassy:

71 Hayarkon Street, Tel Aviv 63903

mailing address:

PSC 98, Box 29, APO AE 09830

telephone:

[972] (3) 519-7575

FAX:

[972] (3) 516-4390

consulate(s) general:

Jerusalem; note - an independent US mission, established in 1928, whose members are not accredited to a foreign government

agriculture:

2%

industry:

16%

services:

82% (30 September 2008)

lowest 10%:

2.6%

highest 10%:

24.2% (2007)

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)

total:

913 km

country comparison to the world: 93

standard gauge:

913 km 1.435-m gauge (2008)

total:

17,870 km

country comparison to the world: 118

paved:

17,870 km (includes 146 km of expressways) (2007)

• 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)

males age 16-49:

1,717,362

females age 16-49:

1,636,574 (2008 est.)

males age 16-49:

1,474,966

females age 16-49:

1,404,712 (2009 est.)

male:

61,223

female:

58,219 (2009 est.)

• 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

• increasingly concerned about ecstasy, cocaine, and heroin abuse;
• drugs arrive in country from Lebanon and, increasingly, from Jordan;
• money-laundering center