View source for Place:Israel

{{short description|Country in West Asia}}
{{pp-extended|small=yes}}
{{Infobox country
| conventional_long_name = State of Israel
| native_name            = {{native name|he|מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל}}<br>{{native name|ar|دَوْلَة إِسْرَائِيل}}
| common_name            = Israel
| image_flag             = Flag of Israel.svg
| alt_flag               = The flag of Isreal – Star of David centred between two horizontal stripes of a Tallit (a Jewish prayer shawl)
| image_coat             = Emblem of Israel.svg
| coa_size               = 80
| alt_coat               = Menorah surrounded by an olive branch on either side
| symbol_type            = Emblem
| national_anthem        = {{lang|he|הַתִּקְוָה}} (''Hatīkvāh''; "The Hope"){{parabr}}{{center|[[File:Hatikvah instrumental.ogg]]}}
| image_map              = {{Switcher|[[File:Israel (orthographic projection) with occupied territories.svg|frameless]]|Show globe|[[File:Israel - Location Map (2012) - ISR - UNOCHA.svg|frameless]]|Map of Israel (Green Line)}}
| alt_map                = Israel proper shown in dark green; Israeli-occupied territories shown in light green
| map_caption            = Israel within internationally recognized borders shown in dark green; [[Place:Israeli-occupied territories|Israeli-occupied territories]] shown in light green
| capital                = [[Place:Jerusalem|Jerusalem]]<br />([[Place:Status of Jerusalem|limited recognition]])<!-- DO NOT put this into a note, "(limited recognition)" is the parenthetical comment used per last RfC (see RfC link in the talk page's FAQ) -->{{refn|group=fn|Recognition by other UN member states: Russia (West Jerusalem),<ref>{{cite web |title=Foreign Ministry statement regarding Palestinian-Israeli settlement |url=http://www.mid.ru/en/foreign_policy/news/-/asset_publisher/cKNonkJE02Bw/content/id/2717182 |website=mid.ru |date=6 April 2017 |access-date=15 December 2018 |archive-date=4 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200104201944/https://www.mid.ru/en/foreign_policy/news/-/asset_publisher/cKNonkJE02Bw/content/id/2717182 |url-status=live }}</ref> the [[Place:Czech Republic|Czech Republic]] (West Jerusalem),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Czech-Republic-announces-it-recognizes-West-Jerusalem-as-Israels-capital-517241|title=Czech Republic announces it recognizes West Jerusalem as Israel's capital|work=The Jerusalem Post|date=6 December 2017|access-date=6 December 2017|quote=The Czech Republic currently, before the peace between Israel and Palestine is signed, recognizes Jerusalem to be in fact the capital of Israel in the borders of the demarcation line from 1967." The Ministry also said that it would only consider relocating its embassy based on "results of negotiations.|archive-date=3 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200303093750/https://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Czech-Republic-announces-it-recognizes-West-Jerusalem-as-Israels-capital-517241|url-status=live}}</ref> Honduras,<ref>{{cite news |title=Honduras recognizes Jerusalem as Israel's capital |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/honduras-recognizes-jerusalem-as-israels-capital/ |work=The Times of Israel |date=29 August 2019 |access-date=29 August 2019 |archive-date=3 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191203023556/https://www.timesofisrael.com/honduras-recognizes-jerusalem-as-israels-capital/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Guatemala,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.infobae.com/america/mundo/2017/12/24/guatemala-se-suma-a-eeuu-y-tambien-trasladara-su-embajada-en-israel-a-jerusalen/|title=Guatemala se suma a EEUU y también trasladará su embajada en Israel a Jerusalén|trans-title=Guatemala joins US, will also move embassy to Jerusalem|website=Infobae|date=24 December 2017|language=es|access-date=25 December 2017|archive-date=17 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417074208/https://www.infobae.com/america/mundo/2017/12/24/guatemala-se-suma-a-eeuu-y-tambien-trasladara-su-embajada-en-israel-a-jerusalen/|url-status=live}} Guatemala's embassy was located in Jerusalem until the 1980s, when it was moved to Tel Aviv.</ref> Nauru,<ref>{{cite news |title=Nauru recognizes J'lem as capital of Israel |url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/268084 |work=Israel National News |date=29 August 2019 |language=en |access-date=29 August 2019 |archive-date=11 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611110231/http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/268084 |url-status=live }}</ref> and the United States.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/06/world/middleeast/trump-jerusalem-israel-capital.html|title=Trump Recognizes Jerusalem as Israel's Capital and Orders U.S. Embassy to Move|work={{wipe|The New York Times}}|date=6 December 2017|access-date=6 December 2017|archive-date=17 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200617225602/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/06/world/middleeast/trump-jerusalem-israel-capital.html|url-status=live}}</ref>}}{{refn|group=fn|Jerusalem is Israel's largest city if including East Jerusalem, which is widely recognized as occupied territory.<ref>{{citation|title=The Legal Status of East Jerusalem|publisher=[[Organization:Norwegian Refugee Council|Norwegian Refugee Council]]|date=December 2013|url=https://www.nrc.no/globalassets/pdf/reports/the-legal-status-of-east-jerusalem.pdf|pages=8, 29|access-date=26 October 2021|archive-date=10 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210510192041/https://www.nrc.no/globalassets/pdf/reports/the-legal-status-of-east-jerusalem.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> If East Jeruslem is not counted, the largest city would be [[Place:Tel Aviv|Tel Aviv]].}}
| coordinates            = {{coord|31|47|N|35|13|E|region:IL-JM_type:city(880000)}}
| largest_city           = capital
| languages_type         = Official language
| languages              = [[Social:Modern Hebrew|Hebrew]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Constitution for Israel |url=https://knesset.gov.il/constitution/ConstIntro_eng.htm |access-date=December 9, 2023 |website=knesset.gov.il. |archive-date=4 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230804001041/https://knesset.gov.il/constitution/ConstIntro_eng.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>
| languages2_type        = Recognized language
| languages2             = [[Social:Modern Standard Arabic|Arabic]]{{refn|group=fn|Arabic had previously been an official language of the State of Israel.<ref name=lang1>{{cite web |title=Arabic in Israel: an official language and a cultural bridge |url=http://mfa.gov.il/MFA/IsraelExperience/Culture/Pages/Arabic-in-Israel--an-official-language-and-a-cultural-bridge-18-December-2016.aspx |website=Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs |date=18 December 2016 |access-date=8 August 2018 |archive-date=2 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802014731/http://mfa.gov.il/MFA/IsraelExperience/Culture/Pages/Arabic-in-Israel--an-official-language-and-a-cultural-bridge-18-December-2016.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2018 its classification was changed to a 'special status in the state' with its use by state institutions to be set in law.<ref name=lang2>{{cite news |title=Israel Passes 'National Home' Law, Drawing Ire of Arabs |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/18/world/middleeast/israel-passes-national-home-law.html |work=The New York Times |date=19 July 2018 |language=en |access-date=19 July 2018 |archive-date=7 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107092323/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/18/world/middleeast/israel-passes-national-home-law.html%20 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=lang3>{{cite news |last1=Lubell |first1=Maayan |title=Israel adopts divisive Jewish nation-state law |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-politics-law/israel-adopts-divisive-jewish-nation-state-law-idUSKBN1K901V |work=Reuters |date=19 July 2018 |access-date=19 July 2018 |archive-date=24 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181224205808/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-politics-law/israel-adopts-divisive-jewish-nation-state-law-idUSKBN1K901V |url-status=live }}</ref>}}
| ethnic_groups          = {{unbulleted list|73% Jews|21% Arabs|6% others}}
| ethnic_groups_year     = 2023
| ethnic_groups_ref      = <ref name="population_stat2022"/>
| demonym                = Israeli
| government_type        = [[Social:Unitary parliamentary republic|Unitary parliamentary republic]]
| leader_title1          = President
| leader_name1           = Isaac Herzog
| leader_title2          = Prime Minister
| leader_name2           = Benjamin Netanyahu
| leader_title3          = Knesset Speaker
| leader_name3           = Amir Ohana
| leader_title4          = Chief Justice
| leader_name4           = Uzi Vogelman (acting)
| legislature            = Knesset
| sovereignty_type       = Independence {{nobold|from Mandatory Palestine}}
| established_event1     = Declaration
| established_date1      = 14 May 1948
| established_event2     = Admission to the United Nations
| established_date2      = 11 May 1949
| established_event3     = Basic Laws
| established_date3      = 1958–2018
| area_km2               = 21,937 <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/israel/#geography|title=Israel|date=27 February 2023|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency|via=CIA.gov|access-date=24 February 2023|archive-date=10 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210110072816/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/israel#geography|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Israel country profile |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-14628835 |website=BBC News |access-date=27 January 2021 |date=24 February 2020 |archive-date=24 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210124133129/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-14628835 |url-status=live }}</ref>
| area_sq_mi             = 8,470
| area_rank              = 149th
| area_footnote          = {{efn |20,770&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> is Israel within the Green Line. 22,072&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> includes the occupied [[Place:Golan Heights|Golan Heights]] (c. {{convert|1,200|km2|abbr=on}}) and East Jerusalem (c. {{convert|64|km2|abbr=on}}).}}
| percent_water          = 2.71 (as of 2015)<ref>{{cite web |title=Surface water and surface water change |access-date=11 October 2020 |website=OECD.Stat |publisher=OECD |url=https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=SURFACE_WATER |archive-date=24 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210324133453/https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=SURFACE_WATER |url-status=live }}</ref>
| population_estimate    = {{data Israel|poptoday|formatnum}}<ref name="cbs_main">{{cite web |url=https://www.cbs.gov.il/en/mediarelease/Pages/2022/Population-of-Israel-on-the-Eve-of-2023.aspx |title=Home page |publisher=Israel Central Bureau of Statistics |access-date=29 December 2022 |archive-date=1 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230401190603/https://www.cbs.gov.il/en/mediarelease/Pages/2022/Population-of-Israel-on-the-Eve-of-2023.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=oecd group=fn/>
| population_estimate_year = {{CURRENTYEAR}}
| population_estimate_rank = 93rd
| population_census      = 7,412,200<ref>{{cite report |date=2008 |title=Population Census 2008 |url=http://www.cbs.gov.il/www/mifkad/mifkad_2008/profiles/rep_e_000000.pdf |publisher=Israel Central Bureau of Statistics |access-date=27 December 2016 |archive-date=10 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510192750/http://www.cbs.gov.il/www/mifkad/mifkad_2008/profiles/rep_e_000000.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=oecd group=fn/>
| population_census_year = 2008
| population_density_km2 = {{pop density|{{data Israel|poptoday}}|22072|km2|prec=0|disp=num}}
| population_density_rank = 29th
| GDP_PPP                = {{increase}} $537.140	billion<ref name="IMFWEO.IL">{{Cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2023/October/weo-report?c=436,&s=NGDPD,PPPGDP,NGDPDPC,PPPPC,&sy=2020&ey=2028&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort=country&ds=.&br=1 |title=World Economic Outlook Database, October 2023 Edition. (Israel) |publisher=[[Organization:International Monetary Fund|International Monetary Fund]] |website=IMF.org |date=10 October 2023 |access-date=11 October 2023 |archive-date=20 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231020002108/https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2023/October/weo-report?c=436,&s=NGDPD,PPPGDP,NGDPDPC,PPPPC,&sy=2020&ey=2028&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort=country&ds=.&br=1 |url-status=live }}</ref>
| GDP_PPP_per_capita     = {{increase}} $54,771<ref name="IMFWEO.IL" />
| GDP_PPP_rank           = 47th
| GDP_PPP_year           = 2023
| GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 30th
| GDP_nominal            = {{increase}} $521.688 billion<ref name="IMFWEO.IL" />
| GDP_nominal_rank       = 29th
| GDP_nominal_year       = 2023
| GDP_nominal_per_capita = {{increase}} $53,195<ref name="IMFWEO.IL" />
| GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = 16th
| Gini                   = 34.8
| Gini_ref               = <ref name=oecd group=fn/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://data.oecd.org/chart/60V4 |title=Income inequality |website=OECD Data |publisher=OECD |access-date=29 June 2020 |archive-date=30 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200630002540/https://data.oecd.org/chart/60V4 |url-status=live }}</ref>
| Gini_year              = 2018
| HDI_year               = 2021<!-- Please use the year to which the data refers, not the publication year-->
| HDI                    = 0.919
| HDI_change             = increase<!--increase/decrease/steady-->
| HDI_rank               = 22nd
| HDI_ref                = <ref name="UNHDR">{{cite web|url=https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2021-22pdf_1.pdf|title=Human Development Report 2021/2022|language=en|publisher=[[Organization:United Nations Development Programme|United Nations Development Programme]]|date=8 September 2022|access-date=8 September 2022|archive-date=8 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220908114232/http://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2021-22pdf_1.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
| currency               = [[Finance:Israeli new shekel|New shekel]] ({{lang|he|₪}})
| currency_code          = ILS
| time_zone              = IST
| utc_offset             = +2:00
| time_zone_DST          = IDT
| utc_offset_DST         = +3:00
| date_format            = {{unbulleted list|{{lang|he|יי-חח-שששש}} ([[History:Anno Mundi|AM]])|dd-mm-yyyy ([[Common Era|CE]])}}
| drives_on              = right
| cctld                  = .il
| iso3166code            = IL
| calling_code           = +972
| footnotes              = {{notelist}}
}}

'''Israel''', officially the '''State of Israel''',{{refn|group=fn|''Israel''',({{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɪ|z|r|i|.|ə|l|,_|-|r|eɪ|-}}; {{lang-he|יִשְׂרָאֵל}} {{Transliteration|he|Yisrāʾēl}} {{IPA-he|jisʁaˈʔel|}}; {{lang-ar|إِسْرَائِيل}} {{Transliteration|ar|ʾIsrāʾīl}}), officially the '''State of Israel''' ({{lang|he|מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל}} {{transliteration|he|Medīnat Yisrāʾēl}} {{IPA-he|mediˈnat jisʁaˈʔel|}}; {{lang|ar|دَوْلَة إِسْرَائِيل}} {{transliteration|ar|Dawlat Isrāʾīl}}),}} is a country in [[Place:West Asia|West Asia]]. It is bordered by [[Place:Lebanon|Lebanon]] to the north, [[Place:Syria|Syria]] to the northeast, Jordan to the east, the Red Sea to the south, [[Place:Egypt|Egypt]] to the southwest, the [[Place:Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean Sea]] to the west, and the [[Place:Palestinian territories|Palestinian territories]]{{snd}}the West Bank along the east and the Gaza Strip along the southwest.<ref>{{cite web |title=When will be the right time for Israel to define its borders? - analysis |url=https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-709240 |website=The Jerusalem Post {{!}} JPost.com |date=12 June 2022}}</ref> [[Place:Tel Aviv|Tel Aviv]] is the financial, economic, and technological center of the country, while its seat of government is in its proclaimed capital of [[Place:Jerusalem|Jerusalem]], although Israeli sovereignty over East Jerusalem is [[Place:Status of Jerusalem|unrecognized internationally]].<ref>Akram, Susan M., Michael Dumper, Michael Lynk, and Iain Scobbie, eds. 2010. ''International Law and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: A Rights-Based Approach to Middle East Peace''. Routledge. p. 119: "UN General Assembly Resolution 181 recommended the creation of an international zone, or corpus separatum, in Jerusalem to be administered by the UN for a 10-year period, after which there would be a referendum to determine its future. This approach applies equally to West and East Jerusalem and is not affected by the occupation of East Jerusalem in 1967. To a large extent it is this approach that still guides the diplomatic behaviour of states and thus has greater force in international law."</ref>{{refn|group=fn|The Jerusalem Law states that "Jerusalem, complete and united, is the capital of Israel" and the city serves as the seat of the government, home to the President's residence, government offices, supreme court, and parliament. United Nations Security Council Resolution 478 (20 August 1980; 14–0, U.S. abstaining) declared the Jerusalem Law "null and void" and called on member states to withdraw their diplomatic missions from Jerusalem.{{sfn|Kellerman|1993|p=140}} See [[Place:Status of Jerusalem|Status of Jerusalem]] for more information.}}

Israel is located in the Southern Levant, a region known historically as [[Place:Canaan|Canaan]], [[Place:Palestine (region)|Palestine]], or the [[Religion:Holy Land|Holy Land]]. In antiquity, it was home to several Canaanite, Israelite and [[Religion:Jews|Jewish]] kingdoms, and is referred to as the [[Place:Land of Israel|Land of Israel]] in Jewish tradition. The region was ruled by powers such as the [[History:Neo-Assyrian Empire|Assyrians]], Babylonians, [[Place:Achaemenid Empire|Achaemenids]], Greeks, and Romans. During Roman rule, Jews became a minority in Palestine. The region later came under Byzantine and Arab rule. In the Middle Ages, it was part of the [[Religion:Caliphate|Islamic Caliphates]], the [[History:Kingdom of Jerusalem|Crusader Kingdom]], and the [[Place:Ottoman Empire|Ottoman Empire]]. The late 19th century saw the rise of [[Social:Zionism|Zionism]], a movement advocating for the establishment of a Jewish homeland. Under the British Mandate placed by the League of Nations after World War I, Jewish immigration to the region increased considerably leading to [[Religion:Intercommunal conflict in Mandatory Palestine|intercommunal conflict]] between Jews and the Arab majority.<ref>{{cite book |author= |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=&pg=PA |title=Righteous Victims: A History of the Zionist-Arab Conflict, 1881-2001: Morris, Benny: 9780679744757: Amazon.com: Books |publisher= |year= |isbn= |pages=|quote=The fear of territorial displacement and dispossession was to be the chief motor of Arab antagonism to Zionism down to 1948 (and indeed after 1967 as well).}}</ref> The UN-approved 1947 partition plan triggered a civil war between these groups which would see the expulsion or fleeing of most Palestinians from Mandatory Palestine. The British terminated the Mandate on 14 May 1948, and Israel declared independence on the same day.

On 15 May 1948, the armies of five neighboring Arab states invaded the area of the former Mandatory Palestine, starting the First Arab–Israeli War. An armistice in 1949 left Israel in control of more territory than the U.N. partition plan had called for;<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-10-19 |title=Zionism {{!}} Definition, History, Examples, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Zionism |access-date=2023-10-29 |website=britannica.com |language=en |archive-date=25 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225204632/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Zionism |url-status=live }}</ref> no new Arab state was created, as the rest of the former Mandate territory was divided between [[Place:Egypt|Egypt]], which occupied the Gaza Strip, and Jordan, which annexed the West Bank.{{sfn|Fischbach|2008|p=26–27}}{{refn|group=fn|Tens of thousands of Jews in Arab countries left their homes because of the 1948 war as well, pushed by a combination of antisemitic feeling and legislation, religious feeling, Zionist activity, economic factors, the end of colonial rule, and other reasons. The decision to leave varied by circumstance, as well as by country and social class. Approximately 260,000 Jews from the Arab world moved to Israel during and immediately after the war.{{sfn|Fischbach|2008|p=26–27}}}}<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Meir-Glitzenstein |first1=Esther |title=Turning Points in the Historiography of Jewish Immigration from Arab Countries to Israel |journal=Israel Studies |volume=23 |issue=3 |date=Fall 2018 |pages=114–122 |publisher=Indiana University Press |doi=10.2979/israelstudies.23.3.15 |jstor=10.2979/israelstudies.23.3.15 |s2cid=150208821 |quote=The mass immigration from Arab countries began in mid-1949 and included three communities that relocated to Israel almost in their entirety: 31,000 Jews from Libya, 50,000 from Yemen, and 125,000 from Iraq. Additional immigrants arrived from Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey, Iran, India, and elsewhere. Within three years, the Jewish population of Israel doubled. The ethnic composition of the population shifted as well, as immigrants from Muslim counties and their offspring now comprised one third of the Jewish population—an unprecedented phenomenon in global immigration history. From 1952–60, Israel regulated and restricted immigration from Muslim countries with a selective immigration policy based on economic criteria, and sent these immigrants, most of whom were North African, to peripheral Israeli settlements. The selective immigration policy ended in 1961 when, following an agreement between Israel and Morocco, about 100,000 Jews immigrated to the State. From 1952–68 about 600,000 Jews arrived in Israel, three quarters of whom were from Arab countries and the remaining immigrants were largely from Eastern Europe. Today fewer than 30,000 remain in Muslim countries, mostly concentrated in Iran and Turkey.}}</ref> The 1967 Six-Day War ended with Israel occupying both the West Bank and Gaza alongside the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula and the Syrian Golan Heights. Israel has since effectively annexed both East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, and has established settlements across the [[Place:Israeli-occupied territories|occupied territories]], actions which are deemed illegal under international law. Since the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Israel has signed peace treaties with Egypt, returning the Sinai Peninsula, and with Jordan, and more recently normalized relations with several Arab countries. However, efforts to resolve the [[Religion:Israeli–Palestinian conflict|Israeli–Palestinian conflict]] have not succeeded. Israel's practices, in the longest military occupation in modern history, have drawn international condemnation for violating the human rights of the Palestinians.<ref>{{cite book |last=Totten |first=S. |title=Last Lectures on the Prevention and Intervention of Genocide |publisher=Taylor & Francis |series=Routledge Studies in Genocide and Crimes against Humanity |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-315-40976-4 |page=64 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TGtQDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA64 |access-date=31 March 2023 |archive-date=31 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230331193051/https://books.google.com/books?id=TGtQDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA64 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The country has a [[Social:Parliamentary system|parliamentary system]] elected by [[Social:Proportional representation|proportional representation]]. The prime minister serves as head of government, and is elected by the Knesset, Israel's unicameral legislature.<ref name="cnn" /> Israel has the highest Human Development Index of all countries in the Middle East and one of the richest countries in the Middle East and Asia,<ref>{{Cite report |url=https://hdr.undp.org/content/human-development-report-2021-22 |title=Human Development Report 2021-22 |date=2022-09-08 |publisher=United Nations |language=en |access-date=8 November 2023 |archive-date=12 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230112121440/https://hdr.undp.org/content/human-development-report-2021-22 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-03-23 |title=30 Countries with Highest GDP per Capita |url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/30-countries-highest-gdp-per-202506964.html |access-date=2023-11-23 |website=Yahoo Finance |language=en-US |archive-date=23 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231123013725/https://finance.yahoo.com/news/30-countries-highest-gdp-per-202506964.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Global Wealth Report |url=https://www.credit-suisse.com/about-us/en/reports-research/global-wealth-report.html |access-date=2023-11-23 |website=Credit Suisse |language=en |archive-date=18 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190718152440/https://www.credit-suisse.com/about-us/en/reports-research/global-wealth-report.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Team |first=FAIR |date=2023-09-06 |title=Top 10 Richest Countries in Asia [2023] |url=https://fairbd.net/top-10-richest-countries-in-asia/ |access-date=2023-12-15 |website=FAIR |language=en-GB |archive-date=20 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231120192453/https://fairbd.net/top-10-richest-countries-in-asia/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and an [[Organization:OECD|Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development]] member since 2010.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2010-05-27 |title=Israel to join prestigious OECD economic club |url=https://www.france24.com/en/20100527-israel-join-prestigious-oecd-economic-club-netanyahu-sarkozy-paris |access-date=2023-11-23 |website=France 24 |language=en |archive-date=23 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231123013723/https://www.france24.com/en/20100527-israel-join-prestigious-oecd-economic-club-netanyahu-sarkozy-paris |url-status=live }}</ref> It has the highest standards of living in the Middle East, and has been ranked as one of the most advanced and technological countries,<ref name="OECD">{{cite web |title=Israel's accession to the OECD |publisher=OECD |url=http://www.oecd.org/israel/israelsaccessiontotheoecd.htm |access-date=12 August 2012 |website=oecd.org |archive-date=16 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200516012445/http://www.oecd.org/israel/israelsaccessiontotheoecd.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-12-04 |title=Top 15 Most Advanced Countries in the World |url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/top-15-most-advanced-countries-041038286.html |access-date=2023-10-27 |website=Yahoo Finance |language=en-US |archive-date=10 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230110012152/https://finance.yahoo.com/news/top-15-most-advanced-countries-041038286.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Getzoff |first=Marc |date=2023-08-09 |title=Most Technologically Advanced Countries In The World 2023 |url=https://gfmag.com/data/non-economic-data/most-advanced-countries-in-the-world/ |access-date=2023-11-08 |website=Global Finance Magazine |language=en-US |archive-date=8 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231108044803/https://gfmag.com/data/non-economic-data/most-advanced-countries-in-the-world/ |url-status=live }}</ref> with a population of nearly 10 million people, {{As of|2023|lc=y}}.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Israel reveals population to reach 10 million by end of 2024 |date=September 14, 2023 |url=https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/society/1694685204-israel-reveals-population-to-be-10-million-by-end-of-2024 |access-date=2023-10-22 |website=i24news.tv |archive-date=24 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231024112408/https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/society/1694685204-israel-reveals-population-to-be-10-million-by-end-of-2024 |url-status=live }}</ref> It has the world's [[Finance:List of countries by GDP (nominal)|29th-largest economy by nominal GDP]] and 16th by nominal GDP per capita.<ref name="IMFWEO.IL" />

==Etymology==
[[File:Merneptah Steli (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|The Merneptah Stele (13th century BCE). The majority of biblical archeologists translate a set of hieroglyphs as "Israel", the first instance of the name in the record.]]

Under the British Mandate (1920–1948), the whole region was known as 'Palestine'.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://time.com/3445003/mandatory-palestine/|title=Mandatory Palestine: What It Was and Why It Matters|author=Noah Rayman|magazine={{wipe|Time (magazine)}}|date=29 September 2014|access-date=5 December 2015|archive-date=18 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190518140257/http://time.com/3445003/mandatory-palestine/|url-status=live}}</ref> Upon independence in 1948, the country formally adopted the name 'State of Israel' ({{lang-he|מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל}}, {{Audio|He-Medinat Israel2.ogg|{{transliteration|he|''Medīnat Yisrā'el''}}|help=no}} {{IPA-he|mediˈnat jisʁaˈʔel|}}; {{lang-ar|دَوْلَة إِسْرَائِيل}}, {{transliteration|ar|ALA-LC|''Dawlat Isrāʼīl''}}, {{IPA-ar|dawlat ʔisraːˈʔiːl|}}) after other proposed names including '[[Place:Land of Israel|Land of Israel]]' (''Eretz Israel''), Ever (from ancestor Eber), Zion, and Judea, were considered but rejected,<ref>{{cite news |work=The Palestine Post |date=7 December 1947 |page=1 |title=Popular Opinion |url=http://www.jpress.org.il/Repository/getFiles.asp?Style=OliveXLib:LowLevelEntityToSaveGifMSIE_TAUEN&Type=text/html&Locale=english-skin-custom&Path=PLS/1947/12/07&ChunkNum=-1&ID=Ar00105&PageLabel=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120815030044/http://www.jpress.org.il/Repository/getFiles.asp?Style=OliveXLib%3ALowLevelEntityToSaveGifMSIE_TAUEN&Type=text%2Fhtml&Locale=english-skin-custom&Path=PLS%2F1947%2F12%2F07&ChunkNum=-1&ID=Ar00105&PageLabel=1 |archive-date=15 August 2012}}</ref> while the name 'Israel' was suggested by Ben-Gurion and passed by a vote of 6–3.<ref>[http://info.jpost.com/1998/Supplements/Jubilee/2.html One Day that Shook the world] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112220409/http://info.jpost.com/1998/Supplements/Jubilee/2.html |date=12 January 2012 }} ''The Jerusalem Post'', 30 April 1998, by Elli Wohlgelernter</ref> In the early weeks of independence, the government chose the term "Israeli" to denote a citizen of Israel.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,798687-2,00.html |magazine=Time |date=31 May 1948 |title=On the Move |access-date=6 August 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016074447/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0%2C9171%2C798687-2%2C00.html |archive-date=16 October 2007}}</ref>

The names [[Place:Land of Israel|Land of Israel]] and Children of Israel have historically been used to refer to the biblical [[Place:Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy)|Kingdom of Israel]] and the entire Jewish people respectively.<ref name=levine>{{cite news |last = Levine |first = Robert A. |title = See Israel as a Jewish Nation-State, More or Less Democratic |work = The New York Times |date = 7 November 2000 |access-date = 19 January 2011 |url = https://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/07/opinion/07iht-edlevine.t.html |archive-date = 22 July 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160722032239/http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/07/opinion/07iht-edlevine.t.html |url-status = live }}</ref> The [[Religion:Israel (name)|name 'Israel']] (Hebrew:&nbsp;''Yīsrāʾēl''; Septuagint {{lang-el|Ἰσραήλ}}, ''Israēl'', '[[Religion:El (deity)|El (God)]] persists/rules', though after {{Bibleverse|Hosea|12:4}} often interpreted as 'struggle with God') refers to the patriarch Jacob who, according to the [[Religion:Hebrew Bible|Hebrew Bible]], was given the name after he successfully wrestled with the angel of the Lord.<ref>Geoffrey W. Bromiley, [https://books.google.com/books?id=yklDk6Vv0l4C&pg=PA907 'Israel,'] in ''International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: E–J,''Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1995 p. 907.</ref> The earliest known archaeological artefact to mention the word "Israel" as a collective is the Merneptah Stele of ancient Egypt (dated to the late 13th century BCE).<ref>{{harvnb|Barton|Bowden|2004|p=126}}. "The Merneptah Stele ... is arguably the oldest evidence outside the Bible for the existence of Israel as early as the 13th century BCE."</ref>

==History==
{{For timeline|Timeline of Israeli history}}

Early expansions of hominins out of Africa into the Levant, where Israel is located, dates back at least 1.5 million years based on traces found at the [[Earth:Ubeidiya prehistoric site|Ubeidiya prehistoric site]],<ref>{{cite journal |last=Tchernov |first=Eitan |date=1988 |title=The Age of 'Ubeidiya Formation (Jordan Valley, Israel) and the Earliest Hominids in the Levant |journal=Paléorient |volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=63–65 |doi=10.3406/paleo.1988.4455 }}</ref> while the [[Social:Skhul and Qafzeh hominins|Skhul and Qafzeh hominins]], dating back 120,000 years, are some of the earliest traces of anatomically modern humans outside of Africa.<ref>{{cite news |last=Rincon |first=Paul |date=14 October 2015 |title=Fossil teeth place humans in Asia '20,000 years early' |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-34531861 |work=BBC News |access-date=4 January 2017 |archive-date=17 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170817113912/http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-34531861 |url-status=live }}</ref> The Natufian culture emerged in the southern Levant by the 10th millennium BCE,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Bar-Yosef |first=Ofer |author-link=Ofer Bar-Yosef |date=7 December 1998 |title=The Natufian Culture in the Levant, Threshold to the Origins of Agriculture |url=http://www.columbia.edu/itc/anthropology/v1007/baryo.pdf |journal=Evolutionary Anthropology |volume=6 |issue=5 |pages=159–177 |doi=10.1002/(SICI)1520-6505(1998)6:5<159::AID-EVAN4>3.0.CO;2-7 |s2cid=35814375 |access-date=4 January 2017 |archive-date=16 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210716132937/http://www.columbia.edu/itc/anthropology/v1007/baryo.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> followed by the Ghassulian culture by around 4,500 BCE.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Steiglitz |first1=Robert |title=Migrations in the Ancient Near East |journal=Anthropological Science |date=1992 |volume=3 |issue=101 |page=263 |url=https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/ase1993/101/3/101_3_263/_pdf |access-date=12 June 2020 |archive-date=26 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326034549/https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/ase1993/101/3/101_3_263/_pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Bronze and Iron Ages ===
Early references to "Canaanites" and "Canaan" appear in Near Eastern and Egyptian texts (''c.'' 2000 BCE); these populations were structured as politically independent, territorially based [[Earth:City-state|city-states]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Canaanites |url=https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/display/document/obo-9780195393361/obo-9780195393361-0216.xml |access-date=2023-12-01 |website=obo |language=en |archive-date=3 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230403082451/https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/display/document/obo-9780195393361/obo-9780195393361-0216.xml |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Glassman |first=Ronald M. |title=The Political Structure of the Canaanite City-States: Monarchy and Merchant Oligarchy |date=2017 |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51695-0_49 |work=The Origins of Democracy in Tribes, City-States and Nation-States |pages=473–477 |editor-last=Glassman |editor-first=Ronald M. |access-date=2023-12-01 |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-51695-0_49 |isbn=978-3-319-51695-0}}</ref> During the Late Bronze Age (1550–1200 BCE), large parts of Canaan formed vassal states paying tribute to the [[History:New Kingdom of Egypt|New Kingdom of Egypt]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Braunstein |first1=Susan L. |year=2011 |title=The Meaning of Egyptian-Style Objects in the Late Bronze Cemeteries of Tell el-Farʿah (South) |journal=Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research |volume=364 |issue=364 |pages=1–36 |doi=10.5615/bullamerschoorie.364.0001 |jstor=10.5615/bullamerschoorie.364.0001 |s2cid=164054005}}</ref> As a result of the [[History:Late Bronze Age collapse|Late Bronze Age collapse]], Canaan fell into chaos, and Egyptian control over the region collapsed.<ref>Dever, William G. ''Beyond the Texts'', Society of Biblical Literature Press, 2017, pp. 89–93</ref><ref>S. Richard, "Archaeological sources for the history of Palestine: The Early Bronze Age: The rise and collapse of urbanism", ''The Biblical Archaeologist'' (1987)</ref>

A people named Israel appear for the first time in the Merneptah Stele, an ancient Egyptian inscription which dates to about 1200 BCE.<ref name="NollMerneptah">K.L. Noll, [https://books.google.com/books?id=hMeRK7B1EsMC&pg=PA139 ''Canaan and Israel in Antiquity: A Textbook on History and Religion,''] A&C Black, 2012, rev.ed. pp. 137ff.</ref><ref name="ThompsonMerneptah">[[Biography:Thomas L. Thompson|Thomas L. Thompson]], [https://books.google.com/books?id=RwrrUuHFb6UC&pg=PA275 ''Early History of the Israelite People: From the Written & Archaeological Sources,''] Brill, 2000 pp. 275–276: 'They are rather a very specific group among the population of Palestine which bears a name that occurs here for the first time that at a much later stage in Palestine's history bears a substantially different signification.'</ref>{{refn|group=fn |The [[Religion:Israel (name)|personal name "Israel"]] appears much earlier, in material from [[History:Ebla|Ebla]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hasel |first=Michael G. |date=1 January 1994 |title=Israel in the Merneptah Stela |journal=Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research |volume=296 |issue=296 |pages=45–61 |doi=10.2307/1357179 |jstor=1357179 |s2cid=164052192}}<br/>* {{Cite book |last=Bertman |first=Stephen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1C4NKp4zgIQC&q=ebla%20israel%20ishmael%20abraham&pg=PA317 |title=Handbook to Life in Ancient Mesopotamia |date=14 July 2005 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-518364-1}}<br/>* {{cite book |author1=Meindert Dijkstra |title=Between Evidence and Ideology Essays on the History of Ancient Israel read at the Joint Meeting of the Society for Old Testament Study and the Oud Testamentisch Werkgezelschap Lincoln, July 2009 |date=2010 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-18737-5 |editor1-last=Becking |editor1-first=Bob |editor1-link=Lester L. Grabbe |page=47 |chapter=Origins of Israel between history and ideology |quote=As a West Semitic personal name it existed long before it became a tribal or a geographical name. This is not without significance, though is it rarely mentioned. We learn of a maryanu named ysr"il (*Yi¡sr—a"ilu) from Ugarit living in the same period, but the name was already used a thousand years before in Ebla. The word Israel originated as a West Semitic personal name. One of the many names that developed into the name of the ancestor of a clan, of a tribe and finally of a people and a nation. |editor2-last=Grabbe |editor2-first=Lester}}</ref>}}<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lemche |first1=Niels Peter |year=1998 |title=The Israelites in History and Tradition |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |url={{Google books|JIoY7PagAOAC|page=PA35|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |page=35|isbn=978-0-664-22727-2}}</ref> Ancestors of the Israelites are thought to have included ancient Semitic-speaking peoples native to this area.<ref name="Miller1986">{{Cite book |last1=Miller |first1=James Maxwell |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofancient00mill |title=A History of Ancient Israel and Judah |last2=Hayes |first2=John Haralson |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |year=1986 |isbn=978-0-664-21262-9}}</ref>{{rp|78–79}} Modern archaeological accounts suggest that the Israelites and their culture branched out of the Canaanite peoples through the development of a distinct [[Philosophy:Monolatry|monolatristic]]—and later [[Philosophy:Monotheism|monotheistic]]—religion centered on [[Religion:Yahweh|Yahweh]].<ref>Mark Smith in "The Early History of God: Yahweh and Other Deities of Ancient Israel" states "Despite the long regnant model that the Canaanites and Israelites were people of fundamentally different culture, archaeological data now casts doubt on this view. The material culture of the region exhibits numerous common points between Israelites and Canaanites in the Iron I period (c. 1200–1000&nbsp;BCE). The record would suggest that the Israelite culture largely overlapped with and derived from Canaanite culture... In short, Israelite culture was largely Canaanite in nature. Given the information available, one cannot maintain a radical cultural separation between Canaanites and Israelites for the Iron I period." (pp. 6–7). Smith, Mark (2002) "The Early History of God: Yahweh and Other Deities of Ancient Israel" (Eerdman's)</ref><ref>Rendsberg, Gary (2008). "Israel without the Bible". In Frederick E. Greenspahn. The Hebrew Bible: New Insights and Scholarship. NYU Press, pp. 3–5</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Gnuse |first1=Robert Karl |title=No Other Gods: Emergent Monotheism in Israel |date=1997 |publisher=Sheffield Academic Press Ltd |isbn=978-1-85075-657-6 |pages=28, 31}}</ref> They spoke an archaic form of [[Social:Hebrew language|Hebrew]], known as [[Social:Biblical Hebrew|Biblical Hebrew]].<ref>Steiner, Richard C. (1997), "Ancient Hebrew", in Hetzron, Robert (ed.), ''The Semitic Languages'', Routledge, pp. 145–173, {{ISBN|978-0-415-05767-7}}</ref> Around the same time, the Philistines settled on the southern coastal plain.{{sfn|Killebrew|2005|p=230}}{{sfn|Shahin|2005|p=6}}

Modern [[Earth:Archaeology|archaeology]] has largely discarded [[Religion:Historicity of the Bible|the historicity]] of the narrative in the Torah concerning the [[Religion:Patriarchs (Bible)|patriarchs]], The Exodus and the tales of conquest in the Book of Joshua, and instead views the narrative as the Israelites' [[Social:National myth|national myth]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Dever |first=William |title=What Did the Biblical Writers Know, and When Did They Know It? |year=2001 |publisher=Eerdmans |isbn=978-3-927120-37-2 |url={{Google books|6-VxwC5rQtwC|page=|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |pages=98–99 |quote=After a century of exhaustive investigation, all respectable archaeologists have given up hope of recovering any context that would make Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob credible "historical figures" [...] archaeological investigation of Moses and the Exodus has similarly been discarded as a fruitless pursuit.}}</ref> However, some elements of these traditions do appear to have historical roots.<ref>{{harvnb|Faust|2015|p=476}}: "While there is a consensus among scholars that the Exodus did not take place in the manner described in the Bible, surprisingly most scholars agree that the narrative has a historical core, and that some of the highland settlers came, one way or another, from Egypt.."</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Redmount|2001|p=61}}: "A few authorities have concluded that the core events of the Exodus saga are entirely literary fabrications. But most biblical scholars still subscribe to some variation of the Documentary Hypothesis, and support the basic historicity of the biblical narrative."</ref><ref name=":03">{{cite book |last=Dever |first=William |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6-VxwC5rQtwC |title=What Did the Biblical Writers Know, and When Did They Know It? |publisher=Eerdmans |year=2001 |isbn=978-3-927120-37-2 |pages=98–99 |quote=After a century of exhaustive investigation, all respectable archaeologists have given up hope of recovering any context that would make Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob credible "historical figures" [...] archaeological investigation of Moses and the Exodus has similarly been discarded as a fruitless pursuit.}}</ref>

[[File:Kingdoms of Israel and Judah map 830.svg|thumb|Map of Israel and Judah in the 9th century BCE]]
There is debate about the earliest existence of the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah and their extent and power. While it is unclear if there was ever a [[Place:Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy)|United Kingdom of Israel]],<ref name="lipschits">{{cite book |last1=Lipschits |first1=Oded |title=The Jewish Study Bible |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-19-997846-5 |editor1-last=Berlin |editor1-first=Adele |edition=2nd |language=en |chapter=The History of Israel in the Biblical Period |editor2-last=Brettler |editor2-first=Marc Zvi |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yErYBAAAQBAJ |access-date=1 December 2018 |archive-date=9 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409160917/https://books.google.com/books?id=yErYBAAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Kuhrtp438">{{cite book |last=Kuhrt |first=Amiele |url=https://archive.org/details/ancientneareastc00akuh/page/438 |title=The Ancient Near East |publisher=Routledge |year=1995 |isbn=978-0-415-16762-8 |page=[https://archive.org/details/ancientneareastc00akuh/page/438 438]}}</ref> historians and archaeologists agree that the northern Kingdom of Israel existed by {{Abbr|ca.|circa}} 900 BCE<ref name="Finkelstein">{{cite book |last1=Finkelstein |first1=Israel |title=The Bible unearthed: archaeology's new vision of ancient Israel and the origin of its stories |last2=Silberman |first2=Neil Asher |date=2001 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |isbn=978-0-684-86912-4 |edition=1st Touchstone }}</ref>{{rp|169–195}}<ref name="Wright">{{cite web|last1=Wright|first1=Jacob L.|date=July 2014|title=David, King of Judah (Not Israel)|url=http://www.bibleinterp.com/articles/2014/07/wri388001.shtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301164250/http://www.bibleinterp.com/articles/2014/07/wri388001.shtml|archive-date=1 March 2021|access-date=15 May 2021|website=The Bible and Interpretation}}</ref> and the [[History:Kingdom of Judah|Kingdom of Judah]] by {{Abbr|ca.|circa}} 850 BCE.<ref name="Finkelstein, Israel, (2020)">Finkelstein, Israel, (2020). [https://books.google.com/books?id=wH3-DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA33 "Saul and Highlands of Benjamin Update: The Role of Jerusalem"], in Joachim J. Krause, Omer Sergi, and Kristin Weingart (eds.), ''Saul, Benjamin, and the Emergence of Monarchy in Israel: Biblical and Archaeological Perspectives'', SBL Press, Atlanta, GA, p. 48, footnote 57: "...They became territorial kingdoms later, Israel in the first half of the ninth century BCE and Judah in its second half..."</ref><ref name="Pitcher">[https://books.google.com/books?id=tu02muKUVJ0C&pg=PA229 The Pitcher Is Broken: Memorial Essays for Gosta W. Ahlstrom, Steven W. Holloway, Lowell K. Handy, Continuum, 1 May 1995] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409160404/https://books.google.com/books?id=tu02muKUVJ0C&pg=PA229 |date=9 April 2023 }} Quote: "For Israel, the description of the battle of Qarqar in the Kurkh Monolith of Shalmaneser III (mid-ninth century) and for Judah, a Tiglath-pileser III text mentioning (Jeho-) Ahaz of Judah (IIR67 = K. 3751), dated 734–733, are the earliest published to date."</ref> The Kingdom of Israel was the more prosperous of the two and soon developed into a regional power;<ref>{{harvnb|Finkelstein|Silberman|2002|pp=146–7}}: Put simply, while Judah was still economically marginal and backward, Israel was booming. ... In the next chapter we will see how the northern kingdom suddenly appeared on the ancient Near Eastern stage as a major regional power.</ref> during the Omride dynasty, it controlled [[Place:Samaria|Samaria]], [[Religion:Galilee|Galilee]], the upper Jordan Valley, the Sharon and large parts of the Transjordan.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Israel.|first=Finkelstein|title=The forgotten kingdom: the archaeology and history of Northern Israel|isbn=978-1-58983-910-6|page=74|oclc=949151323}}</ref> Samaria, the capital, was home to one of the largest Iron Age structures in the Levant.<ref name=":04">{{Cite book |last=Finkelstein |first=Israel |title=The Forgotten Kingdom: the archaeology and history of Northern Israel |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-58983-911-3 |pages=65–66; 73; 78; 87–94 |oclc=880456140}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Finkelstein |first=Israel |date=1 November 2011 |title=Observations on the Layout of Iron Age Samaria |journal=Tel Aviv |volume=38 |issue=2 |pages=194–207 |doi=10.1179/033443511x13099584885303 |issn=0334-4355 |s2cid=128814117}}</ref>

The Kingdom of Israel was destroyed around 720 BCE, when it was conquered by the [[History:Neo-Assyrian Empire|Neo-Assyrian Empire]].<ref name="Broshi 2001 174">{{cite book |last=Broshi |first=Maguen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=etTUEorS1zMC&pg=PAPA174 |title=Bread, Wine, Walls and Scrolls |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |year=2001 |isbn=978-1-84127-201-6 |page=174 |access-date=1 December 2018 |archive-date=10 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210203455/https://books.google.com/books?id=etTUEorS1zMC&pg=PAPA174 |url-status=live }}</ref> The Kingdom of Judah, with its capital in [[Place:Jerusalem|Jerusalem]], later became a client state of first the Neo-Assyrian Empire and then the Neo-Babylonian Empire. It is estimated that the region's population was around 400,000 in the Iron Age II.<ref name=":42">Broshi, M., & Finkelstein, I. (1992). [https://www.academia.edu/40790691/M_Broshi_and_I_Finkelstein_The_Population_of_Palestine_in_Iron_Age_II_BASOR_287_1992_pp_47_60 "The Population of Palestine in Iron Age II"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230305224039/https://www.academia.edu/40790691/M_Broshi_and_I_Finkelstein_The_Population_of_Palestine_in_Iron_Age_II_BASOR_287_1992_pp_47_60 |date=5 March 2023 }}. ''Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research'', ''287''(1), 47–60.</ref> In 587/6 BCE, following a revolt in Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar II besieged and destroyed Jerusalem and Solomon's Temple,<ref>{{harvnb|Finkelstein|Silberman|2002|p=307}}: "Intensive excavations throughout Jerusalem have shown that the city was indeed systematically destroyed by the Babylonians. The conflagration seems to have been general. When activity on the ridge of the City of David resumed in the Persian period, the-new suburbs on the western hill that had flourished since at least the time of Hezekiah were not reoccupied."</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lipschits |first=Oded |date=1999 |title=The History of the Benjamin Region under Babylonian Rule |journal=Tel Aviv |volume=26 |issue=2 |pages=155–190 |doi=10.1179/tav.1999.1999.2.155 |issn=0334-4355}}</ref> dissolved the kingdom and exiled much of the Judean elite to Babylon, beginning the Babylonian captivity.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Wheeler |first=P. |date=2017 |title=Review of the book Song of Exile: The Enduring Mystery of Psalm 137, by David W. Stowe |journal=The Catholic Biblical Quarterly |volume=79 |issue=4 |pages=696–697 |doi=10.1353/cbq.2017.0092 |s2cid=171830838}}</ref> The defeat was recorded in the Babylonian Chronicles.<ref name="BabylonianChronicles">{{cite web |title=British Museum – Cuneiform tablet with part of the Babylonian Chronicle (605–594 BCE) |url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/me/c/cuneiform_nebuchadnezzar_ii.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141030154541/https://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/me/c/cuneiform_nebuchadnezzar_ii.aspx |archive-date=30 October 2014 |access-date=30 October 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=ABC 5 (Jerusalem Chronicle) – Livius |url=https://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/abc5/jerusalem.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190505195611/https://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/abc5/jerusalem.html |archive-date=5 May 2019 |access-date=26 March 2020 |website=livius.org}}</ref> After capturing Babylon in 539 BCE, Cyrus the Great, founder of the [[Place:Achaemenid Empire|Achaemenid Empire]], issued a proclamation allowing the exiled Judean population to return to Judah.<ref name="rennert">{{cite web |title=Second Temple Period (538 BCE to 70 CE) Persian Rule |url=http://www.biu.ac.il/js/rennert/history_4.html |access-date=15 March 2014 |publisher=Biu.ac.il |archive-date=16 January 1999 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990116222939/http://www.biu.ac.il/js/rennert/history_4.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>''Harper's Bible Dictionary'', ed. by Achtemeier, etc., Harper & Row, San Francisco, 1985, p. 103</ref>

=== Classical antiquity ===
{{Main|History:Second Temple period}}
The construction of the Second Temple was completed {{Circa|520 BCE}}.<ref name="rennert" /> The Achaemenids ruled the region as the province of Yehud Medinata,<ref name="Grabbe355">{{cite book |last=Grabbe |first=Lester L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-MnE5T_0RbMC&dq=%22gave%2Bthe%2BJews%2Bpermission%2Bto%2Breturn%2Bto%2BYehud%2Bprovince%2Band%2Bto%2Brebuild%2Bthe%22&pg=PAPA355 |title=A History of the Jews and Judaism in the Second Temple Period: Yehud – A History of the Persian Province of Judah v. 1 |publisher=T & T Clark |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-567-08998-4 |page=355 |access-date=1 December 2018 |archive-date=19 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231219070639/https://books.google.com/books?id=-MnE5T_0RbMC&pg=PAPA355&dq=%22gave%2Bthe%2BJews%2Bpermission%2Bto%2Breturn%2Bto%2BYehud%2Bprovince%2Band%2Bto%2Brebuild%2Bthe%22 |url-status=live }}</ref> which had a population of around 30,000 in the 5th to 4th centuries BCE.<ref name="Finkelstein" />{{rp|308}}

In 332 BCE, Alexander the Great of [[Place:Macedonia (ancient kingdom)|Macedon]] conquered the region as part of his campaign against the Achaemenid Empire. After his death, the area was controlled by the [[History:Ptolemaic Kingdom|Ptolemaic]] and [[Place:Seleucid Empire|Seleucid]] empires as a part of [[Place:Coele-Syria|Coele-Syria]]. Over the ensuing centuries, the [[Social:Hellenization|Hellenization]] of the region led to cultural tensions that came to a head during the reign of Antiochus IV, giving rise to the Maccabean Revolt of 167 BCE. The civil unrest weakened Seleucid rule and in the late 2nd century the semi-autonomous Hasmonean Kingdom of Judea arose, eventually attaining full independence and expanding into neighboring regions.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Helyer |first1=Larry R. |title=The World of the New Testament: Cultural, Social, and Historical Contexts |last2=McDonald |first2=Lee Martin |publisher=Baker Academic |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-8010-9861-1 |editor-last=Green |editor-first=Joel B. |pages=45–47 |chapter=The Hasmoneans and the Hasmonean Era |oclc=961153992 |quote=The ensuing power struggle left Hyrcanus with a free hand in Judea, and he quickly reasserted Jewish sovereignty... Hyrcanus then engaged in a series of military campaigns aimed at territorial expansion. He first conquered areas in the Transjordan. He then turned his attention to Samaria, which had long separated Judea from the northern Jewish settlements in Lower Galilee. In the south, Adora and Marisa were conquered; (Aristobulus') primary accomplishment was annexing and Judaizing the region of Iturea, located between the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon mountains |editor-last2=McDonald |editor-first2=Lee Martin}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Ben-Sasson |first=H.H. |title=A History of the Jewish People |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=1976 |isbn=978-0-674-39731-6 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_History_of_the_Jewish_People/2kSovzudhFUC?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA226 |page=226 |quote=The expansion of Hasmonean Judea took place gradually. Under Jonathan, Judea annexed southern Samaria and began to expand in the direction of the coast plain... The main ethnic changes were the work of John Hyrcanus... it was in his days and those of his son Aristobulus that the annexation of Idumea, Samaria and Galilee and the consolidation of Jewish settlement in Trans-Jordan was completed. Alexander Jannai, continuing the work of his predecessors, expanded Judean rule to the entire coastal plain, from the Carmel to the Egyptian border... and to additional areas in Trans-Jordan, including some of the Greek cities there.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Ben-Eliyahu |first=Eyal |title=Identity and Territory: Jewish Perceptions of Space in Antiquity |date=30 April 2019 |isbn=978-0-520-29360-1 |page=13 |publisher=Univ of California Press |oclc=1103519319 |quote=From the beginning of the Second Temple period until the Muslim conquest—the land was part of imperial space. This was true from the early Persian period, as well as the time of Ptolemy and the Seleucids. The only exception was the Hasmonean Kingdom, with its sovereign Jewish rule—first over Judah and later, in Alexander Jannaeus's prime, extending to the coast, the north, and the eastern banks of the Jordan. |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Identity_and_Territory/ZSyDDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA13 }}</ref>

[[File:Israel-2013-Aerial 21-Masada.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Earth:Masada|Masada]] fortress, the location of a 1st-century Roman siege]]
The Roman Republic invaded the region in 63 BCE, first taking control of Syria, and then intervening in the Hasmonean Civil War. The struggle between pro-Roman and pro-[[History:Parthian Empire|Parthian]] factions in Judea led to the installation of Herod the Great as a dynastic vassal of [[History:Ancient Rome|Rome]]. In 6 CE, the area was annexed as the Roman province of Judaea; tensions with Roman rule led to a series of Jewish–Roman wars, resulting in widespread destruction. The First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE) resulted in the [[Biology:Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE)|destruction of Jerusalem and the Second Temple]] and a sizable portion of the population being killed or displaced.<ref name=":8">{{Cite book |last=Schwartz |first=Seth |title=The ancient Jews from Alexander to Muhammad |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Ancient_Jews_from_Alexander_to_Muham/Y6pkAwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA85 |date=2014 |isbn=978-1-107-04127-1 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=85–86 |oclc=863044259 |quote=The year 70 ce marked transformations in demography, politics, Jewish civic status, Palestinian and more general Jewish economic and social structures, Jewish religious life beyond the sacrificial cult, and even Roman politics and the topography of the city of Rome itself. [...] The Revolt's failure had, to begin with, a demographic impact on the Jews of Palestine; many died in battle and as a result of siege conditions, not only in Jerusalem. [...] As indicated above, the figures for captives are conceivably more reliable. If 97,000 is roughly correct as a total for the war, it would mean that a huge percentage of the population was removed from the country, or at the very least displaced from their homes. Nevertheless, only sixty years later, there was a large enough population in the Judaean countryside to stage a massively disruptive second rebellion; this one appears to have ended, in 135, with devastation and depopulation of the district.}}</ref>

A second uprising known as the Bar Kokhba revolt took place during 132–136 CE. Initial successes allowed the Jews to form an independent state, but the Romans massed large forces and brutally crushed the rebellion, devastating and depopulating Judea's countryside.<ref name=":8" /><ref>Werner Eck, "Sklaven und Freigelassene von Römern in Iudaea und den angrenzenden Provinzen", Novum Testamentum 55 (2013): 1–21</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Raviv |first1=Dvir |last2=Ben David |first2=Chaim |date=2021 |title=Cassius Dio's figures for the demographic consequences of the Bar Kokhba War: Exaggeration or reliable account? |journal=Journal of Roman Archaeology |language=en |volume=34 |issue=2 |pages=585–607 |doi=10.1017/S1047759421000271 |s2cid=245512193 |s2cid-access=free |issn=1047-7594 |quote=Scholars have long doubted the historical accuracy of Cassius Dio's account of the consequences of the Bar Kokhba War (Roman History 69.14). According to this text, considered the most reliable literary source for the Second Jewish Revolt, the war encompassed all of Judea: the Romans destroyed 985 villages and 50 fortresses, and killed 580,000 rebels. This article reassesses Cassius Dio's figures by drawing on new evidence from excavations and surveys in Judea, Transjordan, and the Galilee. Three research methods are combined: an ethno-archaeological comparison with the settlement picture in the Ottoman Period, comparison with similar settlement studies in the Galilee, and an evaluation of settled sites from the Middle Roman Period (70–136 CE). The study demonstrates the potential contribution of the archaeological record to this issue and supports the view of Cassius Dio's demographic data as a reliable account, which he based on contemporaneous documentation.|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last=Mor |first=Menahem |title=The Second Jewish Revolt |date=18 April 2016 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-31463-4 |pages=483–484 |doi=10.1163/9789004314634 |quote=Land confiscation in Judaea was part of the suppression of the revolt policy of the Romans and punishment for the rebels. But the very claim that the sikarikon laws were annulled for settlement purposes seems to indicate that Jews continued to reside in Judaea even after the Second Revolt. There is no doubt that this area suffered the severest damage from the suppression of the revolt. Settlements in Judaea, such as Herodion and Bethar, had already been destroyed during the course of the revolt, and Jews were expelled from the districts of Gophna, Herodion, and Aqraba. However, it should not be claimed that the region of Judaea was completely destroyed. Jews continued to live in areas such as Lod (Lydda), south of the Hebron Mountain, and the coastal regions. In other areas of the Land of Israel that did not have any direct connection with the Second Revolt, no settlement changes can be identified as resulting from it.}}</ref><ref>Oppenheimer, A'haron and Oppenheimer, Nili. ''Between Rome and Babylon: Studies in Jewish Leadership and Society''. Mohr Siebeck, 2005, p. 2.</ref> Jerusalem was rebuilt as a Roman colony (Aelia Capitolina), and the province of Judea was renamed [[Place:Syria Palaestina|Syria Palaestina]].<ref name="H.H. Ben-Sasson, 1976, page 334">H.H. Ben-Sasson, ''[https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_History_of_the_Jewish_People/2kSovzudhFUC?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA334 A History of the Jewish People]'', Harvard University Press, 1976, {{ISBN|978-0-674-39731-6}}, page 334: "In an effort to wipe out all memory of the bond between the Jews and the land, Hadrian changed the name of the province from Judaea to Syria-Palestina, a name that became common in non-Jewish literature."</ref><ref name="Ariel Lewin p. 33">Ariel Lewin. ''[https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Archaeology_of_Ancient_Judea_and_Pal/zlToSqE0k_cC?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA33 The archaeology of Ancient Judea and Palestine]''. Getty Publications, 2005 p. 33. "It seems clear that by choosing a seemingly neutral name – one juxtaposing that of a neighboring province with the revived name of an ancient geographical entity (Palestine), already known from the writings of Herodotus – Hadrian was intending to suppress any connection between the Jewish people and that land." {{ISBN|978-0-89236-800-6}}</ref> Jews were expelled from the districts surrounding Jerusalem,<ref>Eusebius, ''Ecclesiastical History''. 4:6.3-4</ref><ref name=":02" /> and joined communities in the diaspora.<ref name="Kessler20102">{{cite book |author=Edward Kessler |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=87Woe7kkPM4C&pg=PA72 |title=An Introduction to Jewish-Christian Relations |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-521-70562-2 |page=72 |quote=Jews probably remained in the majority in Palestine until some time after the conversion of Constantine in the fourth century. [...] In Babylonia, there had been for many centuries a Jewish community which would have been further strengthened by those fleeing the aftermath of the Roman revolts.}}</ref> Nevertheless, there was a continuous small Jewish presence and [[Religion:Galilee|Galilee]] became its religious center.<ref>{{cite book |last=Cohn-Sherbok |first=Dan |title=Atlas of Jewish History |publisher=Routledge |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-415-08800-8 |page=58}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Lehmann |first=Clayton Miles |date=18 January 2007 |title=Palestine |url=http://sunburst.usd.edu/~clehmann/erp/Palestine/palestin.htm |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130407005423/http://sunburst.usd.edu/~clehmann/erp/Palestine/palestin.htm |archive-date=7 April 2013 |access-date=9 February 2013 |website=Encyclopedia of the Roman Provinces |publisher=University of South Dakota}}</ref> Jewish communities also continued to reside in the southern Hebron Hills and on the coastal plain.<ref name=":02" />

=== Late antiquity and the medieval period ===
[[File:Ruins of the Ancient Synagogue at Bar'am.jpg|thumb|3rd-century Kfar Bar'am synagogue in the Galilee<ref>Judaism in late antiquity, Jacob Neusner, Bertold Spuler, Hady R Idris, Brill, 2001, p. 155</ref>]]
With the transition to [[Place:Byzantine Empire|Byzantine rule]] under Emperor Constantine, [[Religion:Early Christianity|Early Christianity]] displaced the more tolerant Roman Paganism.<ref>The Darkening Age: The Christian Destruction of the Classical World by Catherine Nixey 2018</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=הר |first=משה דוד |title=ארץ-ישראל בשלהי העת העתיקה: מבואות ומחקרים |publisher=יד יצחק בן-צבי |year=2022 |isbn=978-965-217-444-4 |volume=1 |publication-place=ירושלים |pages=210–212 |language=he |trans-title=Eretz Israel in Late Antiquity: Introductions and Studies |chapter=היהודים בארץ-ישראל בימי האימפריה הרומית הנוצרית |trans-chapter=The Jews in the Land of Israel in the Days of the Christian Roman Empire}}</ref> With the conversion of Constantine in the 4th century, the situation for the Jewish majority in Palestine "became more difficult".<ref name="Kessler20102" /> A series of laws were passed that discriminated against Jews and Judaism, and Jews were persecuted by both the church and the authorities.<ref name=":3" /> Many Jews had emigrated to flourishing Diaspora communities,<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Ehrlich |first=Michael |title=The Islamization of the Holy Land, 634–1800 |publisher=Arc Humanities Press |year=2022 |isbn=978-1-64189-222-3 |pages=3–4 |oclc=1302180905 |quote=The Jewish community strove to recover from the catastrophic results of the Bar Kokhva revolt (132–135 CE). Although some of these attempts were relatively successful, the Jews never fully recovered. During the Late Roman and Byzantine periods, many Jews emigrated to thriving centres in the diaspora, especially Iraq, whereas some converted to Christianity and others continued to live in the Holy Land, especially in Galilee and the coastal plain. During the Byzantine period, the three provinces of Palestine included more than thirty cities, namely, settlements with a bishop see. After the Muslim conquest in the 630s, most of these cities declined and eventually disappeared. As a result, in many cases the local ecclesiastical administration weakened, while in others it simply ceased to exist. Consequently, many local Christians converted to Islam. Thus, almost twelve centuries later, when the army led by Napoleon Bonaparte arrived in the Holy Land, most of the local population was Muslim.}}</ref> while locally there was both Christian immigration and local conversion. By the middle of the 5th century, there was a Christian majority.<ref name="CHJ2">{{cite book |author=David Goodblatt |title=The Cambridge History of Judaism |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-521-77248-8 |editor=Steven Katz |volume=IV |pages=404–430 |chapter=The Political and Social History of the Jewish Community in the Land of Israel, c. 235–638 |quote=Few would disagree that, in the century and a half before our period begins, the Jewish population of Judah () suffered a serious blow from which it never recovered. The destruction of the Jewish metropolis of Jerusalem and its environs and the eventual refounding of the city... had lasting repercussions. [...] However, in other parts of Palestine the Jewish population remained strong [...] What does seem clear is a different kind of change. Immigration of Christians and the conversion of pagans, Samaritans and Jews eventually produced a Christian majority}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bar |first=Doron |date=2003 |title=The Christianisation of Rural Palestine during Late Antiquity |journal=The Journal of Ecclesiastical History |volume=54 |issue=3 |pages=401–421 |doi=10.1017/s0022046903007309 |issn=0022-0469 |quote=The dominant view of the history of Palestine during the Byzantine period links the early phases of the consecration of the land during the fourth century and the substantial external financial investment that accompanied the building of churches on holy sites on the one hand with the Christianisation of the population on the other. Churches were erected primarily at the holy sites, 12 while at the same time Palestine's position and unique status as the Christian 'Holy Land' became more firmly rooted. All this, coupled with immigration and conversion, allegedly meant that the Christianisation of Palestine took place much more rapidly than that of other areas of the Roman empire, brought in its wake the annihilation of the pagan cults and meant that by the middle of the fifth century there was a clear Christian majority.}}</ref> Towards the end of the 5th century, Samaritan revolts erupted, continuing until the late 6th century and resulting in a large decrease in the Samaritan population.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kohen |first=Elli |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r-9qJRP20MIC&pg=PA26 |title=History of the Byzantine Jews: A Microcosmos in the Thousand Year Empire |publisher=[[Organization:University Press of America|University Press of America]] |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-7618-3623-0 |pages=26–31 |access-date=30 March 2023 |archive-date=19 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231219070638/https://books.google.com/books?id=r-9qJRP20MIC&pg=PA26#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> After the Sasanian conquest of Jerusalem and the short-lived Jewish revolt against Heraclius in 614 CE, the Byzantine Empire reconsolidated control of the area in 628.<ref>{{cite web |title=Roman Palestine |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Palestine/Roman-Palestine |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=30 March 2023 |archive-date=30 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231030111546/https://www.britannica.com/place/Palestine/Roman-Palestine |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 634–641 CE, the [[Place:Rashidun Caliphate|Rashidun Caliphate]] [[History:Muslim conquest of the Levant|conquered the Levant]].<ref name=":1"/><ref name=":102">{{Cite journal |last1=לוי-רובין |first1=מילכה |last2=Levy-Rubin |first2=Milka |date=2006 |title=The Influence of the Muslim Conquest on the Settlement Pattern of Palestine during the Early Muslim Period / הכיבוש כמעצב מפת היישוב של ארץ-ישראל בתקופה המוסלמית הקדומה |journal=Cathedra: For the History of Eretz Israel and Its Yishuv / קתדרה: לתולדות ארץ ישראל ויישובה |issue=121 |pages=53–78 |jstor=23407269 |issn=0334-4657}}</ref><ref name=":Ellenblum20102">{{Cite book |last=Ellenblum |first=Ronnie |title=Frankish Rural Settlement in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. |date=2010 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-511-58534-0 |oclc=958547332 |quote=From the data given above it can be concluded that the Muslim population of Central Samaria, during the early Muslim period, was not an autochthonous population which had converted to Christianity. They arrived there either by way of migration or as a result of a process of sedentarization of the nomads who had filled the vacuum created by the departing Samaritans at the end of the Byzantine period [...] To sum up: in the only rural region in Palestine in which, according to all the written and archeological sources, the process of Islamization was completed already in the twelfth century, there occurred events consistent with the model propounded by Levtzion and Vryonis: the region was abandoned by its original sedentary population and the vacuum was apparently filled by nomads who, at a later stage, gradually became sedentarized}}</ref> Over the next six centuries, control of the region transferred between the Umayyad, [[Place:Abbasid Caliphate|Abbasid]], [[Religion:Fatimid Caliphate|Fatimid]] [[Religion:Caliphate|caliphate]]s, and subsequently the Seljuks and [[Place:Ayyubid dynasty|Ayyubid]] dynasties.<ref name="MosheGil2">{{cite book |last=Gil |first=Moshe |title=A History of Palestine, 634–1099 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-521-59984-9}}</ref> The population drastically decreased during the following several centuries, dropping from an estimated 1 million during Roman and Byzantine periods to about 300,000 by the early Ottoman period, and there was a steady process of [[Social:Arabization|Arabization]] and [[Religion:Islamization|Islamization]] brought on by non-Muslim emigration, Muslim immigration, and local conversion.<ref name=":Ellenblum20102" /><ref name=":102" /><ref name=":Broshi1979">{{Cite journal |last=Broshi |first=Magen |date=1979 |title=The Population of Western Palestine in the Roman-Byzantine Period |journal=Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research |volume=236 |issue=236 |pages=1–10 |doi=10.2307/1356664 |issn=0003-097X |jstor=1356664 |s2cid=24341643}}</ref><ref name=":42"/> The end of the 11th century brought the [[Religion:Crusades|Crusades]], papally-sanctioned incursions of Christian crusaders intent on wresting [[Place:Jerusalem|Jerusalem]] and the [[Religion:Holy Land|Holy Land]] from Muslim control and establishing Crusader States.<ref>{{OED|crusades}}</ref> The Ayyubids pushed back the crusaders before Muslim rule was fully restored by the [[Place:Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)|Mamluk sultans of Egypt]] in 1291.<ref name="GudrunKramer">{{cite book |last=Kramer |first=Gudrun |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofpalesti00krea/page/376 |title=A History of Palestine: From the Ottoman Conquest to the Founding of the State of Israel |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-691-11897-0 |page=[https://archive.org/details/historyofpalesti00krea/page/376 376]}}</ref>

=== Modern period and the emergence of Zionism ===
[[File:Jews at Western Wall by Felix Bonfils, 1870s.jpg|thumb|Jews at the Western Wall in the 1870s]]
In 1516, the region was conquered by the [[Place:Ottoman Empire|Ottoman Empire]]; it was ruled as a part of Ottoman Syria for the next four centuries. In 1660, a Druze revolt led to the destruction of Safed and Tiberias.<ref>Joel Rappel, History of Eretz Israel from Prehistory up to 1882 (1980), vol. 2, p. 531. "In 1662 Sabbathai Sevi arrived to Jerusalem. It was the time when the Jewish settlements of Galilee were destroyed by the Druze: Tiberias was completely desolate and only a few of former Safed residents had returned...."</ref> In the late 18th century, local Arab [[Religion:Sheikh|Sheikh]] Zahir al-Umar created a de facto independent Emirate in the Galilee. Ottoman attempts to subdue the Sheikh failed, but after Zahir's death the Ottomans regained control of the area. In 1799 governor Jazzar Pasha repelled an assault on Acre by troops of Napoleon, prompting the French to abandon the Syrian campaign.<ref>{{cite web |title=Palestine – Ottoman rule |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Palestine#ref45065 |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=27 November 2018 |archive-date=4 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211204202215/https://www.britannica.com/place/Palestine#ref45065 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1834, a revolt by Palestinian Arab peasants against Egyptian conscription and taxation policies under Muhammad Ali was suppressed; Muhammad Ali's army retreated and Ottoman rule was restored with British support in 1840.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Macalister |first1=R. A. Stewart |last2=Masterman |first2=E. W. G. |year=1906 |title=The Modern Inhabitants of Palestine |page=[https://archive.org/stream/quarterlystateme38pale#page/40/mode/1up 40] |journal=Quarterly Statement - Palestine Exploration Fund |url=https://archive.org/stream/quarterlystateme38pale#page}}</ref> Shortly after, the Tanzimat reforms were implemented across the Ottoman Empire.

Since the existence of the Jewish diaspora, many Jews have aspired to return to "Zion".<ref>{{harvnb|Rosenzweig|1997|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=wKuU3ZBS7gEC&pg=PA1 1]}}. "Zionism, the urge of the Jewish people to return to Palestine, is almost as ancient as the Jewish diaspora itself. Some Talmudic statements ... Almost a millennium later, the poet and philosopher Yehuda Halevi ... In the 19th century&nbsp;..."</ref> The Jewish population of Palestine from the outset of Ottoman rule to the beginning of the Zionist movement, known as the Old Yishuv, comprised a minority and fluctuated in size. During the 16th century, Jewish communities struck roots in the Four Holy Cities—[[Place:Jerusalem|Jerusalem]], Tiberias, [[Place:Hebron|Hebron]], and Safed—and in 1697, Rabbi Yehuda Hachasid led a group of 1,500 Jews to Jerusalem.<ref>{{cite book |title=Miraculous journey: a complete history of the Jewish people from creation to the present |last=Eisen |first=Yosef |year=2004 |publisher=Targum Press |isbn=978-1-56871-323-6 |page=700}}</ref> In the second half of the 18th century, Eastern European Jews who were [[Religion:Misnagdim|opponents]] of Hasidism, known as the Perushim, settled in Palestine.<ref>{{cite book |title=Hastening redemption: Messianism and the resettlement of the land of Israel |last=Morgenstern |first=Arie |year=2006 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-530578-4 |page=304}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The Jews in Palestine in the Eighteenth Century: Under the Patronage of the Istanbul committee of Officials for Palestine |last=Barnai |first=Jacob |year=1992 |publisher=University Alabama Press |isbn=978-0-8173-0572-7 |page=320}}</ref>

[[File:THEODOR HERZL AT THE FIRST ZIONIST CONGRESS IN BASEL ON 25.8.1897. תאודור הרצל בקונגרס הציוני הראשון - 1897.8.25.jpg|thumb|The First Zionist Congress (1897) in Basel, Switzerland]]
The first wave of modern Jewish migration to Ottoman-ruled Palestine, known as the First Aliyah, began in 1881, as Jews fled [[Social:Pogrom|pogrom]]s in Eastern Europe.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Halpern|first=Ben|title=Zionism and the creation of a new society |url=https://archive.org/details/zionismcreationn00halp|url-access=limited|publisher=Oxford University Press|others=Reinharz, Jehuda |year=1998|isbn=978-0-585-18273-5|pages=[https://archive.org/details/zionismcreationn00halp/page/n61 53]–54|oclc=44960036}}</ref> The ensuing May Laws of 1882 increased economic discrimination against the Jews, and restricted where they could live.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mandel |first=Neville J. |date=1974 |title=Ottoman Policy and Restrictions on Jewish Settlement in Palestine: 1881-1908: Part I |journal=Middle Eastern Studies |volume=10 |issue=3 |url=https://ismi.emory.edu/documents/Readings/Mandel,%20Neville%20J.%20Ottoman%20Policy.pdf |pages=312–332 |doi=10.1080/00263207408700278 |issn=0026-3206 |access-date=1 December 2023 |archive-date=3 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231203103201/https://ismi.emory.edu/documents/Readings/Mandel,%20Neville%20J.%20Ottoman%20Policy.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Levine|first=Aaron|date=2014|title=Russian Jews and the 1917 Revolution|url=https://psource.sitehost.iu.edu/PDF/Archive%20Articles/Spring2014/2014%20-%20Spring%20-%203%20-%20Levine%20Aaron.pdf|page=14|access-date=7 December 2023|archive-date=8 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230308091831/https://psource.sitehost.iu.edu/PDF/Archive%20Articles/Spring2014/2014%20-%20Spring%20-%203%20-%20Levine%20Aaron.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> In response political [[Social:Zionism|Zionism]] began to take form, with some of its activists founding movements such as the Bilu, and Lovers of Zion, while Leon Pinsker published the pamphlet Auto-Emancipation (1882), which urged Jews to seek national independence.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Early Zionist Settlement in Palestine|url=https://sites.rutgers.edu/jewish-agriculture/a-world-of-jewish-farming/early-zionist-settlement-in-palestine/|website=[[Organization:Rutgers University|Rutgers University]]|access-date=8 December 2023|archive-date=8 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231208234340/https://sites.rutgers.edu/jewish-agriculture/a-world-of-jewish-farming/early-zionist-settlement-in-palestine/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|last=Leibovitz|first=Liel|title=Auto-Emancipation, Leo Pinsker (1882)|url=https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/arts-letters/articles/auto-emancipation-leo-pinsker-1882|magazine=Tablet|date=September 17, 2013|access-date=9 December 2023|archive-date=9 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231209004445/https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/arts-letters/articles/auto-emancipation-leo-pinsker-1882|url-status=live}}</ref> Theodor Herzl is credited with founding political Zionism,<ref>{{harvnb|Kornberg|1993}}. "How did Theodor Herzl, an assimilated German nationalist in the 1880s, suddenly in the 1890s become the founder of Zionism?"</ref> a movement that sought to establish a [[Place:Jewish state|Jewish state]] in the Land of Israel, thus offering a solution to the so-called Jewish question of the European states.{{sfn|Herzl|1946|p=11}} In 1896, Herzl published {{Lang|de|Der Judenstaat}} (''The Jewish State''); the following year he presided over the First Zionist Congress.<ref>{{cite web |title=Chapter One |url=http://www.jewishagency.org/israel/content/23396 |website=The Jewish Agency for Israel1|access-date=21 September 2015 |date=21 July 2005|archive-date=10 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181210124104/http://www.jewishagency.org/israel/content/23396}}</ref> The Second Aliyah (1904–1914) began after the Kishinev pogrom; some 40,000 Jews settled in Palestine, although nearly half left eventually. Both the first and second waves of migrants were mainly Orthodox Jews,<ref>{{harvnb|Stein|2003|p=88}}. "As with the First Aliyah, most Second Aliyah migrants were non-Zionist orthodox Jews&nbsp;..."</ref> although the Second Aliyah included [[Social:Labor Zionism|Zionist socialist]] groups who established the ''[[Social:Kibbutz|kibbutz]]'' movement based on the idea of establishing a separate Jewish economy based exclusively on Jewish labor.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Moris |first1=Beni |title=Righteous victims: a history of the Zionist-Arab conflict, 1881 - 2001 |date=2001 |publisher=Vintage Books |location=New York, NY |isbn=9780679744757 |edition=1. Vintage Books |quote=Many of these newcomers possessed a mixture of socialist and nationalist values, and they eventually succeeded in setting up a separate Jewish economy, based wholly on Jewish labor.}}</ref>{{sfn|Romano|2003|p=30}} Those of the Second Aliyah who would go on to become the leaders of the Yishuv in the coming decades believed that the settler economy should not depend on Arab labor. This "conquest of labor" would be a dominant source of antagonism with the Arab population, with the new Yishuv's nationalist ideology overpowering its socialist one.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Moris |first1=Beni |title=Righteous victims: a history of the Zionist-Arab conflict, 1881 - 2001 |date=2001 |publisher=Vintage Books |location=New York, NY |isbn=9780679744757 |edition=1. Vintage Books |quote=Another major cause of antagonism was the labor controversy. The hard core of Second Aliyah socialists, who were to become the Yishuv’s leaders in the 1920s and 1930s, believed that the settler economy must not depend on or exploit Arab labor... But, in reality, rather than “meshing,” the nationalist ethos had simply overpowered and driven out the socialist ethos... There were other reasons for the “conquest of labor.” The socialists of the Second Aliyah used the term to denote three things: overcoming the Jews’ traditional remove from agricultural labor and helping them transform into the “new Jews”; struggling against employers for better conditions; and replacing Arabs with Jews in manual jobs.}}</ref> Though the immigrants of the Second Aliyah largely sought to create communal Jewish agricultural settlements, the period saw the establishment of [[Place:Tel Aviv|Tel Aviv]] as the first planned Jewish town in 1909. This period also saw the emergence of Jewish armed militias, the first being Bar-Giora in 1907. Two years later, the larger Hashomer organization was founded as its replacement.

=== British Mandate ===

Chaim Weizmann's efforts to garner British support for the Zionist movement would eventually secure the Balfour Declaration in 1917.<ref>{{Cite book |first=James |last=Gelvin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wfIFVze1MqQC&pg=PA81 |title=The Israel-Palestine Conflict: One Hundred Years of War |publisher={{wipe|Cambridge University Press}} |orig-year=2002 |edition=3 |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-521-85289-0 |access-date=9 November 2020 |archive-date=9 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231009012922/https://books.google.com/books?id=wfIFVze1MqQC&pg=PA81#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour sent the Balfour Declaration to Lord Rothschild, a leader of the British Jewish community, stating Britain's support for the creation of a Jewish "national home" in Palestine.<ref name=macintyre>{{cite news |last=Macintyre |first=Donald |title=The birth of modern Israel: A scrap of paper that changed history |work=The Independent |access-date=20 March 2012 |date=26 May 2005 |url=http://maof.rjews.net/english/37-english/19351-the-birth-of-modern-israel-a-scrap-of-paper-that-changed-history |archive-date=14 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121114031304/http://maof.rjews.net/english/37-english/19351-the-birth-of-modern-israel-a-scrap-of-paper-that-changed-history |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Making of the Modern Near East 1792–1923 |last=Yapp |first=M.E. |author-link=Malcolm Yapp |year=1987 |publisher=Longman |isbn=978-0-582-49380-3 |page=[https://archive.org/details/makingofmodern00yapp/page/290 290] |url=https://archive.org/details/makingofmodern00yapp/page/290 }}</ref> Weizmann interpretation of the declaration entailed that negotiations on the future of the country were to happen directly between Britain and the Jews, excluding Arab representation. His famous announcement at the Paris peace conference would reflect this interpretation, stating that the goal "[t]o make Palestine as Jewish as England is English." The years that followed would see Jewish-Palestinian relations deteriorate dramatically.<ref name="Avi Shlaim">{{cite book |author=Avi Shlaim |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=HBBbY9rMxSAC&pg=PA |title=The Iron Wall |publisher=W.W. Norton |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-393-32112-8 |pages= |chapter=PROLOGUE: THE ZIONIST FOUNDATIONS}}</ref> 

In 1918, the Jewish Legion, a group primarily of Zionist volunteers, assisted in the British conquest of Palestine.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|title = Jewish Legion|encyclopedia = Encyclopaedia Judaica|url = http://go.galegroup.com/ps/anonymous?id=GALE%7CCX2587510141|year = 2007|publisher = Macmillan Reference|access-date = 6 August 2014|first = Joseph B.|last = Schechtman|page = 304|volume = 11|archive-date = 8 March 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210308102952/https://go.galegroup.com/ps/anonymous?id=GALE%7CCX2587510141|url-status = live}}</ref> In 1920, the territory was divided between Britain and France under the mandate system, and the British-administered area (including modern Israel) was named Mandatory Palestine.<ref name="GudrunKramer"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/leagcov.asp#art22 |title=The Covenant of the League of Nations |website=Article 22 |access-date=18 October 2012 |archive-date=26 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726080156/http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/leagcov.asp#art22 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>"Mandate for Palestine," ''Encyclopaedia Judaica'', Vol. 11, p. 862, Keter Publishing House, Jerusalem, 1972</ref> Arab opposition to British rule and Jewish immigration led to the 1920 Palestine riots and the formation of a Jewish militia known as the Haganah ("The Defense" in Hebrew) as an outgrowth of Hashomer, from which the Irgun and Lehi paramilitaries later split.<ref>{{harvnb|Scharfstein|1996|p=269}}. "During the First and Second Aliyot, there were many Arab attacks against Jewish settlements ... In 1920, Hashomer was disbanded and Haganah ("The Defense") was established."</ref> In 1922, the League of Nations granted Britain the Mandate for Palestine under terms which included the Balfour Declaration with its promise to the Jews, and with similar provisions regarding the Arab Palestinians.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1922mandate.html |title=League of Nations: The Mandate for Palestine, July 24, 1922 |journal=Modern History Sourcebook |date=24 July 1922 |access-date=27 August 2007 |archive-date=4 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110804221156/http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1922mandate.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> The population of the area was predominantly Arab and Muslim, with Jews accounting for about 11%,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Shaw |first1=J. V. W. |title=A Survey of Palestine: Prepared in December 1945 and January 1946 for the information of the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry |edition=Reprint |volume=I |year=1991 |orig-date=1946 |publisher=Institute for Palestine Studies |isbn=978-0-88728-213-3 |oclc=311797790 |page=148 |chapter=Chapter VI: Population |url=http://www.palestine-studies.org/books.aspx?id=543&href=details |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130827011258/http://www.palestine-studies.org/books.aspx?id=543&href=details |archive-date=2013-08-27}}</ref> and Arab Christians about 9.5% of the population.<ref>{{cite web|title=Report to the League of Nations on Palestine and Transjordan, 1937 |publisher=British Government |url=https://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/7BDD2C11C15B54C2052565D10057251E |access-date=14 July 2013 |year=1937 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130923061547/http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/7BDD2C11C15B54C2052565D10057251E |archive-date=23 September 2013}}</ref>
[[File:"Jews and Arabs in Grim Struggle for Holy Land" article (1938).jpg|thumb|left|"Jews and Arabs in Grim Struggle for Holy Land", article from 1938]]

The Third (1919–1923) and Fourth Aliyahs (1924–1929) brought an additional 100,000 Jews to Palestine. The rise of Nazism and the increasing persecution of Jews in 1930s Europe led to the Fifth Aliyah, with an influx of a quarter of a million Jews. This was a major cause of the Arab revolt of 1936–39. The revolt, which involved significant intercommunal fighting among the Arabs, was suppressed by British security forces and Zionist militias. Several hundred British security personnel and Jews were killed, while 5,032 Arabs were killed, 14,760 were wounded, and 12,622 were detained.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hEt5PWCTMJMC&q=irgun%2520and%2520haganah%2520in%2520the%25201936+riots&pg=PAPA374|title=A History of Zionism: From the French Revolution to the Establishment of the State of Israel|access-date=15 October 2015|publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group|author=Walter Laqueur|year=2009|isbn=978-0-307-53085-1|archive-date=19 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231219070659/https://books.google.com/books?id=hEt5PWCTMJMC&pg=PAPA374&dq=%22irgun%2Band%2Bhaganah%2Bin%2Bthe%2B1936%2Briots%22&q=irgun%2520and%2520haganah%2520in%2520the%25201936+riots#v=onepage&q=irgun%2520and%2520haganah%2520in%2520the%25201936%20riots&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hughes |first1=M |year=2009 |title=The banality of brutality: British armed forces and the repression of the Arab Revolt in Palestine, 1936–39 |url=http://v-scheiner.brunel.ac.uk/bitstream/2438/7251/4/The%20banality%20of%20brutality.pdf |journal=English Historical Review |volume=CXXIV |issue=507 |pages=314–354 |doi=10.1093/ehr/cep002 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160221163210/http://v-scheiner.brunel.ac.uk/bitstream/2438/7251/4/The%20banality%20of%20brutality.pdf |archive-date=21 February 2016}}</ref><ref>Levenberg, Haim (1993). ''Military Preparations of the Arab Community in Palestine: 1945–1948.'' Routledge. ISBN 978-0-7146-3439-5, pp. 74-76</ref> An estimated ten percent of the adult male Palestinian Arab population was killed, wounded, imprisoned or exiled.<ref>Khalidi, Walid (1987). ''From Haven to Conquest: Readings in Zionism and the Palestine Problem Until 1948''. Institute for Palestine Studies. {{ISBN|978-0-88728-155-6}}</ref>

The British introduced restrictions on Jewish immigration to Palestine with the White Paper of 1939. With countries around the world turning away Jewish refugees fleeing [[Social:The Holocaust|the Holocaust]], a clandestine movement known as Aliyah Bet was organized to bring Jews to Palestine. By the end of [[Social:World War II|World War II]], 31% of the total population of Palestine was Jewish.<ref>Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, Village Statistics, 1945.</ref> The UK found itself facing a Jewish insurgency over immigration restrictions and continued conflict with the Arab community over limit levels. The Haganah joined Irgun and Lehi in an armed struggle against British rule.{{sfn|Fraser|2004|p=27}} At the same time, hundreds of thousands of Jewish Holocaust survivors sought a new life far from their destroyed communities in Europe. The Haganah attempted to bring tens of thousands of Jewish refugees to Palestine by ship in a programme called Aliyah Bet. Most of the ships were intercepted by the Royal Navy and the refugees placed in detention camps in Atlit and Cyprus.<ref name="Golani2013">{{cite book |author=Motti Golani |title=Palestine Between Politics and Terror, 1945–1947 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mp7BAgAAQBAJ&pg=PAPA130 |year=2013 |publisher=UPNE |isbn=978-1-61168-388-2 |page=130 |access-date=1 December 2018 |archive-date=19 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231219073858/https://books.google.com/books?id=Mp7BAgAAQBAJ&pg=PAPA130#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Cohen |first1=Michael J |title=Britain's Moment in Palestine:Retrospect and Perspectives, 1917–1948 |date=2014 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-72985-7 |page=474 |edition=1st |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DLPpAgAAQBAJ&q=British%2520detention%2520camps%2520at%2520atlit%2520and+cyprus&pg=PAPA474 |access-date=1 December 2018 |archive-date=19 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231219070640/https://books.google.com/books?id=DLPpAgAAQBAJ&pg=PAPA474&dq=%22British%2Bdetention%2Bcamps%2Bat%2Batlit%2Band%2Bcyprus%22&q=British%2520detention%2520camps%2520at%2520atlit%2520and+cyprus#v=onepage&q=British%2520detention%2520camps%2520at%2520atlit%2520and%20cyprus&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:UN Palestine Partition Versions 1947.jpg|thumb|upright|UN Map, "Palestine plan of partition with economic union"]]
On 22 July 1946, Irgun bombed the British administrative headquarters for Palestine, killing 91.<ref>The Terrorism Ahead: Confronting Transnational Violence in the Twenty-First | By Paul J. Smith | M.E. Sharpe, 2007 | p. 27</ref><ref>''Encyclopedia of Terrorism'', Harvey W. Kushner, Sage, 2003 p. 181</ref><ref name="brtca_irgun">[https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/293947/Irgun-Zvai-Leumi#ref112521 Encyclopædia Britannica] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150417201023/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/293947/Irgun-Zvai-Leumi#ref112521 |date=17 April 2015 }} article on the Irgun Zvai Leumi</ref><ref>The British Empire in the Middle East, 1945–1951: Arab Nationalism, the United States, and Postwar Imperialism. William Roger Louis, Oxford University Press, 1986, p. 430</ref><ref name="tclarke81">Clarke, Thurston. ''By Blood and Fire'', G.P. Puttnam's Sons, 1981</ref><ref name="bethell">{{Cite book|first=Nicholas|last=Bethell|title=The Palestine Triangle|publisher=Andre Deutsch|year=1979}}</ref> The attack initially had the approval of the Haganah. It was conceived as a response to Operation Agatha (a series of raids, including one on the Jewish Agency, by the British) and was the deadliest directed at the British during the Mandate era.<ref name="tclarke81"/><ref name="bethell"/> The Jewish insurgency continued throughout 1946 and 1947 despite concerted efforts by the British military and Palestine Police Force to suppress it. British efforts to mediate a negotiated solution with Jewish and Arab representatives also failed as the Jews were unwilling to accept any solution that did not involve a Jewish state and suggested a partition of Palestine into Jewish and Arab states, while the Arabs were adamant that a Jewish state in any part of Palestine was unacceptable and that the only solution was a unified Palestine under Arab rule. In February 1947, the British referred the Palestine issue to the newly formed {{wipe|United Nations}}. On 15 May 1947, the UN General Assembly resolved that a Special Committee be created "to prepare ... a report on the question of Palestine."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/F5A49E57095C35B685256BCF0075D9C2 |title=A/RES/106 (S-1) |date=15 May 1947 |website=General Assembly resolution |publisher=United Nations |access-date=12 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120806072438/http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/F5A49E57095C35B685256BCF0075D9C2 |archive-date=6 August 2012 }}</ref> The Report of the Committee<ref>{{cite web |url=https://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/07175DE9FA2DE563852568D3006E10F3 |title=A/364 |date=3 September 1947 |website=Special Committee on Palestine |publisher=United Nations |access-date=12 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120610173759/http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/07175DE9FA2DE563852568D3006E10F3 |archive-date=10 June 2012 }}</ref> proposed a plan to replace the British Mandate with "an independent Arab State, an independent Jewish State, and the City of Jerusalem [...] the last to be under an International Trusteeship System."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/2248AF9A92B498718525694B007239C6 |publisher=United Nations |date=20 April 1949 |access-date=31 July 2007 |title=Background Paper No. 47 (ST/DPI/SER.A/47) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110103014616/http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/2248AF9A92B498718525694B007239C6 |archive-date=3 January 2011 }}</ref> Meanwhile, the Jewish insurgency continued and peaked in July 1947, with a series of widespread guerrilla raids culminating in the Sergeants affair, in which the Irgun took two British sergeants hostage as attempted leverage against the planned execution of three Irgun operatives. After the executions were carried out, the Irgun killed the two British soldiers, hanged their bodies from trees, and left a booby trap at the scene which injured a British soldier. The incident caused widespread outrage in the UK.<ref name=Hoffman>Hoffman, Bruce: ''Anonymous Soldiers'' (2015)</ref> In September 1947, the British cabinet decided to evacuate Palestine as the Mandate was no longer tenable.<ref name=Hoffman/>

On 29 November 1947, the General Assembly adopted Resolution 181 (II).<ref name="181(II)">{{cite web |url=https://unispal.un.org/DPA/DPR/unispal.nsf/0/7F0AF2BD897689B785256C330061D253 |title=Resolution 181 (II). Future government of Palestine |date=29 November 1947 |publisher=United Nations |access-date=21 March 2017 |archive-date=10 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010090147/https://unispal.un.org/DPA/DPR/unispal.nsf/0/7F0AF2BD897689B785256C330061D253 }}</ref> The plan attached to the resolution was essentially that proposed in the report of 3 September. The Jewish Agency, the recognized representative of the Jewish community, accepted the plan, which assigned 55–56% of Mandatory Palestine to the Jews. At the time, the Jews were about a third of the population and owned around 6–7% of the land. Arabs constituted the majority and owned about 20% of the land, with the remainder held by the Mandate authorities or foreign landowners.<ref>Avneri, Aryeh L. (1984). ''The Claim of Dispossession: Jewish Land-Settlement and the Arabs, 1878–1948.'' Transaction Publishers. ISBN 978-0-87855-964-0. Retrieved 2 May 2009, p. 224.</ref><ref>Stein, Kenneth W. (1987) [Original in 1984]. The Land Question in Palestine, 1917–1939. University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 978-0-8078-4178-5. pp. 3-4, 247</ref><ref>Nathan Thrall, [https://books.google.com/books?id=1oXZDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA227 ''The Only Language They Understand: Forcing Compromise in Israel and Palestine''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231219070639/https://books.google.com/books?id=1oXZDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA227#v=onepage&q&f=false |date=19 December 2023 }}, [[Company:Henry Holt and Company|Henry Holt and Company]] 2017 {{isbn|978-1-627-79710-8}} pp. 41,227 n.9.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Imseis|2021|pp=13–14}}: 'As to territorial boundaries, under the plan the Jewish State was allotted approximately 57 percent of the total area of Palestine even though the Jewish population comprised only 33 percent of the country. In addition, according to British records relied upon by the ad hoc committee, the Jewish population possessed registered ownership of only 5.6 percent of Palestine, and was eclipsed by the Arabs in land ownership in every one of Palestine's 16 sub-districts. Moreover, the quality of the land granted to the proposed Jewish state was highly skewed in its favour. UNSCOP reported that under its majority plan "[t]he Jews will have the more economically developed part of the country embracing practically the whole of the citrus-producing area"—Palestine's staple export crop—even though approximately half of the citrus-bearing land was owned by the Arabs. In addition, according to updated British records submitted to the ad hoc committee's two sub-committees, "of the irrigated, cultivable areas" of the country, 84 per cent would be in the Jewish State and 16 per cent would be in the Arab State".'</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Morris|2008|p=75}}: "The night of 29–30 November passed in the Yishuv's settlements in noisy public rejoicing. Most had sat glued to their radio sets broadcasting live from Flushing Meadow. A collective cry of joy went up when the two-thirds mark was achieved: a state had been sanctioned by the international community."</ref><ref name="Morris2008396">{{harvnb|Morris|2008|p=396}}: "The immediate trigger of the 1948 War was the November 1947 UN partition resolution. The Zionist movement, except for its fringes, accepted the proposal."</ref><ref>Matthews, John: [http://booksand-ebooks.com/political-commentary/israel-palestine-land-division Israel-Palestine land division] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231005145922/http://booksand-ebooks.com/political-commentary/israel-palestine-land-division |date=5 October 2023 }}</ref> The Arab League and Arab Higher Committee of Palestine rejected it,<ref>{{harvnb|Imseis|2021|pp=14–15}}: 'Although the Zionists had coveted the whole of Palestine, the Jewish Agency leadership pragmatically, if grudgingly, accepted Resolution 181(II). Although they were of the view that the Jewish national home promised in the Mandate was equivalent to a Jewish state, they well understood that such a claim could not be maintained under prevailing international law..Based on its own terms, it is impossible to escape the conclusion that the partition plan privileged European interests over those of Palestine's indigenous people and, as such, was an embodiment of the Eurocentricity of the international system that was allegedly a thing of the past. For this reason, the Arabs took a more principled position in line with prevailing international law, rejecting partition outright . .This rejection has disingenuously been presented in some of the literature as indicative of political intransigence,69 and even hostility towards the Jews as Jews'</ref> and indicated that they would reject any other plan of partition.<ref>{{harvnb|Morris|2008}}, p. 66: at 1946 "The League demanded independence for Palestine as a "unitary" state, with an Arab majority and minority rights for the Jews.", p. 67: at 1947 "The League's Political Committee met in Sofar, Lebanon, on 16–19 September, and urged the Palestine Arabs to fight partition, which it called "aggression," "without mercy." The League promised them, in line with Bludan, assistance "in manpower, money and equipment" should the United Nations endorse partition.", p. 72: at December 1947 "The League vowed, in very general language, "to try to stymie the partition plan and prevent the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine.""</ref>{{sfn|Bregman|2002|pp=40–41}} On 1 December 1947, the Arab Higher Committee proclaimed a three-day strike, and riots broke out in Jerusalem.<ref>{{cite book |title=Palestine 1948 |last=Gelber |first=Yoav |year=2006 |publisher=Sussex Academic Press |isbn=978-1-902210-67-4 |page=17}}</ref> The situation spiraled into a civil war; just two weeks after the UN vote, Colonial Secretary Arthur Creech Jones announced that the British Mandate would end on 15 May 1948, at which point the British would evacuate. As Arab militias and gangs attacked Jewish areas, they were faced mainly by the Haganah, as well as the smaller Irgun and Lehi. In April 1948, the Haganah moved onto the offensive.{{sfn|Morris|2008|p=77–78}}<ref>{{cite book |title=War in Palestine, 1948: Israeli and Arab Strategy and Diplomacy |last=Tal |first=David |year=2003 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-7146-5275-7 |page=471}}</ref> During this period 250,000 Palestinian Arabs fled or were expelled, due to numerous factors.{{sfn|Morris|2008}}

=== State of Israel ===

==== Independence and the early years ====
{{multiple image
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|total_width=360
|image1=Declaration of State of Israel 1948.jpg
|caption1=David Ben-Gurion proclaiming the Israeli Declaration of Independence on 14 May 1948
|image2=Raising the Ink Flag at Umm Rashrash (Eilat) (3x4).jpg
|caption2=Raising of the Ink Flag on 10 March 1949, marking the end of the 1948 war
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On 14 May 1948, the day before the expiration of the British Mandate, David Ben-Gurion, the head of the Jewish Agency, declared "the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz-Israel, to be known as the State of Israel."<ref name="Declaration">{{cite web |date=14 May 1948 |publisher=Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs |url=http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/foreignpolicy/peace/guide/pages/declaration%20of%20establishment%20of%20state%20of%20israel.aspx |title=Declaration of Establishment of State of Israel |access-date=21 March 2017 |archive-date=17 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170317223538/http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/foreignpolicy/peace/guide/pages/declaration%20of%20establishment%20of%20state%20of%20israel.aspx}}</ref><ref>Clifford, Clark, "Counsel to the President: A Memoir", 1991, p. 20.</ref> The only reference in the text of the Declaration to the borders of the new state is the use of the term ''Eretz-Israel'' ("[[Place:Land of Israel|Land of Israel]]").<ref>{{cite news |url=http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/07/the-elephant-in-the-map-room/ |title=The Elephant in the Map Room |last=Jacobs |first=Frank |date=7 August 2012 |work=Borderlines |publisher=The New York Times |access-date=3 September 2012 |archive-date=29 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120829213709/http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/07/the-elephant-in-the-map-room/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The following day, the armies of four Arab countries—[[History:Kingdom of Egypt|Egypt]], Syria, Transjordan and [[History:Kingdom of Iraq|Iraq]]—entered into parts of what had been British Mandatory Palestine, launching the 1948 Arab–Israeli War;<ref>{{cite book |trans-quote=The entry into (the) war of the Arab countries poses a complex legal problem. The crossing of the borders can constitute an act of aggression or a threat against peace, justifying a condemnation and an intervention by the United Nations, but if the armies penetrate only the Arab part of the partition plan, they can be considered as called on (to do so) by the population and at this stage their '''intervention''' would not in itself be a threat against the peace. That would only start were the Jewish part attacked. Now, the Arab armies do directly threaten Jewish territory at certain points while in others the Jews have already largely taken up positions in Arab territory. |quote=L'entrée en guerre des pays arabes pose un problem juridique complexe. Le franchissement des frontières peut constituer un acte d'aggression ou une menace contre la paix, justifiant une condannation et une intervention des Nations unies, mais si les armées pénètrent seulement dans la partie arabe du plan de partage, elles peuvent être considérées comme appelées par la population et à ce stade leur intervention ne serait pas par elle-même une menace contre la paix. Elle ne commencerait qu'avec l'attaque de la partie juive. Or, en certains points, les armées arabes menacent directement le territoire juif et dans d'autres les Juifs se sont déjà largement installés en territoire arabe. |author=Henry Laurens |title=La Question de Palestine |publisher=Fayard |place=Paris |year=2007 |volume=3 |page=104}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The Arab–Israeli conflict: The Palestine War 1948 |last=Karsh |first=Efraim |year=2002 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |isbn=978-1-84176-372-9|page=50}}</ref>{{sfn|Ben-Sasson|1985|p=1058}} contingents from Yemen, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Sudan joined the war.{{sfn|Morris|2008|p=205}}<ref>{{cite book|title=Israel in the Middle East: Documents and Readings on Society, Politics, and Foreign Relations, Pre-1948 to the Present |last=Rabinovich |first=Itamar |author2=Reinharz, Jehuda |year=2007 |publisher=Brandeis |isbn=978-0-87451-962-4 |page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780874519624/page/74 74] |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780874519624/page/74 }}</ref> The apparent purpose of the invasion was to prevent the establishment of the Jewish state; some Arab leaders talked about "driving the Jews into the sea".<ref name="Morris2008396"/><ref>{{cite book |title=War in Palestine, 1948: Israeli and Arab Strategy and Diplomacy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vs2PAgAAQBAJ&pg=PAPR4 |author=David Tal |year=2004 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-77513-1 |page=469 |quote=some of the Arab armies invaded Palestine in order to prevent the establishment of a Jewish state, Transjordan... |access-date=1 December 2018 |archive-date=19 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231219070640/https://books.google.com/books?id=Vs2PAgAAQBAJ&pg=PAPR4#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Morris|2008|p=187}}: "A week before the armies marched, Azzam told Kirkbride: "It does not matter how many [Jews] there are. We will sweep them into the sea." ... Ahmed Shukeiry, one of Haj Amin al-Husseini's aides (and, later, the founding chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization), simply described the aim as "the elimination of the Jewish state." ... al-Quwwatli told his people: "Our army has entered ... we shall win and we shall eradicate Zionism""</ref> According to Benny Morris, Jews were worried that the invading Arab armies held the intent to slaughter them.<ref>{{harvnb|Morris|2008|p=198}}: "the Jews felt that the Arabs aimed to reenact the Holocaust and that they faced certain personal and collective slaughter should they lose"</ref> The Arab league stated the invasion was to restore order and prevent further bloodshed.<ref name=cablegram>{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/ws.asp?m=S/745 |title=PDF copy of Cablegram from the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States to the Secretary-General of the United Nations: S/745: 15 May 1948 |publisher=Un.org |date=9 September 2002 |access-date=13 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140107030419/http://www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/ws.asp?m=S%2F745 |archive-date=7 January 2014 }}</ref>

After a year of fighting, a ceasefire was declared and temporary borders, known as the Green Line, were established.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Arab–Israeli conflict: The Palestine War 1948 |last=Karsh |first=Efraim |year=2002 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |isbn=978-1-84176-372-9}}</ref> Jordan annexed what became known as the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Egypt occupied the Gaza Strip. The UN estimated that more than 700,000 Palestinians were expelled by or fled—what would become known in Arabic as the ''Nakba'' ("catastrophe").<ref>{{cite book |last=Morris|first=Benny|title=The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited|isbn=978-0-521-00967-6 |publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=602 |year=2004 }}</ref> Some 156,000 remained and became Arab citizens of Israel.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://lib.cet.ac.il/pages/item.asp?item=13336|title=עיצוב יחסי יהודים - ערבים בעשור הראשון|website=lib.cet.ac.il|access-date=2 September 2021|archive-date=8 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221008065301/https://lib.cet.ac.il/pages/item.asp?item=13336|url-status=live}}</ref>

Israel was admitted as a member of the UN on 11 May 1949.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/1ce874ab1832a53e852570bb006dfaf6/0b3ab8d2a7c0273d8525694b00726d1b |publisher=The United Nations |title=Two Hundred and Seventh Plenary Meeting |date=11 May 1949 |access-date=13 July 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070912101430/http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/1ce874ab1832a53e852570bb006dfaf6/0b3ab8d2a7c0273d8525694b00726d1b |archive-date=12 September 2007 }}</ref> An Israeli-Jordanian attempt at negotiating a peace agreement broke down after the British government, fearful of the Egyptian reaction to such a treaty, expressed their opposition to the Jordanian government.<ref>{{cite book|author=William Roger Louis|title=The British Empire in the Middle East, 1945–1951: Arab Nationalism, the United States, and Postwar Imperialism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ATQQ0FMS1FQC&pg=PAPA579|year=1984|publisher=Clarendon Press|isbn=978-0-19-822960-5|page=579|quote=The transcript makes it clear that British policy acted as a brake on Jordan. "King Abdullah was personally anxious to come to agreement with Israel", Kirkbride stated, "and in fact it was our restraining influence which had so far prevented him from doing so". Knox Helm confirmed that the Israelis hoped to have a settlement with Jordan, and that they now genuinely wished to live peacefully within their frontiers, if only for economic reasons.|access-date=1 December 2018|archive-date=19 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231219070639/https://books.google.com/books?id=ATQQ0FMS1FQC&pg=PAPA579#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> In the early years of the state, the [[Social:Labor Zionism|Labor Zionist]] movement led by Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion dominated Israeli politics.{{sfn|Lustick|1988|pp=37–39}}<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/iltoc.html |title=Israel (Labor Zionism) |journal=Country Studies |access-date=12 February 2010 |archive-date=10 July 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120710212220/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/iltoc.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Immigration to Israel during the late 1940s and early 1950s was aided by the Israeli Immigration Department and the non-government sponsored Mossad LeAliyah Bet ({{Abbr|lit.|literally|class=small}} "Institute for Immigration B").<ref>{{cite book | author = Anita Shapira | title = Land and Power | pages = 416, 419 | publisher = Stanford University Press | year = 1992}}</ref> The latter engaged in clandestine operations in countries, particularly in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, where the lives of Jews were believed to be in danger and exit was difficult. Mossad LeAliyah Bet was disbanded in 1953.<ref>Segev, Tom. 1949: The First Israelis. "The First Million". Trans. Arlen N. Weinstein. New York: The Free Press, 1986. Print. pp. 105–107</ref> The immigration was in accordance with the One Million Plan. Some immigrants held Zionist beliefs or came for the promise of a better life, while others moved to escape persecution or were expelled.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Forgotten Millions: The Modern Jewish Exodus from Arab Lands |last=Shulewitz |first=Malka Hillel |year=2001 |publisher=Continuum |isbn=978-0-8264-4764-7}}</ref><ref>Laskier, Michael "Egyptian Jewry under the Nasser Regime, 1956–70" pp. 573–619 from ''Middle Eastern Studies'', Volume 31, Issue # 3, July 1995 p. 579.</ref>

An influx of Holocaust survivors and Jews from Arab and Muslim countries to Israel during the first three years increased the number of Jews from 700,000 to 1,400,000. By 1958, the population had risen to two million.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cbs.gov.il/reader/shnaton/templ_shnaton_e.html?num_tab=st02_02&CYear=2016 |title=Population, by Religion |date=2016 |publisher=Israel Central Bureau of Statistics |access-date=4 September 2016 |archive-date=18 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160918223343/http://www.cbs.gov.il/reader/shnaton/templ_shnaton_e.html?num_tab=st02_02&CYear=2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> Between 1948 and 1970, approximately 1,150,000 Jewish refugees relocated to Israel.<ref>{{cite book|last=Bard|first=Mitchell|title=The Founding of the State of Israel|year=2003|publisher=Greenhaven Press|page=15}}</ref> Some new immigrants arrived as refugees and were housed in temporary camps known as ''ma'abarot''; by 1952, over 200,000 people were living in these tent cities.<ref>{{cite book |title=Immigrants in Turmoil: Mass Immigration to Israel and Its Repercussions in the 1950s and After |last=Hakohen |first=Devorah |year=2003 |publisher=Syracuse University Press|isbn=978-0-8156-2969-6}}; for ma'abarot population, see p. 269.</ref> Jews of European background were often treated more favorably than Jews from Middle Eastern and North African countries—housing units reserved for the latter were often re-designated for the former, so Jews newly arrived from Arab lands generally ended up staying longer in transit camps.<ref>Clive Jones, Emma Murphy, [https://books.google.com/books?id=A144y7qwRJMC&pg=PA37 ''Israel: Challenges to Identity, Democracy, and the State,''] [[Company:Routledge|Routledge]] 2002 p. 37: "Housing units earmarked for the Oriental Jews were often reallocated to European Jewish immigrants; Consigning Oriental Jews to the privations of ''ma'aborot'' (transit camps) for longer periods."</ref>{{sfn|Segev|2007|pp=155–157}} During this period, food, clothes and furniture had to be rationed in what became known as the austerity period. The need to solve the crisis led Ben-Gurion to sign a reparations agreement with West Germany that triggered mass protests by Jews angered at the idea that Israel could accept monetary compensation for the Holocaust.{{sfn|Shindler|2002|pp=49–50}}

==== Arab–Israeli conflict ====
During the 1950s, Israel was frequently attacked by Palestinian fedayeen, nearly always against civilians,<ref>{{cite book |author=Kameel B. Nasr|title=Arab and Israeli Terrorism: The Causes and Effects of Political Violence, 1936–1993|url={{Google books|QRXURzwdXS4C|page=PA40|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}}|year=1996|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-3105-2|pages=40– |quote=Fedayeen to attack...almost always against civilians}}</ref> mainly from the Egyptian-occupied Gaza Strip,{{sfn|Gilbert|2005|p=58}} leading to several Israeli reprisal operations. In 1956, the UK and France aimed at regaining control of the Suez Canal, which Egypt had nationalized. The continued blockade of the Suez Canal and Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping, together with increasing Fedayeen attacks against Israel's southern population and recent Arab threatening statements, prompted Israel to attack Egypt.<ref>{{cite book|author=Isaac Alteras|title=Eisenhower and Israel: U.S.-Israeli Relations, 1953–1960|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ydRHCPWngioC&pg=PAPA192|year=1993|publisher=University Press of Florida|isbn=978-0-8130-1205-6|pages=192–|quote=the removal of the Egyptian blockade of the Straits of Tiran at the entrance of the Gulf of Aqaba. The blockade closed Israel's sea lane to East Africa and the Far East, hindering the development of Israel's southern port of Eilat and its hinterland, the Nege. Another important objective of the Israeli war plan was the elimination of the terrorist bases in the Gaza Strip, from which daily fedayeen incursions into Israel made life unbearable for its southern population. And last but not least, the concentration of the Egyptian forces in the Sinai Peninsula, armed with the newly acquired weapons from the Soviet bloc, prepared for an attack on Israel. Here, Ben-Gurion believed, was a time bomb that had to be defused before it was too late. Reaching the Suez Canal did not figure at all in Israel's war objectives.|access-date=1 December 2018|archive-date=19 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231219071150/https://books.google.com/books?id=ydRHCPWngioC&pg=PAPA192|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Dominic Joseph Caraccilo|title=Beyond Guns and Steel: A War Termination Strategy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FDA8dQyaQ9MC&pg=PAPA113|date=2011|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0-313-39149-1|pages=113–|quote=The escalation continued with the Egyptian blockade of the Straits of Tiran, and Nasser's nationalization of the Suez Canal in July 1956. On October 14, Nasser made clear his intent:"I am not solely fighting against Israel itself. My task is to deliver the Arab world from destruction through Israel's intrigue, which has its roots abroad. Our hatred is very strong. There is no sense in talking about peace with Israel. There is not even the smallest place for negotiations." Less than two weeks later, on October 25, Egypt signed a tripartite agreement with Syria and Jordan placing Nasser in command of all three armies. The continued blockade of the Suez Canal and Gulf of Aqaba to Israeli shipping, combined with the increased fedayeen attacks and the bellicosity of recent Arab statements, prompted Israel, with the backing of Britain and France, to attack Egypt on October 29, 1956.|access-date=1 December 2018|archive-date=19 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231219071150/https://books.google.com/books?id=FDA8dQyaQ9MC&pg=PAPA113|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Alan Dowty|title=Israel/Palestine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9iFxq6NPPgEC&pg=PAPA102|year=2005|publisher=Polity|isbn=978-0-7456-3202-5|pages=102–|quote=Gamal Abdel Nasser, who declared in one speech that "Egypt has decided to dispatch her heroes, the disciples of Pharaoh and the sons of Islam and they will cleanse the land of Palestine....There will be no peace on Israel's border because we demand vengeance, and vengeance is Israel's death."...The level of violence against Israelis, soldiers and civilians alike, seemed to be rising inexorably.|access-date=1 December 2018|archive-date=19 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231219071150/https://books.google.com/books?id=9iFxq6NPPgEC&pg=PAPA102#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> Israel joined a secret alliance with the UK and France and overran the [[Place:Sinai Peninsula|Sinai Peninsula]] in the Suez Crisis, but was pressured to withdraw by the UN in return for guarantees of Israeli shipping rights.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/5195582.stm|title=Suez Crisis: Key players|date=21 July 2006|access-date=19 July 2018|language=en-GB|archive-date=26 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211026234223/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/5195582.stm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://sunnycv.com/steve/20th/suez.html |title=The Suez Crisis |last=Schoenherr |first=Steven |date=15 December 2005 |access-date=31 May 2013 |archive-date=30 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140430091614/http://sunnycv.com/steve/20th/suez.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The Suez Crisis |last=Gorst |first=Anthony |author2=Johnman, Lewis |year=1997 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-11449-3}}</ref> The war resulted in significant reduction of Israeli border infiltration.<ref>{{cite book|author=Benny Morris|title=Righteous Victims: A History of the Zionist-Arab Conflict, 1881–1998|url={{Google books|jGtVsBne7PgC|page=|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}}|date=25 May 2011|publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-307-78805-4|pages=300, 301|quote=[p. 300] In exchange (for Israeli withdrawal) the United states had indirectly promised to guarantee Israel's right of passage through the straits (to the Red sea) and its right to self defense if the Egyptian closed them....(p 301) The 1956 war resulted in a significant reduction of...Israeli border tension. Egypt refrained from reactivating the Fedaeen, and...Egypt and Jordan made great effort to curb infiltration}}</ref>

[[File:1961-04-13 Tale Of Century - Eichmann Tried For War Crimes.ogv|thumb|U.S. newsreel on the trial of Adolf Eichmann]]
In the early 1960s, Israel captured Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in Argentina and brought him to Israel for trial.{{sfn|Bascomb|2009|p=219–229}} Eichmann remains the only person executed in Israel by conviction in an Israeli civilian court.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Shlomo Shpiro |title=No place to hide: Intelligence and civil liberties in Israel |journal=Cambridge Review of International Affairs |volume=19 |issue=44 |pages=629–648 |year=2006 |s2cid=144734253 |doi=10.1080/09557570601003361}}</ref> During the spring and summer of 1963 Israel was engaged in a diplomatic standoff with the United States due to the Israeli nuclear programme.<ref name="Haaretz2019">{{Cite news|url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium.MAGAZINE-how-a-standoff-with-the-u-s-almost-blew-up-israel-s-nuclear-program-1.7193419|title=How a Standoff with the U.S. Almost Blew up Israel's Nuclear Program|newspaper=Haaretz|date=3 May 2019|last1=Cohen|first1=Avner|access-date=11 November 2019|archive-date=2 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210202173023/https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium.MAGAZINE-how-a-standoff-with-the-u-s-almost-blew-up-israel-s-nuclear-program-1.7193419|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/nuclear-vault/2019-05-02/battle-letters-1963-john-f-kennedy-david-ben-gurion-levi-eshkol-us-inspections-dimona |title=The Battle of the Letters, 1963: John F. Kennedy, David Ben-Gurion, Levi Eshkol, and the U.S. Inspections of Dimona {{pipe}} National Security Archive |date=29 April 2019 |access-date=11 November 2019 |archive-date=11 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191111141328/https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/nuclear-vault/2019-05-02/battle-letters-1963-john-f-kennedy-david-ben-gurion-levi-eshkol-us-inspections-dimona |url-status=live }}</ref>

Since 1964, Arab countries, concerned over Israeli plans to divert waters of the Jordan River into the coastal plain,<ref>"The Politics of Miscalculation in the Middle East", by Richard B. Parker (1993 Indiana University Press) p. 38</ref> had been trying to divert the headwaters to deprive Israel of water resources, provoking tensions between Israel on the one hand, and Syria and Lebanon on the other. Arab nationalists led by Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser refused to recognize Israel and called for its destruction.<ref name="RoutledgeAtlas">{{Harvnb|Gilbert|2005|p=1}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Syria and Israel: From War to Peacemaking |last=Maoz |first=Moshe |year=1995 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-828018-7 |page=70 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/5/newsid_2654000/2654251.stm |title=On This Day 5 Jun |date=5 June 1967 |publisher=BBC |access-date=26 December 2011 |archive-date=14 July 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070714044705/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/5/newsid_2654000/2654251.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> By 1966, Israeli-Arab relations had deteriorated to the point of battles taking place between Israeli and Arab forces.{{sfn|Segev|2007|p=178}}
[[File:Six Day War Territories.svg|thumb|Territory held by Israel: {{legend|#ffffd0|before the Six-Day War}} {{legend|#f7d3aa|after the war}} The Sinai Peninsula was returned to Egypt in 1982.]]
In May 1967, Egypt massed its army near the border with Israel, expelled UN peacekeepers, stationed in the Sinai Peninsula since 1957, and blocked Israel's access to the Red Sea.<ref>{{cite book |last=Gat |first=Moshe |title=Britain and the Conflict in the Middle East, 1964–1967: The Coming of the Six-Day War |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ntLdA8QIgXIC&q=On+the+night+of+May+22-23,+Nasser+declared+the+Gulf+of+Aqaba+closed+to+Israeli+shipping&pg=PA202 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |year=2003 |page=202 |isbn=978-0-275-97514-2 |access-date=4 October 2020 |archive-date=19 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231219071151/https://books.google.com/books?id=ntLdA8QIgXIC&q=On+the+night+of+May+22-23,+Nasser+declared+the+Gulf+of+Aqaba+closed+to+Israeli+shipping&pg=PA202 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>John Quigley, [https://books.google.com/books?id=0zEi3qGWLFIC&pg=PA32 ''The Six-Day War and Israeli Self-Defense: Questioning the Legal Basis for Preventive War''], Cambridge University Press, 2013, p. 32.</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Samir A. Mutawi|title=Jordan in the 1967 War|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g9bBJusRJIMC|year=2002|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-52858-0|page=93|quote=Although Eshkol denounced the Egyptians, his response to this development was a model of moderation. His speech on 21 May demanded that Nasser withdraw his forces from Sinai but made no mention of the removal of UNEF from the Straits nor of what Israel would do if they were closed to Israeli shipping. The next day Nasser announced to an astonished world that henceforth the Straits were, indeed, closed to all Israeli ships|access-date=17 September 2021|archive-date=31 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231031043157/https://books.google.com/books?id=g9bBJusRJIMC|url-status=live}}</ref> Other Arab states mobilized their forces.{{sfn|Segev|2007|p=289}} Israel reiterated that these actions were a ''[[Social:Casus belli|casus belli]]'' and, on 5 June, launched a pre-emptive strike against Egypt. Jordan, Syria and Iraq attacked Israel. In a Six-Day War, Israel captured and occupied the West Bank from Jordan, the Gaza Strip and Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, and the [[Place:Golan Heights|Golan Heights]] from Syria.<ref>{{harvnb|Smith|2006|p=126}}. "Nasser, the Egyptian president, decided to mass troops in the Sinai{{nbsp}}... ''casus belli'' by Israel."</ref> Jerusalem's boundaries were enlarged, incorporating East Jerusalem, and the 1949 Green Line became the administrative boundary between Israel and the [[Place:Israeli-occupied territories|occupied territories]].{{citation needed|date=June 2021}}

Following the 1967 war and the "Three Nos" resolution of the Arab League, Israel faced attacks from the Egyptians in the Sinai Peninsula during the 1967–1970 War of Attrition, and from Palestinian groups targeting Israelis in the occupied territories, in Israel, and around the world. Most important among the various Palestinian and Arab groups was the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), established in 1964, which initially committed itself to "armed struggle as the only way to liberate the homeland".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/13/magazine/13PALESTINIANS.html |title=The Interregnum |last=Bennet |first=James |date=13 March 2005 |work=The New York Times Magazine |access-date=11 February 2010 |archive-date=16 April 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090416021652/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/13/magazine/13PALESTINIANS.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Palestinian groups launched attacks<ref>{{cite book |title=Research on Terrorism: Trends, Achievements and Failures |last=Silke |first=Andrew |year=2004 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-7146-8273-0 |page=149 (256 pp.) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rSpfNJQ4CbAC&q=palestinian+terror+1970s&pg=PA149 |access-date=8 March 2010 |archive-date=19 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231219071201/https://books.google.com/books?id=rSpfNJQ4CbAC&q=palestinian+terror+1970s&pg=PA149#v=snippet&q=palestinian%20terror%201970s&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The Routledge Atlas of the Arab–Israeli Conflict: The Complete History of the Struggle and the Efforts to Resolve It |last=Gilbert |first=Martin |year=2002 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-28116-4 |page=82 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UNvJ1FOwiAwC&q=palestinian+terror+1970s&pg=PA82 |access-date=8 March 2010 |archive-date=19 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231219071251/https://books.google.com/books?id=UNvJ1FOwiAwC&q=palestinian+terror+1970s&pg=PA82#v=onepage&q=palestinian%20terror%201970s&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> against Israeli and Jewish targets around the world,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/world/middleeast/27habash.html |title=George Habash, Palestinian Terrorism Tactician, Dies at 82 |first1=Edmund |last1=Andrews |first2=John |last2=Kifner |author-link2=John Kifner |newspaper=The New York Times |date=27 January 2008 |access-date=29 March 2012 |archive-date=13 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130313121747/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/world/middleeast/27habash.html |url-status=live }}</ref> including a massacre of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. The Israeli government responded with an assassination campaign against the organizers of the massacre, a bombing and a raid on the PLO headquarters in Lebanon.

On 6 October 1973, the Egyptian and Syrian armies launched a surprise attack against Israeli forces in the Sinai Peninsula and Golan Heights, opening the Yom Kippur War. The war ended on 25 October with Israel repelling Egyptian and Syrian forces but having suffered over 2,500 soldiers killed in a war which collectively took 10–35,000 lives in about 20 days.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/6/newsid_2514000/2514317.stm |title=1973: Arab states attack Israeli forces |work=On This Day |publisher=BBC News |access-date=15 July 2007 |date=6 October 1973 |archive-date=14 July 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120714014851/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/6/newsid_2514000/2514317.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> An internal inquiry exonerated the government of responsibility for failures before and during the war, but public anger forced Prime Minister Golda Meir to resign.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.knesset.gov.il/lexicon/eng/agranat_eng.htm |title=Agranat Commission |publisher=Knesset |year=2008 |access-date=8 April 2010 |archive-date=29 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101229175926/http://knesset.gov.il/lexicon/eng/agranat_eng.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>{{better source needed|date=February 2023}} In July 1976, an airliner was hijacked in flight from Israel to France by Palestinian guerrillas and landed at Entebbe International Airport, Uganda. Israeli commandos rescued 102 out of 106 Israeli hostages.

==== Peace process ====
The 1977 Knesset elections marked a major turning point in Israeli political history as [[Biography:Menachem Begin|Menachem Begin]]'s Likud party took control from the Labor Party.<ref>{{harvnb|Bregman|2002|pp=169–170}}: "In hindsight we can say that 1977 was a turning point&nbsp;..."</ref> Later that year, Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat made a trip to Israel and spoke before the Knesset in what was the first recognition of Israel by an Arab head of state.{{sfn|Bregman|2002|pp=171–174}} Sadat and Begin signed the Camp David Accords (1978) and the Egypt–Israel peace treaty (1979).{{sfn|Bregman|2002|pp=186–187}} In return, Israel withdrew from the Sinai Peninsula and agreed to enter negotiations over an autonomy for Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.{{sfn|Bregman|2002|pp=186–187}}

On 11 March 1978, a PLO guerilla raid from Lebanon led to the Coastal Road massacre. Israel responded by launching an invasion of southern Lebanon to destroy PLO bases. Most PLO fighters withdrew, but Israel was able to secure southern Lebanon until a UN force and the Lebanese army could take over. The PLO soon resumed its insurgency against Israel. In the next few years, the PLO infiltrated the south and kept up a sporadic shelling across the border. Israel carried out numerous retaliatory attacks.

Meanwhile, Begin's government provided incentives for Israelis to settle in the occupied West Bank, increasing friction with the Palestinians there.<ref>{{cite book|title=A history of the modern Middle East |last=Cleveland |first=William L. |year=1999 |publisher=Westview Press |isbn=978-0-8133-3489-9 |page=[https://archive.org/details/historyofmodernm00clev/page/356 356] |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofmodernm00clev/page/356 }}</ref> The Jerusalem Law (1980) was believed by some to reaffirm Israel's 1967 annexation of Jerusalem by government decree, and reignited international controversy over the status of the city. No Israeli legislation has defined the territory of Israel and no act specifically included East Jerusalem therein.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Lustick |first=Ian |year=1997 |title=Has Israel Annexed East Jerusalem? |journal=Middle East Policy |volume=V |issue=1 |pages=34–45 |issn=1061-1924 |oclc=4651987544 |doi=10.1111/j.1475-4967.1997.tb00247.x |url=https://www.sas.upenn.edu/polisci/sites/www.sas.upenn.edu.polisci/files/Lustick_Has%20Israel%20Annexed%20Jerusalem_1997.pdf |access-date=1 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091120090306/http://www.mepc.org/journal_vol5/9701_lustick.asp |archive-date=20 November 2009 }}</ref> In 1981 Israel effectively annexed the [[Place:Golan Heights|Golan Heights]].<ref name="bbc_golan_profile">{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-14724842 |title=Golan Heights profile |date=27 November 2015 |work=BBC News |access-date=6 January 2017 |archive-date=17 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190617170912/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-14724842 |url-status=live }}</ref> The international community largely rejected these moves, with the UN Security Council declaring both the Jerusalem Law and the Golan Heights Law null and void.<ref>{{cite book | last=Hillier | first=T. | title=Sourcebook on Public International Law | publisher=Routledge | year=1998 | isbn=978-1-135-35366-7 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DmuPAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA242 | access-date=12 October 2021 | archive-date=19 December 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231219071301/https://books.google.com/books?id=DmuPAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA242#v=onepage&q&f=false | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last1=Monacella | first1=R. | last2=Ware | first2=S.A. | title=Fluctuating Borders: Speculations about Memory and Emergence | publisher=RMIT University Press | year=2007 | isbn=978-1-921166-48-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q7r4wd57FqIC&pg=RA1-PA62 | access-date=12 October 2021 | archive-date=19 December 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231219071154/https://books.google.com/books?id=q7r4wd57FqIC&pg=RA1-PA62#v=onepage&q&f=false | url-status=live }}</ref> Several waves of Ethiopian Jews immigrated to Israel since the 1980s, while between 1990 and 1994, immigration from the post-Soviet states increased Israel's population by twelve percent.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Economics/Papers/1996/pdfs/96-28.pdf |journal=The Quarterly Journal of Economics |date=November 2001 |title=The Impact of Mass Migration on the Israeli Labor Market |last=Friedberg |first=Rachel M. |pages=1373–1408 |issue=4 |doi=10.1162/003355301753265606 |volume=116 |hdl=10419/102605 |citeseerx=10.1.1.385.2596 |access-date=14 August 2012 |archive-date=23 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120923025501/http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Economics/Papers/1996/pdfs/96-28.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 7 June 1981, during the Iran–Iraq War, the Israeli air force destroyed Iraq's sole nuclear reactor under construction just outside [[Place:Baghdad|Baghdad]], to impede Iraq's nuclear weapons programme. Following a series of PLO attacks in 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon to destroy the PLO bases.{{sfn|Bregman|2002|p=199}} In the first six days, the Israelis destroyed the military forces of the PLO in Lebanon and decisively defeated the Syrians. An Israeli government inquiry—the Kahan Commission—would later hold Begin and several Israeli generals indirectly responsible for the Sabra and Shatila massacre and hold Defense minister Ariel Sharon as bearing "personal responsibility".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Schiff |first1=Ze'ev |last2=Ehud |first2=Yaari |author-link2=Ehud Yaari |title=Israel's Lebanon War |year=1984 |page=[https://archive.org/details/israelslebanonwa0000schi/page/284 284] |publisher=Simon & Schuster |isbn=978-0-671-47991-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/israelslebanonwa0000schi}}</ref> Sharon was forced to resign.<ref>{{cite book |last=Silver |first=Eric |title=Begin: The Haunted Prophet |publisher={{wipe|Random House}} |year=1984 |page=[https://archive.org/details/beginhauntedprop00silv/page/239 239] |isbn=978-0-394-52826-7 |url=https://archive.org/details/beginhauntedprop00silv}}</ref> In 1985, Israel responded to a Palestinian [[Biology:Larnaca yacht killings|terrorist attack]] in [[Place:Cyprus|Cyprus]] by bombing the PLO headquarters in Tunisia. Israel withdrew from most of Lebanon in 1986, but maintained a borderland buffer zone in southern Lebanon until 2000, from where Israeli forces engaged in conflict with Hezbollah. The First Intifada, a Palestinian uprising against Israeli rule,<ref>{{cite book|title=A History of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict |last=Tessler |first=Mark A. |year=1994 |publisher=Indiana University Press |page=[https://archive.org/details/historyofisraeli00tess_0/page/677 677] |isbn=978-0-253-20873-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofisraeli00tess_0}}</ref> broke out in 1987, with waves of uncoordinated demonstrations and violence in the occupied West Bank and Gaza. Over the following six years, the Intifada became more organized and included economic and cultural measures aimed at disrupting the Israeli occupation. More than a thousand people were killed.<ref>{{harvnb|Stone|Zenner|1994|p=246}}. "Toward the end of 1991 ... were the result of internal Palestinian terror."</ref> During the 1991 Gulf War, the PLO supported Saddam Hussein and Iraqi missile attacks against Israel. Despite public outrage, Israel heeded American calls to refrain from hitting back.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE7DB173EF93AA35751C1A967958260 |title=After 4 Years, Intifada Still Smolders |work=The New York Times |date=9 December 1991 |access-date=28 March 2008 |last=Haberman |first=Clyde |archive-date=17 July 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120717180855/http://www.nytimes.com/1991/12/09/world/after-4-years-intifada-still-smolders.html |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn |Mowlana |Gerbner |Schiller |1992 |p=111}}

[[File:Flickr - Government Press Office (GPO) - Foreign Min. Peres and King Hussein.jpg|thumb|Shimon Peres (left) with Yitzhak Rabin (center) and King Hussein of Jordan (right), prior to signing the Israel–Jordan peace treaty in 1994]]
In 1992, [[Biography:Yitzhak Rabin|Yitzhak Rabin]] became prime minister following an election in which his party called for compromise with Israel's neighbours.{{sfn|Bregman|2002|p=236}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bc.edu/dam/files/research_sites/cjl/texts/cjrelations/resources/education/Israel_Palestine/cold_war_ends.htm |publisher=Boston College |title=From the End of the Cold War to 2001 |access-date=20 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130827235024/http://www.bc.edu/dam/files/research_sites/cjl/texts/cjrelations/resources/education/Israel_Palestine/cold_war_ends.htm |archive-date=27 August 2013 }}</ref> The following year, [[Biography:Shimon Peres|Shimon Peres]] on behalf of Israel, and Mahmoud Abbas for the PLO, signed the Oslo Accords, which gave the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) the right to govern parts of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://history.state.gov/milestones/1990-2000/Oslo |publisher=U.S. Department of State |title=The Oslo Accords, 1993 |access-date=30 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100122102530/http://history.state.gov/milestones/1990-2000/Oslo |archive-date=22 January 2010 }}</ref> The PLO also recognized Israel's right to exist and pledged an end to terrorism.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Peace%20Process/Guide%20to%20the%20Peace%20Process/Israel-PLO%20Recognition%20-%20Exchange%20of%20Letters%20betwe |publisher=Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs |title=Israel–PLO Recognition&nbsp;– Exchange of Letters between PM Rabin and Chairman Arafat&nbsp;– Sept 9, 1993 |access-date=31 March 2010 |archive-date=16 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120716184929/http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Peace%20Process/Guide%20to%20the%20Peace%20Process/Israel-PLO%20Recognition%20-%20Exchange%20of%20Letters%20betwe |url-status=live }}</ref>{{better source needed|date=January 2023}} In 1994, the Israel–Jordan peace treaty was signed, making Jordan the second Arab country to normalize relations with Israel.<ref>{{harvnb|Harkavy|Neuman|2001|p=270}}. "Even though Jordan in 1994 became the second country, after Egypt to sign a peace treaty with Israel&nbsp;..."</ref> Arab public support for the Accords was damaged by the continuation of Israeli settlements<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fmep.org/settlement_info/settlement-info-and-tables/stats-data/sources-of-population-growth-total-israeli-population-and-settler-population-1991-2003 |title=Sources of Population Growth: Total Israeli Population and Settler Population, 1991–2003 |access-date=20 March 2012 |publisher=Foundation for Middle East Peace |website=Settlements information |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130826051148/http://www.fmep.org/settlement_info/settlement-info-and-tables/stats-data/sources-of-population-growth-total-israeli-population-and-settler-population-1991-2003 |archive-date=26 August 2013 }}</ref> and checkpoints, and the deterioration of economic conditions.<ref>{{cite book|title=Negotiating Arab-Israeli peace: American leadership in the Middle East |last=Kurtzer |first=Daniel |author2=Lasensky, Scott |year=2008 |publisher=United States Institute of Peace Press |isbn=978-1-60127-030-6 |page=[https://archive.org/details/negotiatingarabi0000kurt/page/44 44] |url=https://archive.org/details/negotiatingarabi0000kurt/page/44 }}</ref> Israeli public support for the Accords waned after Palestinian suicide attacks.<ref>{{cite book|title=A history of the modern Middle East |last=Cleveland |first=William L. |year=1999 |publisher=Westview Press |isbn=978-0-8133-3489-9 |page=[https://archive.org/details/historyofmodernm00clev/page/494 494] |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofmodernm00clev/page/494 }}</ref> In November 1995, Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by Yigal Amir, a far-right Jew who opposed the Accords.<ref>{{cite news |title=Israel marks Rabin assassination |publisher=BBC News |date=12 November 2005 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4431728.stm |access-date=12 May 2010 |archive-date=17 January 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100117220054/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4431728.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>

During Benjamin Netanyahu's premiership at the end of the 1990s, Israel agreed to withdraw from [[Place:Hebron|Hebron]],{{sfn|Bregman|2002|p=257}} though this was never ratified or implemented,<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20151002002611/http://www.ijcv.org/index.php/ijcv/article/view/14/14 Hanne Eggen Røislien, "Living with Contradiction: Examining the Worldview of the Jewish Settlers in Hebron"], 2 October 2015 ''International Journal of Conflict and Violence'', Vol.1 (2) 2007, pp.169–184</ref> and signed the Wye River Memorandum, giving greater control to the PNA.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://1997-2001.state.gov/www/regions/nea/981023_interim_agmt.html|publisher=U.S. Department of State|title=The Wye River Memorandum|date=23 October 1998|access-date=30 March 2010|archive-date=4 January 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110104074037/http://1997-2001.state.gov/www/regions/nea/981023_interim_agmt.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Ehud Barak, elected Prime Minister in 1999, withdrew forces from Southern Lebanon and conducted negotiations with PNA Chairman [[Biography:Yasser Arafat|Yasser Arafat]] and U.S. President Bill Clinton at the 2000 Camp David Summit. Barak offered a plan for the establishment of a Palestinian state, including the entirety of the Gaza Strip and over 90% of the West Bank with Jerusalem as a shared capital.{{sfn|Gelvin|2005|p=240}} Each side blamed the other for the failure of the talks.

==== 21st century ====
[[File:Rocket Attacks fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip by year.png|thumb|upright=1.25|Rocket attacks fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip, 2001-2021<ref name="pinfold">{{cite journal|last1=Pinfold|first1=Rob Geist|year=2023|title=Security, Terrorism, and Territorial Withdrawal: Critically Reassessing the Lessons of Israel's "Unilateral Disengagement" from the Gaza Strip|url=https://academic.oup.com/isp/article/24/1/67/6762979|journal=International Studies Perspectives|volume=24|issue=1|pages=67–87|doi=10.1093/isp/ekac013|institution=King’s College London, UK and Charles University, Czech Republic|doi-access=free|access-date=2 November 2023|archive-date=17 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231017014412/https://academic.oup.com/isp/article/24/1/67/6762979|url-status=live}}</ref>]]
In late 2000, after a controversial visit by Likud leader Ariel Sharon to the Temple Mount, the Second Intifada began. It would continue for the next four and a half years. Suicide bombings were a recurrent feature of the Intifada.<ref>Sela-Shayovitz, R. (2007). Suicide bombers in Israel: Their motivations, characteristics, and prior activity in terrorist organizations. ''International Journal of Conflict and Violence (IJCV)'', ''1''(2), 163. "The period of the second Intifada significantly differs from other historical periods in Israeli history, because it has been characterized by intensive and numerous suicide attacks that have made civilian life into a battlefront."</ref> Some commentators contend that the Intifada was pre-planned by Arafat due to the collapse of peace talks.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thejc.com/news/world-news/114827/the-big-myth-he-caused-second-intifada |title=The big myth: that he caused the Second Intifada |last=Gross |first=Tom |date=16 January 2014 |newspaper=The Jewish Chronicle |access-date=22 April 2016 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304193513/http://www.thejc.com/news/world-news/114827/the-big-myth-he-caused-second-intifada |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Hong |first=Nicole |date=23 February 2015 |title=Jury Finds Palestinian Authority, PLO Liable for Terrorist Attacks in Israel a Decade Ago |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/jury-finds-palestinian-authority-plo-liable-for-terrorist-attacks-in-israel-a-decade-ago-1424715529 |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |access-date=22 April 2016 |archive-date=14 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160414204555/http://www.wsj.com/articles/jury-finds-palestinian-authority-plo-liable-for-terrorist-attacks-in-israel-a-decade-ago-1424715529 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=jewishweek>{{cite news |url=http://jewishweek.org/news/newscontent.php3?artid=3846 |title=PA: Intifada Was Planned |last=Ain |first=Stewart |date=20 December 2000 |newspaper=The Jewish Week |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013083338/http://jewishweek.org/news/newscontent.php3?artid=3846 |archive-date=13 October 2007}}</ref><ref name=atlantic>{{cite news |title=In a Ruined Country |first=David |last=Samuels |date=1 September 2005 |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2005/09/in-a-ruined-country/304167/ |newspaper=The Atlantic |access-date=27 March 2013 |archive-date=30 August 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080830024459/http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/prem/200509/samuels |url-status=live }}</ref> Sharon became prime minister in a 2001 election; he carried out his plan to unilaterally withdraw from the Gaza Strip and spearheaded the construction of the Israeli West Bank barrier,<ref>{{cite news|title=West Bank barrier route disputed, Israeli missile kills 2 |newspaper=USA Today |date=29 July 2004 |url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/2004-07-29-west-bank_x.htm |access-date=1 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020225835/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/2004-07-29-west-bank_x.htm |archive-date=20 October 2012}}</ref> ending the Intifada.<ref>See for example:<br/>* {{cite news |title=Years of rage |first1=Amos |last1=Harel |first2=Avi |last2=Issacharoff |date=1 October 2010 |url=http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/week-s-end/years-of-rage-1.316603 |newspaper=Haaretz |access-date=12 August 2012 |archive-date=2 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140702094014/http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/week-s-end/years-of-rage-1.316603 |url-status=live }}<br/>* {{cite news |title=Losing Faith in the Intifada |first=Laura |last=King |date=28 September 2004 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |url=http://articles.latimes.com/2004/sep/28/world/fg-intifada28 |access-date=12 August 2012 |archive-date=21 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120921132644/http://articles.latimes.com/2004/sep/28/world/fg-intifada28 |url-status=live }}<br/>* {{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52801-2004Sep26.html |title=From Jenin To Fallujah? |last=Diehl |first=Jackson |date=27 September 2004 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=12 August 2012 |archive-date=3 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203212546/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52801-2004Sep26.html |url-status=live }}<br/>* {{cite web |url=http://www.jcpa.org/text/Amidror-perspectives-2.pdf |title=Winning Counterinsurgency War: The Israeli Experience |last=Amidror |first=Yaakov |website=Strategic Perspectives |publisher=Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs |access-date=12 August 2012 |archive-date=11 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120811130134/http://www.jcpa.org/text/Amidror-perspectives-2.pdf |url-status=live }}<br/>* {{cite web |last=Frisch |first=Hillel |url=http://www.biu.ac.il/SOC/besa/perspectives57.html |title=The Need for a Decisive Israeli Victory Over Hamas |date=12 January 2009 |website=Perspectives Papers on Current Affairs |publisher=Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies |access-date=12 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120614054502/http://www.biu.ac.il/SOC/besa/perspectives57.html |archive-date=14 June 2012 }}<br/>* {{cite web |url=http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf&AD=ADA449421 |title=The "Defensive Shield" Operation as a Turning Point in Israel's National Security Strategy |last=Buchris |first=Ofek |date=9 March 2006 |website=Strategy Research Project |publisher=United States Army War College |access-date=12 August 2012 |archive-date=7 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121007044643/http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf&AD=ADA449421 |url-status=live }}<br/>* {{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A50910-2004Jun17.html |title=Israel's Intifada Victory |last=Krauthammer |first=Charles |date=18 June 2004 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=12 August 2012 |archive-date=19 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170919235122/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A50910-2004Jun17.html |url-status=live }}<br/>* {{cite news |url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3558676,00.html |title=2nd Intifada forgotten |last=Plocker |first=Sever |date=22 June 2008 |work=Ynetnews |access-date=12 August 2012 |archive-date=19 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819220413/http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3558676,00.html |url-status=live }}<br/>* {{cite web |last=Ya'alon |first=Moshe |date=January 2007 |url=http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/uploads/Documents/pubs/PolicyFocus64.pdf |title=Lessons from the Palestinian 'War' against Israel |website=Policy Focus |publisher=Washington Institute for Near East Policy |access-date=12 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120811130133/http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/uploads/Documents/pubs/PolicyFocus64.pdf |archive-date=11 August 2012 }}<br/>* {{cite news |date=20 September 2010 |url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/1,7340,L-3957131,00.html |title=Letting the IDF win |last=Hendel |first=Yoaz |work=Ynetnews |access-date=12 August 2012 |archive-date=24 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120924144858/http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/1,7340,L-3957131,00.html |url-status=live }}<br/>* {{cite book |author1=Zvi Shtauber |author2=Yiftah Shapir |title=The Middle East strategic balance, 2004–2005 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t7C-ZDXrfOgC&pg=PAPA7 |access-date=12 February 2012 |year=2006 |publisher=Sussex Academic Press |isbn=978-1-84519-108-5 |page=7 |archive-date=19 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231219072213/https://books.google.com/books?id=t7C-ZDXrfOgC&pg=PAPA7 |url-status=live }}</ref> Between 2000 and 2008, 1,063 Israelis, 5,517 Palestinians and 64 foreign citizens had been killed.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.btselem.org/statistics/fatalities/before-cast-lead/by-date-of-event |title=Fatalities before Operation "Cast Lead" |publisher=B'Tselem |access-date=14 January 2017 |archive-date=20 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180120010413/https://www.btselem.org/statistics/fatalities/before-cast-lead/by-date-of-event |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2006, a Hezbollah artillery assault on Israel's northern border communities and a cross-border abduction of two Israeli soldiers precipitated the month-long Second Lebanon War.<ref name="UN1701">{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2006/sc8808.doc.htm |title=Security Council Calls for End to Hostilities between Hizbollah, Israel, Unanimously Adopting Resolution 1701 (2006) |website=United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 |date=11 August 2006 |access-date=28 June 2017 |archive-date=30 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090130025538/http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2006/sc8808.doc.htm |url-status=live }}<br />Escalation of hostilities in Lebanon and in Israel since Hizbollah's attack on Israel on 12 July 2006</ref><ref name="HRTZ_Harel">{{cite news |url=http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/hezbollah-kills-8-soldiers-kidnaps-two-in-offensive-on-northern-border-1.192965 |title=Hezbollah kills 8 soldiers, kidnaps two in offensive on northern border |access-date=20 March 2012 |last=Harel |first=Amos |date=13 July 2006 |newspaper=Haaretz |archive-date=13 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110513084315/http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/hezbollah-kills-8-soldiers-kidnaps-two-in-offensive-on-northern-border-1.192965 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2007, the Israeli Air Force destroyed a nuclear reactor in Syria. In 2008, a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel collapsed. The 2008–2009 Gaza War lasted three weeks and ended after Israel announced a unilateral ceasefire.<ref>{{cite news |first = Jason |last = Koutsoukis |title = Battleground Gaza: Israeli ground forces invade the strip |url = http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/battleground-gaza/2009/01/04/1231003847085.html |work = Sydney Morning Herald |date = 5 January 2009 |access-date = 5 January 2009 |archive-date = 8 January 2009 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090108013919/http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/battleground-gaza/2009/01/04/1231003847085.html |url-status = live }}</ref><ref name=ravid>{{cite news |last=Ravid |first=Barak |title=IDF begins Gaza troop withdrawal, hours after ending 3-week offensive |newspaper=Haaretz |access-date=20 March 2012 |date=18 January 2009 |url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/idf-begins-gaza-troop-withdrawal-hours-after-ending-3-week-offensive-1.268326 |archive-date=17 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140817072019/http://www.haaretz.com/news/idf-begins-gaza-troop-withdrawal-hours-after-ending-3-week-offensive-1.268326 |url-status=live }}</ref> Hamas announced its own ceasefire, with its own conditions of complete withdrawal and opening of border crossings. Despite neither the rocket launchings nor Israeli retaliatory strikes having completely stopped, the fragile ceasefire remained.<ref>{{cite news |first=Yuval |last=Azoulay |url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/two-idf-soldiers-civilian-lightly-hurt-as-gaza-mortars-hit-negev-1.266841 |title=Two IDF soldiers, civilian lightly hurt as Gaza mortars hit Negev |newspaper=Haaretz |date=1 January 2009 |access-date=20 March 2012 |archive-date=2 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140702082345/http://www.haaretz.com/news/two-idf-soldiers-civilian-lightly-hurt-as-gaza-mortars-hit-negev-1.266841 |url-status=live }}</ref> In what Israel described as a response to more than a hundred Palestinian rocket attacks on southern Israeli cities,<ref name="pound">{{cite news |title=Gaza groups pound Israel with over 100 rockets |first1=Yaakov |last1=Lappin |first2=Tovah |last2=Lazaroff |url=http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Gaza-groups-pound-Israel-with-over-100-rockets |newspaper=The Jerusalem Post |date=12 November 2012 |access-date=27 March 2013 |archive-date=14 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190414151101/https://www.jpost.com/Defense/Gaza-groups-pound-Israel-with-over-100-rockets |url-status=live }}</ref> Israel began an operation in the Gaza Strip in 2012, lasting eight days.<ref>{{cite news |author=Stephanie Nebehay |date=20 November 2012 |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/palestinians-israel-humanitarian-idUSL5E8MK6MG20121120 |title=UN rights boss, Red Cross urge Israel, Hamas to spare civilians |work=Reuters |access-date=20 November 2012 |archive-date=5 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305052435/http://www.reuters.com/article/palestinians-israel-humanitarian-idUSL5E8MK6MG20121120 |url-status=live }}<br/>* {{cite news |title=Hamas leader defiant as Israel eases Gaza curbs |first=Nidal |last=al-Mughrabi |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-palestinians-israel-hamas-idUSBRE8AD0WP20121124 |publisher=Reuters |date=24 November 2012 |access-date=8 February 2013 |archive-date=14 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160114184249/http://www.reuters.com/article/us-palestinians-israel-hamas-idUSBRE8AD0WP20121124 |url-status=live }}<br/>* {{cite news |url=http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=291779 |title=Israeli air strike kills top Hamas commander Jabari |work=The Jerusalem Post |access-date=14 November 2012 |archive-date=14 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121114141727/http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=291779 |url-status=live }}</ref> Israel started another operation in Gaza following an escalation of rocket attacks by Hamas in July 2014.<ref>{{cite news|title=Israel and Hamas Trade Attacks as Tension Rises|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/09/world/middleeast/israel-steps-up-offensive-against-hamas-in-gaza.html|work=The New York Times|date=8 July 2014|access-date=16 February 2017|archive-date=22 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150222154524/http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/09/world/middleeast/israel-steps-up-offensive-against-hamas-in-gaza.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In May 2021, another round of fighting took place in Gaza and Israel, lasting eleven days.<ref>{{cite news |title=Israel and Hamas agree Gaza truce, Biden pledges assistance |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/hamas-official-predicts-ceasefire-soon-israel-gaza-fight-goes-2021-05-19/ |publisher=Reuters |date=21 May 2021 |access-date=26 May 2021 |archive-date=31 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210531014137/https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/hamas-official-predicts-ceasefire-soon-israel-gaza-fight-goes-2021-05-19/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

By the 2010s, the increasing regional cooperation between Israel and Arab League countries have been established, culminating in the signing of the Abraham Accords. The Israeli security situation shifted from the traditional Arab–Israeli conflict towards the Iran–Israel proxy conflict and direct confrontation with Iran during the Syrian civil war. On 7 October 2023, Palestinian militant groups from Gaza, led by Hamas, launched a series of coordinated attacks on Israel, leading to the start of the 2023 Israel–Hamas war.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Martínez |first1=Andrés R. |last2=Bubola |first2=Emma |title=What We Know About the Hamas Attack and Israel's Response |url=https://www.nytimes.com/article/israel-gaza-hamas-what-we-know.html |access-date=10 October 2023 |work={{wipe|The New York Times}} |date=10 October 2023 |archive-date=8 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231008143358/https://www.nytimes.com/article/israel-gaza-hamas-what-we-know.html |url-status=live }}</ref> On that day, approximately 1300 Israelis, predominantly civilians, were killed in communities near the Gaza Strip border and during a music festival. Over 200 hostages, including elders, women, and children as young as 9 months, were kidnapped and taken to the Gaza Strip.<ref name="Gillett">{{cite news |last1=Gillett |first1=Francesca |date=8 October 2023 |title=How an Israel music festival turned into a nightmare after Hamas attack |agency=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67047034 |url-status=live |access-date=8 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231008143208/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67047034 |archive-date=8 October 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Tabachnick |first1=Cara |date=8 October 2023 |title=Israelis search for loved ones with posts and pleas on social media |publisher=CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/israelis-search-loved-ones-posts-pleas-social-media-hamas-attack/ |url-status=live |access-date=8 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231008061931/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/israelis-search-loved-ones-posts-pleas-social-media-hamas-attack/ |archive-date=8 October 2023}}</ref><ref name="natureparty">{{cite news |author=Amanda Borschel-Dan |date=7 October 2023 |title=Thousands flee rocket and gunfire at all-night desert 'Nature Party'; dozens missing |work=The Times of Israel |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/thousands-flee-rocket-and-gunfire-at-all-night-desert-nature-party-dozens-missing/ |url-status=live |access-date=8 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231007231525/https://www.timesofisrael.com/thousands-flee-rocket-and-gunfire-at-all-night-desert-nature-party-dozens-missing/ |archive-date=7 October 2023}}</ref>

==Geography==
{{multiple image|caption_align=center|total_width=220|image1=Satellite image of Israel in January 2003.jpg|width1=727|height1=1731|image2=Israel at night.jpg|width2=425|height2=934|footer=[[Astronomy:Satellite imagery|Satellite images]] of Israel and neighboring territories during the day and night}}

Israel is located in the [[Place:Levant|Levant]] area of the [[Place:Fertile Crescent|Fertile Crescent]]. The country is at the [[Place:Eastern Mediterranean|eastern end]] of the [[Place:Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean Sea]], bounded by Lebanon to the north, Syria to the northeast, Jordan and the West Bank to the east, and Egypt and the Gaza Strip to the southwest. It lies between latitudes 29° and 34° N, and longitudes 34° and 36° E.

The sovereign territory of Israel (according to the demarcation lines of the 1949 Armistice Agreements and excluding all territories captured by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War) is approximately {{convert|20770|km2|sqmi|0|sp=us}}, of which two&nbsp;percent is water.<ref name="cia">{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/israel/ |title=Israel |website=The World Factbook |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |access-date=5 January 2017 |archive-date=10 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210110072816/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/israel |url-status=live }}</ref> However Israel is so narrow (100&nbsp;km at its widest, compared to 400&nbsp;km from north to south) that the [[Earth:Exclusive economic zone|exclusive economic zone]] in the Mediterranean is double the land area of the country.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/israel-navy-to-devote-majority-of-missile-boats-to-secure-offshore-drilling-rafts-1.406203 |title=Israel Navy to devote majority of missile boats to secure offshore drilling rafts |first=Gili |last=Cohen |date=9 January 2012 |newspaper=Haaretz |access-date=9 January 2012 |archive-date=22 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200522081921/https://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/israel-navy-to-devote-majority-of-missile-boats-to-secure-offshore-drilling-rafts-1.406203 |url-status=live }}</ref> The total area under Israeli law, including East Jerusalem and the [[Place:Golan Heights|Golan Heights]], is {{convert|22072|km2|sqmi|0|sp=us}},<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cbs.gov.il/reader/shnaton/templ_shnaton_e.html?num_tab=st01_01&CYear=2012 |title=Area of Districts, Sub-Districts, Natural Regions and Lakes |date=11 September 2012 |publisher=Israel Central Bureau of Statistics |access-date=13 June 2013 |archive-date=4 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181004120711/http://www.cbs.gov.il/reader/shnaton/templ_shnaton_e.html?num_tab=st01_01&CYear=2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> and the total area under Israeli control, including the military-controlled and partially Palestinian-governed territory of the West Bank, is {{convert|27799|km2|sqmi|0|sp=us}}.<ref name="loc-geo">{{cite journal |url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/iltoc.html |date=7 May 2009 |title=Israel (Geography) |journal=Country Studies |access-date=12 February 2010 |archive-date=10 July 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120710212220/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/iltoc.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Despite its small size, Israel is home to a variety of geographic features, from the Negev desert in the south to the inland fertile Jezreel Valley, mountain ranges of the [[Religion:Galilee|Galilee]], Carmel and toward the [[Place:Golan Heights|Golan]] in the north. The Israeli coastal plain on the shores of the Mediterranean is home to most of the nation's population.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://goisrael.com/Tourism_Eng/Tourist%20Information/Discover%20Israel/Geographic%20Regions/pages/The%20coastal%20plain.aspx |title=The Coastal Plain |publisher=Israel Ministry of Tourism |access-date=6 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170107171405/http://goisrael.com/Tourism_Eng/Tourist%20Information/Discover%20Israel/Geographic%20Regions/pages/The%20coastal%20plain.aspx |archive-date=7 January 2017 }}</ref> East of the central highlands lies the Jordan Rift Valley, a small part of the {{convert|6500|km|mi|0|adj=on|sp=us}} Great Rift Valley. The Jordan River runs along the Jordan Rift Valley, from Mount Hermon through the Hulah Valley and the Sea of Galilee to the [[Earth:Dead Sea|Dead Sea]], the [[Earth:Extreme points of Earth|lowest point]] on the surface of the Earth.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/livingwatersmyth0000krei |publisher=Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs |access-date=20 July 2007 |year=1999 |title=The Living Dead Sea |isbn=978-0-8264-0406-0 |url-access=registration}}</ref> Further south is the Arabah, ending with the Gulf of Eilat, part of the Red Sea. [[Earth:Makhtesh|Makhtesh]], or "erosion cirques" are unique to the Negev and the [[Place:Sinai Peninsula|Sinai Peninsula]], the largest being the [[Earth:Makhtesh Ramon|Makhtesh Ramon]] at 38&nbsp;km in length.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/1486/ |publisher=UNESCO |title=Makhteshim Country |access-date=19 September 2007 |isbn=978-954-642-135-7 |year=2001 |archive-date=10 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200510053055/http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/1486/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Israel has the largest number of plant species per square meter of the countries in the [[Place:Mediterranean Basin|Mediterranean Basin]].<ref name=rinat>{{cite news |last=Rinat |first=Zafrir |title=More endangered than rain forests? |newspaper=Haaretz |date=29 May 2008 |url=http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/more-endangered-than-rain-forests-1.246839 |access-date=20 March 2012 |archive-date=10 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010225743/https://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/more-endangered-than-rain-forests-1.246839 |url-status=live }}</ref> Israel contains four terrestrial ecoregions: [[Biology:Eastern Mediterranean conifer-sclerophyllous-broadleaf forests|Eastern Mediterranean conifer-sclerophyllous-broadleaf forests]], [[Place:Southern Anatolian montane conifer and deciduous forests|Southern Anatolian montane conifer and deciduous forests]], Arabian Desert, and Mesopotamian shrub desert.<ref name="DinersteinOlson2017">{{cite journal |last1=Dinerstein |first1=Eric |last2=Olson |first2=David |last3=Joshi |first3=Anup |last4=Vynne |first4=Carly |last5=Burgess |first5=Neil D. |last6=Wikramanayake |first6=Eric |last7=Hahn |first7=Nathan |last8=Palminteri |first8=Suzanne |last9=Hedao |first9=Prashant |last10=Noss |first10=Reed |last11=Hansen |first11=Matt |last12=Locke |first12=Harvey |last13=Ellis |first13=Erle C |last14=Jones |first14=Benjamin |last15=Barber |first15=Charles Victor |last16=Hayes |first16=Randy |last17=Kormos |first17=Cyril |last18=Martin |first18=Vance |last19=Crist |first19=Eileen |last20=Sechrest |first20=Wes |last21=Price |first21=Lori |last22=Baillie |first22=Jonathan E. M. |last23=Weeden |first23=Don |last24=Suckling |first24=Kierán |last25=Davis |first25=Crystal |last26=Sizer |first26=Nigel |last27=Moore |first27=Rebecca |last28=Thau |first28=David |last29=Birch |first29=Tanya |last30=Potapov |first30=Peter |last31=Turubanova |first31=Svetlana |last32=Tyukavina |first32=Alexandra |last33=de Souza |first33=Nadia |last34=Pintea |first34=Lilian |last35=Brito |first35=José C. |last36=Llewellyn |first36=Othman A. |last37=Miller |first37=Anthony G. |last38=Patzelt |first38=Annette |last39=Ghazanfar |first39=Shahina A. |last40=Timberlake |first40=Jonathan |last41=Klöser |first41=Heinz |last42=Shennan-Farpón |first42=Yara |last43=Kindt |first43=Roeland |last44=Lillesø |first44=Jens-Peter Barnekow |last45=van Breugel |first45=Paulo |last46=Graudal |first46=Lars |last47=Voge |first47=Maianna |last48=Al-Shammari |first48=Khalaf F. |last49=Saleem |first49=Muhammad |title=An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm |journal=BioScience |volume=67 |issue=6 |year=2017 |pages=534–545 |issn=0006-3568 |doi=10.1093/biosci/bix014 |pmid=28608869 |pmc=5451287 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

Israel's modern forests are all hand-planted. Since 1901, Israel's government reforestation program has planted over 260 million trees to replace the original "[[Biology:Cedrus libani|cedars of Lebanon]]".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Forestry and Green Innovations |url=https://www.jnf.org/our-work/forestry-green-innovations |access-date=2023-11-13 |website=jnf.org |publisher=Jewish National Fund |language=en |archive-date=16 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231016185242/https://www.jnf.org/our-work/forestry-green-innovations |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-11-12 |title=Israel {{!}} Facts, History, Population, & Map {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Israel |access-date=2023-11-13 |website=britannica.com |language=en |archive-date=27 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190627024359/https://www.britannica.com/place/Israel |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Israel |website=Britannica Kids |url=https://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/Israel/345712 |access-date=2023-11-13 |archive-date=13 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231113022414/https://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/Israel/345712 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Tectonics and seismicity===

The Jordan Rift Valley is the result of tectonic movements within the [[Earth:Dead Sea Transform|Dead Sea Transform]] (DSF) fault system. The DSF forms the [[Earth:Transform fault|transform boundary]] between the [[Earth:African Plate|African Plate]] to the west and the [[Earth:Arabian Plate|Arabian Plate]] to the east. The Golan Heights and all of Jordan are part of the Arabian Plate, while the Galilee, West Bank, Coastal Plain, and Negev along with the Sinai Peninsula are on the African Plate. This tectonic disposition leads to a relatively high seismic activity. The entire Jordan Valley segment is thought to have ruptured repeatedly, for instance during the last two major earthquakes along this structure in 749 and 1033. The deficit in [[Earth:Fault (geology)#Slip, heave, throw|slip]] that has built up since the 1033 event is sufficient to cause an earthquake of {{M|w}}~7.4.<ref name="Ferry">{{cite journal |title= A 48-kyr-long slip rate history for the Jordan Valley segment of the Dead Sea Fault |author1=Ferry M. |author2=Meghraoui M. |author3=Karaki A.A. |author4=Al-Taj M. |author5=Amoush H. |author6=Al-Dhaisat S. |author7=Barjous M. |journal= Earth and Planetary Science Letters |year=2008 |volume=260 |issue=3–4 |pages=394–406 |doi=10.1016/j.epsl.2007.05.049 |bibcode=2007E&PSL.260..394F }}</ref>

The most catastrophic known earthquakes occurred in 31 BCE, 363, 749, and 1033 CE, that is every {{Abbr|ca.|circa}} 400 years on average.<ref name="MarcoAFTAU">American Friends of the Tel Aviv University, ''Earthquake Experts at Tel Aviv University Turn to History for Guidance'' (4 October 2007). Quote: The major ones were recorded along the Jordan Valley in the years 31 B.C.E., 363 C.E., 749 C.E., and 1033 C.E. "So roughly, we are talking about an interval of every 400 years. If we follow the patterns of nature, a major quake should be expected any time because almost a whole millennium has passed since the last strong earthquake of 1033." (Tel Aviv University Associate Professor Dr. Shmuel (Shmulik) Marco). [http://www.aftau.org/news-page-environment--ecology?storyid4703=2015&ncs4703=3] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811164733/https://www.aftau.org/news-page-environment--ecology?storyid4703=2015&ncs4703=3|date=11 August 2020}}</ref> Destructive earthquakes leading to serious loss of life strike about every 80 years.<ref name="IllPreped">Zafrir Renat, ''Israel Is Due, and Ill Prepared, for Major Earthquake'', Haaretz, 15 January 2010. "On average, a destructive earthquake takes place in Israel once every 80 years, causing serious casualties and damage." [http://www.haaretz.com/israel-is-due-and-ill-prepared-for-a-major-earthquake-1.261497] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160315233829/http://www.haaretz.com/israel-is-due-and-ill-prepared-for-a-major-earthquake-1.261497|date=15 March 2016}}</ref> While stringent construction regulations are in place and recently built structures are earthquake-safe, {{As of|2007|lc=y}} many public buildings as well as 50,000 residential buildings did not meet the new standards and were "expected to collapse" if exposed to a strong earthquake.<ref name="IllPreped"/>

===Climate===
[[File:Soil moisture and climate change.svg|thumb|upright=1.25|The projections of the [[Earth:IPCC Sixth Assessment Report|IPCC Sixth Assessment Report]] show clearly the impacts of climate change on Israel even at 2 degrees of warming.]]

Temperatures in Israel vary widely, especially during the winter. Coastal areas, such as those of [[Place:Tel Aviv|Tel Aviv]] and Haifa, have a typical [[Earth:Mediterranean climate|Mediterranean climate]] with cool, rainy winters and long, hot summers. The area of Beersheba and the Northern Negev have a [[Earth:Semi-arid climate|semi-arid climate]] with hot summers, cool winters, and fewer rainy days. The Southern Negev and the Arava areas have a [[Earth:Desert climate|desert climate]] with very hot, dry summers, and mild winters with few days of rain. The highest temperature in the world outside Africa and North America {{As of|2021|lc=y}}, 54&nbsp;°C (129&nbsp;°F), was recorded in 1942 in the Tirat Zvi kibbutz in the northern Jordan River valley.<ref name="watzman">{{cite news |last=Watzman |first=Haim |title=Left for dead |access-date=20 March 2012 |date=8 February 1997 |newspaper=New Scientist |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg15320684.400-left-for-dead.html |archive-date=14 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121114031306/http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg15320684.400-left-for-dead.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=WMO Region 6: Highest Temperature |url=https://wmo.asu.edu/content/wmo-region-vi-europe-highest-temperature|website=World Meteorological Organization's World Weather & Climate Extremes Archive|publisher=Arizona State University|url-status=live|access-date=14 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210913230418/https://wmo.asu.edu/content/wmo-region-vi-europe-highest-temperature |archive-date=13 September 2021}}</ref>
Mountainous regions can be windy and cold, and areas at elevation of {{Convert|750|m|}} or more (same elevation as Jerusalem) will usually receive at least one snowfall each year.{{sfn|Goldreich|2003|p=85}} From May to September, rain in Israel is rare.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.weather.com/outlook/travel/businesstraveler/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/ISXX0026 |publisher=[[Company:The Weather Channel|The Weather Channel]] |access-date=11 July 2007 |title=Average Weather for Tel Aviv-Yafo |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130120111750/http://www.weather.com/outlook/travel/businesstraveler/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/ISXX0026 |archive-date=20 January 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.weather.com/outlook/events/weddings/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/ISXX0010 |publisher=[[Company:The Weather Channel|The Weather Channel]] |access-date=11 July 2007 |title=Average Weather for Jerusalem |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130120111740/http://www.weather.com/outlook/events/weddings/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/ISXX0010 |archive-date=20 January 2013 }}</ref>

There are four different phytogeographic regions in Israel, due to the country's location between the temperate and tropical zones. For this reason, the flora and fauna are extremely diverse. There are 2,867 known species of plants in Israel. Of these, at least 253 species are [[Biology:List of adventive wild plants in Israel|introduced]] and non-native.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://flora.huji.ac.il/browse.asp?action=browse&name=1070 |title=Flora of Israel Online |publisher=Flora.huji.ac.il |access-date=29 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140430091717/http://flora.huji.ac.il/browse.asp?action=browse&name=1070 |archive-date=30 April 2014 }}</ref> There are 380 Israeli nature reserves.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.goisrael.com/Tourism_Eng/Articles/Attractions/Pages/National%20Parks%20and%20Nature%20Reserves.aspx |title=National Parks and Nature Reserves, Israel |publisher=Israel Ministry of Tourism |access-date=18 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019042219/http://www.goisrael.com/Tourism_Eng/Articles/Attractions/Pages/National%20Parks%20and%20Nature%20Reserves.aspx |archive-date=19 October 2012 }}</ref>

With scarce water resources, Israel has developed various water-saving technologies, including drip irrigation.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/facts%20about%20israel/land/focus%20on%20israel-%20development%20of%20limited%20water%20reso |publisher=Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs |access-date=7 November 2007 |title=Development of Limited Water Resources – Historical and Technological Aspects |date=20 September 2003 |last=Sitton |first=Dov |archive-date=11 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011032150/http://mfa.gov.il/mfa/facts%20about%20israel/land/focus%20on%20israel-%20development%20of%20limited%20water%20reso |url-status=live }}</ref>{{better source needed|date=January 2023}} The considerable sunlight available for [[Physics:Solar energy|solar energy]] makes Israel the leading nation in solar energy use per capita—practically every house uses solar panels for water heating.<ref name="Solar energy"/> The Israeli Ministry of Environmental Protection has reported that climate change "will have a decisive impact on all areas of life", particularly for vulnerable populations.<ref name="MEP 2020">{{cite web |url=https://www.gov.il/en/departments/guides/climate_trends_and_impact_in_israel |title=Climate Change Trends and Impact in Israel |newspaper=Gov.il |publisher=Ministry of Environmental Protection |date=2 November 2020 |access-date=29 June 2021 |archive-date=6 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210806015845/https://www.gov.il/en/departments/guides/climate_trends_and_impact_in_israel |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Demographics==
[[File:Aliyah 1948-2015.png|upright=1.25|thumb|Immigration to Israel in the years 1948–2015. The two peaks were in 1949 and 1990.]]

Israel has the largest Jewish population in the world and is the only country where Jews are the majority.<ref>{{cite report |editor1-last=Dashefsky |editor1-first=Arnold |editor2-last=Della-Pergola |editor2-first=Sergio |editor-link2=Sergio Della Pergola |editor3-last=Sheskin |editor3-first=Ira |date=2021 |title=World Jewish Population |url=https://www.jewishdatabank.org/api/download/?studyId=1185&mediaId=bjdb%5c2021_World_Jewish_Population_AJYB_(DellaPergola)_DB_Public.pdf |publisher=Berman Jewish DataBank |access-date=4 September 2023 |archive-date=6 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230906084243/https://www.jewishdatabank.org/api/download/?studyId=1185&mediaId=bjdb%5C2021_World_Jewish_Population_AJYB_(DellaPergola)_DB_Public.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> {{As of|{{data Israel|pst2|popbaseyear}}|{{padleft:{{data Israel|pst2|popbasemonth}}|2}}|{{data Israel|pst2|popbaseday}}}}, Israel's population was an estimated {{formatnum:{{data Israel|pst2|popbase}}}}. In 2022, the government recorded 73.6% of the population as Jews, 21.1% as Arabs, and 5.3% as "Others" (non-Arab Christians and people who have no religion listed).<ref name="population_stat2022">{{cite report|url=https://www.cbs.gov.il/en/mediarelease/Pages/2022/Population-of-Israel-on-the-Eve-of-2023.aspx|title=Population of Israel on the Eve of 2023|date=29 December 2022|publisher=Israel Central Bureau of Statistics|access-date=29 December 2022|archive-date=1 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230401190603/https://www.cbs.gov.il/en/mediarelease/Pages/2022/Population-of-Israel-on-the-Eve-of-2023.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref> Over the last decade, large numbers of migrant workers from Romania, Thailand, China, Africa, and South America have settled in Israel. Exact figures are unknown, as many of them are living in the country illegally,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.irinnews.org/Report/85270/ISRAEL-Crackdown-on-illegal-migrants-and-visa-violators |title=ISRAEL: Crackdown on illegal migrants and visa violators |newspaper=IRIN |date=14 July 2009 |access-date=31 March 2012 |archive-date=19 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160119084926/http://www.irinnews.org/report/85270/israel-crackdown-on-illegal-migrants-and-visa-violators |url-status=live }}</ref> but estimates run from 166,000 to 203,000.<ref name="Adriana Kemp">Adriana Kemp, "Labour migration and racialisation: labour market mechanisms and labour migration control policies in Israel", ''Social Identities'' 10:2, 267–292, 2004</ref> By June 2012, approximately 60,000 African migrants had entered Israel.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-africans-idUSBRE85A0VI20120611 |title=Israel rounds up African migrants for deportation |publisher=Reuters |date=11 June 2012 |access-date=5 July 2021 |archive-date=16 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816220533/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-africans-idUSBRE85A0VI20120611 |url-status=live }}</ref> About 93% of Israelis live in urban areas.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.URB.TOTL.IN.ZS?locations=IL|title=Urban population (% of total population) – Israel|website=data.worldbank.org|publisher=[[Organization:World Bank|World Bank]]|access-date=11 February 2023|archive-date=11 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230211181255/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.URB.TOTL.IN.ZS?locations=IL|url-status=live}}</ref> 90% of Palestinian Israelis reside in 139 densely populated towns and villages concentrated in the Galilee, Triangle and Negev regions, with the remaining 10% in mixed cities and neighbourhoods.<ref>[https://www.amnesty.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/MDE1551412022ENGLISH.pdf ''Israel's Apartheid against Palestinians: Cruel System of Domnination and Crime Against Humanity,''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220201215719/https://www.amnesty.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/MDE1551412022ENGLISH.pdf |date=1 February 2022 }} Amnesty International 2022 p.16: 'Today, Palestinian citizens and permanent residents of Israel comprise some 21% of Israel's population and number approximately 1.9 million. Some 90% of Palestinians with Israeli citizenship live in 139 densely populated towns and villages in the Galilee and Triangle regions in northern Israel and the Negev/Naqab region in the south, as a result of deliberate segregation policies. The vast majority of the remaining 10% live in "mixed cities".'</ref><ref>[https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/media_2021/04/israel_palestine0421_web_0.pdf 'A Threshold Crossed,' ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220303204705/https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/media_2021/04/israel_palestine0421_web_0.pdf |date=3 March 2022 }} Human Rights Watch 27 April 2021 pp.7,57–63:' This policy, which aims to maximize Jewish Israeli control over land, concentrates the majority of Palestinians who live outside Israel's major, predominantly Jewish cities into dense, under-served enclaves and restricts their access to land and housing, while nurturing the growth of nearby Jewish communities.'</ref><ref>Nimer Sultany, [https://www.jstor.org/stable/41804808 'The Making of an Underclass: The Palestinian Citizens of Israel,'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220212211635/https://www.jstor.org/stable/41804808 |date=12 February 2022 }} Israel Studies Review Vol. 27, No. 2, (Winter 2012), pp. 190–200 pp.191,194.'the Palestinian Israeli population grew from 156,000 in 1948 to 1.4 million in 2012. Their villages became overcrowded as their land reserves steadily decreased. The lands were transferred from Palestinian private hands to state control. . .While the state has established hundreds of Jewish communities, it has not established any new Palestinian communities since 1948—except in the forced concentration of the Bedouin communities in poor towns.'</ref><ref>Gershon Shafir, From Overt to Veiled Segregation: Israel's Palestinian Arab Citizens in the Galilee, International Journal of Middle East Studies, Volume 50 Issue 1 February 2018, pp.1–22 pp.4,7 {{doi|10.1017/S0020743817000915}}: ' With about 90 percent of Israel's Palestinian citizens living in Arab-only towns and villages, they suffer from the hypersegregation typical of African American urban neighborhoods and its attendant deleterious consequences. This remarkable similarity, however, has different origins...Palestinian residents in old mixed cities are congregated into distinct neighborhoods, whereas in new mixed cities they form distinct enclaves, distinguished by strong family and communal ties'</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/06/04/can-jews-palestinians-live-peacefully-israel-data-mixed-neighborhoods-says-yes/ |access-date=15 February 2022|title=Can Jews and Palestinians live peacefully in Israel? The data on mixed neighborhoods says yes |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> The [[Organization:OECD|OECD]] in 2016 estimated the average [[Biology:Life expectancy|life expectancy]] at 82.5 years, the 6th-highest in the world.<ref name=OECD_life_expec>{{cite web|url=https://data.oecd.org/healthstat/life-expectancy-at-birth.htm|title=Life expectancy at birth|website=OECD Data|publisher=OECD|access-date=30 May 2019|archive-date=2 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150202012350/https://data.oecd.org/healthstat/life-expectancy-at-birth.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Israeli Arab life expectancy lags by 3 to 4 years,<ref>{{Cite web |date=29 March 2020 |title=Arab and Jewish medics together on frontline of Israel's virus fight |url=https://www.france24.com/en/20200329-arab-and-jewish-medics-together-on-frontline-of-israel-s-virus-fight |access-date=23 June 2022 |publisher=France 24 |agency=Agence France Presse |language=en |archive-date=23 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220623114215/https://www.france24.com/en/20200329-arab-and-jewish-medics-together-on-frontline-of-israel-s-virus-fight |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Dov Chernichovsky, Bishara Bisharat, Liora Bowers, Aviv Brill, and Chen Sharony, [https://www.taubcenter.org.il/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/healthofthearabisraelipopulation.pdf "The Health of the Arab Israeli Population"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220210212846/https://www.taubcenter.org.il/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/healthofthearabisraelipopulation.pdf |date=10 February 2022 }}. Taub Center for Social Policy Studies in Israel December 2017 pp.1–50, 13 (2015)</ref> although this is still higher than most Arab and Muslim countries.<ref>{{Cite news |date=9 October 2012 |title=Saudi writer: 'Why is life expectancy in Israel better?' |language=en-GB |publisher=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-radio-and-tv-19890597 |access-date=30 March 2023 |archive-date=23 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220623113753/https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-radio-and-tv-19890597 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5062493,00.html#:~:text=The%20life%20expectancy%20of%20Israel's,developed%20countries'%20average%20of%2081.6.|access-date=15 February 2022|title=Taub Center report shows discrepancy in Jewish, Arab life expectancy|newspaper=Ynetnews|archive-date=15 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215072847/https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5062493,00.html#:~:text=The%20life%20expectancy%20of%20Israel's,developed%20countries'%20average%20of%2081.6.|url-status=live}}</ref>
Israel was established as a homeland for the Jewish people and is often referred to as a [[Place:Jewish state|Jewish state]]. The country's Law of Return grants all Jews and those of Jewish ancestry the right to citizenship.<ref>{{cite news |last=Omer-Man |first=Michael |url=http://www.jpost.com/Features/In-Thespotlight/This-Week-in-History-Jewish-right-to-aliya-becomes-law |title=This Week in History: Jewish right to aliya becomes law |newspaper=The Jerusalem Post |date=7 August 2011 |access-date=30 March 2023 |archive-date=8 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208171731/http://www.jpost.com/Features/In-Thespotlight/This-Week-in-History-Jewish-right-to-aliya-becomes-law |url-status=live }}</ref> Retention of Israel's population since 1948 is about even or greater, when compared to other countries with mass immigration.<ref>{{cite book |last=DellaPergola |first=Sergio |contribution=Still Moving: Recent Jewish Migration in Comparative Perspective |editor=Daniel J. Elazar |editor2=Morton Weinfeld |editor2-link=Morton Weinfeld |title=The Global Context of Migration to Israel |year=2000 |publisher=Transaction Publishers |isbn=978-1-56000-428-8 |pages=13–60}}</ref> Jewish emigration from Israel (called ''yerida''), primarily to the United States and Canada, is described by demographers as modest,<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Herman |first=Pini |title=The Myth of the Israeli Expatriate |magazine=Moment Magazine |volume=8 |issue=8 |pages=62–63| date=1 September 1983}}</ref> but is often cited by Israeli government ministries as a major threat to Israel's future.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gould |first1=Eric D. |last2=Moav |first2=Omer |year=2007 |title=Israel's Brain Drain |journal=Israel Economic Review |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=1–22 |ssrn=2180400 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Rettig Gur |first=Haviv |title=Officials to US to bring Israelis home |newspaper=The Jerusalem Post |date=6 April 2008 |url=http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=97254 |access-date=20 March 2012}}</ref>

Approximately 80% of Israeli Jews are born in Israel, 14% are immigrants from Europe and the Americas, and 6% are immigrants from Asia and Africa.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cbs.gov.il/he/publications/doclib/2022/2.shnatonpopulation/st02_09.pdf |title=Jews, by Continent of Origin, Continent of Birth and Period of Immigration |date=15 September 2022 |publisher=Israel Central Bureau of Statistics |access-date=21 February 2023}}</ref> Jews from Europe and the former [[Place:Soviet Union|Soviet Union]] and their descendants born in Israel, including Ashkenazi Jews, constitute approximately 44% of Jewish Israelis. Jews from Arab and Muslim countries and their descendants, including both Mizrahi and Sephardi Jews,<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/jss/summary/v015/15.1.goldberg.html |title=From Sephardi to Mizrahi and Back Again: Changing Meanings of "Sephardi" in Its Social Environments|journal=Jewish Social Studies|volume=15|issue=1|pages=165–188|last1=Goldberg |first1=Harvey E. |year=2008 |doi=10.18647/2793/JJS-2008}}</ref> form most of the rest of the Jewish population.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/apr/03/israel-arab-jewish-mizrahi |title=The myth of the Mizrahim |work=The Guardian |date=3 April 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jewcy.com/post/missing_mizrahim |title=The Missing Mizrahim |date=31 August 2009 |author=Joel Schalit |website=Jewcy}}</ref> Jewish intermarriage rates run at over 35% and recent studies suggest that the percentage of Israelis descended from both Sephardi and Ashkenazi Jews increases by 0.5 percent yearly, with over 25% of schoolchildren now originating from both.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://sociology.huji.ac.il/docs/Okun-paper-2006-01.pdf |title=Socioeconomic Status and Demographic Behavior of Adult Multiethnics: Jews in Israel |last1=Okun |first1=Barbara S. |last2=Khait-Marelly |first2=Orna |year=2006 |publisher=Hebrew University of Jerusalem |access-date=26 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029210049/http://sociology.huji.ac.il/docs/Okun-paper-2006-01.pdf |archive-date=29 October 2013 }}</ref> Around 4% of Israelis (300,000), ethnically defined as "others", are Russian descendants of Jewish origin or family who are not Jewish according to rabbinical law, but were eligible for citizenship under the Law of Return.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://jppi.org.il/uploads/Jewish_Demographic_Policies.pdf |title=Jewish Demographic Policies |publisher=The Jewish People Policy Institute |year=2011 |last=DellaPergola |first=Sergio}}</ref><ref name="Israel people">{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Israel_(people).aspx |title=Israel (people) |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia.com |year=2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=Yoram Ettinger|date=5 April 2013 |title=Defying demographic projections |url= http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=3913 |access-date=29 October 2013|newspaper=Israel Hayom}}</ref>

The total number of Israeli settlers beyond the Green Line is over 600,000 (≈10% of the Jewish Israeli population).<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Gorenberg |first=Gershom |date=26 June 2017 |title=Settlements: The Real Story |url=http://prospect.org/article/settlements-real-story |magazine=The American Prospect |access-date=25 August 2017}}</ref> {{As of|2016|alt=In 2016}}, 399,300 Israelis lived in West Bank settlements,<ref name="districts_pop"/> including those that predated the establishment of the State of Israel and which were re-established after the Six-Day War, in cities such as [[Place:Hebron|Hebron]] and Gush Etzion bloc. Additionally there were more than 200,000 Jews living in East Jerusalem,<ref name="jerusalem_pop"/> and 22,000 in the [[Place:Golan Heights|Golan Heights]].<ref name="districts_pop"/> Approximately 7,800 Israelis lived in settlements in the Gaza Strip, known as Gush Katif, until they were evacuated by the government as part of its 2005 disengagement plan.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fmep.org/settlement_info/settlement-info-and-tables/stats-data/settlements-in-the-gaza-strip-1 |title=Settlements in the Gaza Strip |access-date=12 December 2007 |website=Settlement Information |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130826025402/http://www.fmep.org/settlement_info/settlement-info-and-tables/stats-data/settlements-in-the-gaza-strip-1 |archive-date=26 August 2013 }}</ref>

Israeli Arabs (including the Arab population of East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights) comprise 21.1% of the population or 1,995,000 people.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cbs.gov.il/en/mediarelease/Pages/2021/Population-of-Israel-on-the-Eve-of-2022.aspx |title=Population of Israel on the Eve of 2022 |publisher=Cbs.gov.il |date= |access-date=13 February 2022}}</ref> In a 2017 poll, 40% of Arab citizens of Israel identified as "Arab in Israel" or "Arab citizen of Israel", 15% identified as "Palestinian", 8.9% as "Palestinian in Israel" or "Palestinian citizen of Israel", and 8.7% as "Arab"; a poll found that 60% of Israeli Arabs have a positive view of the state.<ref>{{cite report|publisher=Konrad Adenauer Foundation|url=https://www.kas.de/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=0e141dca-8ac4-a77f-7045-f3a7d4c30991|title=Citizenship, Identity and Political Participation: Measuring the Attitudes of the Arab Citizens in Israel|date=December 2017|pages=22, 25, 28 |issue=12 |quote=(p.28) "The positions of the participants in the focus groups reflect the strength of Palestinian-Arab identity among Arab citizens and the fact that they do not see a contradiction between Palestinian-Arab national identity and Israeli civic identity. The designation "Israeli-Arab" aroused great opposition in the focus groups, as did Israel's Independence Day. A comparison of views expressed in the focus groups with the general results of the survey points to differences between collective positions and memory and individual feelings and attitudes. The collective position presented in the focus group discussions finds expression in the public sphere and emphasizes the Palestinian national identity. Conversely, the responses of the survey participants reveal individual attitudes that assign a broader (albeit secondary, identity) dimension to the component of Israeli civic identity"; quote (p.25): "Amongst the participants there was consensus that Palestinian identity occupies a central place in their consciousness. The definition "Palestinian" has national and emotional importance, as it embodies the heritage of Arab citizens and their culture. This was expressed explicitly in the words of the participants: "We are Palestinian Arabs and we say this with pride;""We are Palestinian citizens of Israel. The emphasis is on the word 'Palestinians'"; "I am first and foremost a Palestinian and nothing more." The designation "Arab citizens of Israel" was acceptable to them on the basis of the understanding that it is impossible to live without citizenship, and as long as Israeli citizenship does not harm the national consciousness. Conversely, the participants spoke out against the designation "Arab-Israeli" and made statements such as "I am an Arab, I belong to a larger culture than the State of Israel"; "We are not the Arabs of Israel, I am an Arab who does not belong to the State of Israel. My roots and my Arabness existed before them." "&#91;Arab-Israeli&#93; is an inappropriate expression because our ancestors were here before '48."}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Lynfield|first1=Ben|title=Survey: 60% of Arab Israelis have positive view of state|url=http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Survey-60-percent-of-Arab-Israelis-have-positive-view-of-state-506150|access-date=23 October 2017|work=The Jerusalem Post|date=27 September 2017}}</ref>

===Major urban areas===
{{wide image|Tel Aviv Panorama.jpg|900px|View over the Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area}}

Israel has four major metropolitan areas: Gush Dan (Tel Aviv metropolitan area; population 3,854,000), Jerusalem (population 1,253,900), Haifa (924,400), and Beersheba (377,100).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cbs.gov.il/reader/shnaton/templ_shnaton_e.html?num_tab=st02_25&CYear=2017 |title=Localities, Population and Density per Sq. Km., by Metropolitan Area and Selected Localities |date=6 September 2017 |publisher=Israel Central Bureau of Statistics |access-date=19 September 2017}}</ref>

Israel's largest municipality, in population and area, is [[Place:Jerusalem|Jerusalem]] with {{Israel populations|Jerusalem}} residents in an area of {{convert|125|km2|0|abbr=out}}.{{Israel populations|reference}} Israeli government statistics on Jerusalem include the population and area of East Jerusalem, the status of which is in international dispute.<ref>{{harvnb|Roberts|1990|p=60}} Although East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights have been brought directly under Israeli law, by acts that amount to annexation, both of these areas continue to be viewed by the international community as occupied, and their status as regards the applicability of international rules is in most respects identical to that of the West Bank and Gaza.</ref> [[Place:Tel Aviv|Tel Aviv]] and Haifa rank as Israel's next most populous cities, with populations of {{Israel populations|Tel Aviv - Yafo}} and {{Israel populations|Haifa}}, respectively.{{Israel populations|reference}}
The (mainly Haredi) city of Bnei Brak is the most densely populated city in Israel and one of the 10 most densely populated cities in the world.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://worldpopulationreview.com/world-city-rankings/population-density-by-city |title=Population Density by City }}</ref>

Israel has 16 cities with populations over 100,000. {{As of|2018|alt=As of 2018}} there are 77 Israeli localities granted "municipalities" (or "city") status by the Ministry of the Interior,<ref>[http://www.cbs.gov.il/reader/shnaton/templ_shnaton_e.html?num_tab=st02_22&CYear=2018 2.22 Localities and Population, by Municipal Status and District], 2018</ref> four of which are in the West Bank.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.science.co.il/municipal/Cities.php | title=List of Cities in Israel}}</ref>


===Language===
[[File:שלט רחוב יהודה (3777232251).jpg|thumb|Road sign in Hebrew, Arabic, and English]]
Israel's official language is [[Social:Hebrew language|Hebrew]]. Until 2018, Arabic was also an official language;<ref name=lang1/> in 2018 it was downgraded to having a 'special status in the state'.<ref name=lang2/><ref name=lang3/> Hebrew is the primary language of the state and is spoken daily by the majority of the population. Arabic is spoken by the Arab minority, with Hebrew taught in Arab schools.

Due to mass immigration from the former Soviet Union and Ethiopia (some 130,000 Ethiopian Jews live in Israel),<ref name="The Ethiopian Population In Israel">Israel Central Bureau of Statistics: [http://www.cbs.gov.il/reader/newhodaot/hodaa_template.html?hodaa=201211307 The Ethiopian Community in Israel]</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-ethiopia-jews-sb-idUSTRE56F4ZY20090716 |title=Israel may admit 3,000 Ethiopia migrants if Jews |publisher=Reuters |date=16 July 2009}}</ref> Russian and [[Social:Amharic|Amharic]] are widely spoken.<ref>{{cite news |title=Israel's welcome for Ethiopian Jews wears thin |first=Bill |last=Meyer |url=http://www.cleveland.com/world/index.ssf/2008/08/israels_welcome_for_ethiopian.html |newspaper=The Plain Dealer |date=17 August 2008 |access-date=1 October 2012}}</ref> More than one million Russian-speaking immigrants arrived in Israel between 1990 and 2004.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/study-soviet-immigrants-outperform-israeli-students-1.238970 |title=Study: Soviet immigrants outperform Israeli students |newspaper=Haaretz |date=10 February 2008}}</ref> French is spoken by around 700,000 Israelis,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4156781,00.html |title=French radio station RFI makes aliyah |newspaper=Ynetnews |date=5 December 2011}}</ref> mostly originating from France and North Africa (see Maghrebi Jews). English was an official language during the Mandate period; it lost this status after the establishment of Israel, but retains a role comparable to that of an official language.<ref>{{cite book|last=Spolsky|first=Bernard|title=Round Table on Language and Linguistics |url={{Google books|ljumbfV_7y0C|page=PA169|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |year=1999|publisher=Georgetown University Press|isbn=978-0-87840-132-1 |pages=169–170 |quote=In 1948, the newly independent state of Israel took over the old British regulations that had set English, Arabic, and Hebrew as official languages for Mandatory Palestine but, as mentioned, dropped English from the list. In spite of this, official language use has maintained a de facto role for English, after Hebrew but before Arabic.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Hava |last=Bat-Zeev Shyldkrot|editor2-first=Hava|editor2-last=Bat-Zeev Shyldkrot |editor1-first=Dorit |editor1-last=Diskin Ravid|editor1-link=Dorit Ravid|title=Perspectives on Language and Development: Essays in Honor of Ruth A. Berman |chapter-url={{Google books|xMzx6xFB0IgC|page=PA90|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |publisher=Kluwer Academic Publishers |date=2004 |page=90 |chapter=Part I: Language and Discourse |isbn=978-1-4020-7911-5 |quote=English is not considered official but it plays a dominant role in the educational and public life of Israeli society. ... It is the language most widely used in commerce, business, formal papers, academia, and public interactions, public signs, road directions, names of buildings, etc. English behaves 'as if' it were the second and official language in Israel.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Elana|last=Shohamy|title=Language Policy: Hidden Agendas and New Approaches |url={{Google books|5mG09P64jzYC|page=PA72|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |year=2006 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-32864-7 |pages=72–73 |quote=In terms of English, there is no connection between the declared policies and statements and de facto practices. While English is not declared anywhere as an official language, the reality is that it has a very high and unique status in Israel. It is the main language of the academy, commerce, business, and the public space.}}</ref> Many Israelis communicate reasonably well in English, as many television programmes are broadcast in English with [[Engineering:Subtitles|subtitles]] and the language is taught from the early grades in elementary school. Israeli universities offer courses in the English language on various subjects.<ref>{{cite web|title=English programs at Israeli universities and colleges |url=http://mfa.gov.il/MFA/IsraelExperience/AboutIsrael/Education/Pages/English_programs_Israeli_universities_colleges.aspx |publisher=Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=January 2023}}

===Religion===
[[File:Westernwall2.jpg|thumb|The Dome of the Rock and the Western Wall, Jerusalem|alt=A large open area with people bounded by old stone walls. To the left is a mosque with large golden dome.]]
The religious affiliation of the Israeli population as of 2022 was 73.6% Jewish, 18.1% [[Religion:Muslims|Muslim]], 1.9% [[Religion:Christians|Christian]], and 1.6% [[Philosophy:Druze|Druze]]. The remaining 4.8% included faiths such as [[Religion:Samaritanism|Samaritanism]] and [[Social:Baháʼí Faith|Baháʼí]], as well as "religiously unclassified".<ref name="CBS 2.1">{{cite book |url=http://www1.cbs.gov.il/reader/shnatonenew_site.htm |title=Statistical Abstract of Israel 2006 (No. 57) |publisher=Israel Central Bureau of Statistics |year=2006 |chapter=Table 2.1 — Population, by Religion and Population. As of may 2011 estimate the population was 76.0 Jewish. Group |chapter-url=http://www1.cbs.gov.il/shnaton57/st02_01.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120914092802/http://www1.cbs.gov.il/reader/shnatonenew_site.htm |archive-date=14 September 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The religious affiliation of Israeli Jews varies widely: a 2016 survey by Pew Research indicates that 49% self-identify as Hiloni (secular), 29% as Masorti (traditional), 13% as Dati (religious) and 9% as [[Religion:Haredi Judaism|Haredi]] (ultra-Orthodox).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/03/08/in-israel-jews-are-united-by-homeland-but-divided-into-very-different-groups/ |title=In Israel, Jews are united by homeland but divided into very different groups |last1=Starr |first1=Kelsey Jo |last2=Masci |first2=David |date=8 March 2016 |publisher=Pew Research Center |access-date=14 January 2017}}</ref> Haredi Jews are expected to represent more than 20% of Israel's Jewish population by 2028.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/at-the-edge-of-the-abyss-1.3538 |author=Shahar Ilan |title=At the edge of the abyss |newspaper=Haaretz |date=24 November 2009}}</ref>

Muslims constitute Israel's largest religious minority, making up about 17.6% of the population. About 2% of the population is Christian and 1.6% is Druze.<ref name="cia"/> The Christian population comprises primarily Arab Christians and Aramean Christians, but also includes post-Soviet immigrants, foreign laborers, and followers of Messianic Judaism, considered by most Christians and Jews to be a form of Christianity.<ref>{{cite news |title=Israel's Christian population numbers 148,000 as of Christmas Eve |first=Moti |last=Bassok |url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/israel-s-christian-population-numbers-148-000-as-of-christmas-eve-1.208151 |newspaper=Haaretz |date=25 December 2006 |access-date=26 April 2012}}</ref> Members of many other religious groups, including [[Religion:Buddhism|Buddhists]] and Hindus, maintain a presence in Israel, albeit in small numbers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cbs.gov.il/shnaton53/st_eng02.pdf |title=National Population Estimates |access-date=6 August 2007 |page=27 |publisher=Israel Central Bureau of Statistics |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807012547/http://www.cbs.gov.il/shnaton53/st_eng02.pdf |archive-date=7 August 2011 }}</ref> Out of more than one million immigrants from the former Soviet Union, about 300,000 are considered not Jewish by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.economist.com/node/15675691 |title=Israel's disputatious Avigdor Lieberman: Can the coalition hold together? |date=11 March 2010 |newspaper=The Economist |access-date=12 August 2012}}</ref>

Israel comprises a major part of the [[Religion:Holy Land|Holy Land]], a region of significant importance to all [[Religion:Abrahamic religions|Abrahamic religions]]. The city of [[Place:Jerusalem|Jerusalem]] is of special importance to Jews, Muslims, and Christians, as it is the home of sites that are pivotal to their religious beliefs, such as the Old City that incorporates the Western Wall and the Temple Mount (Al-Aqsa Mosque compound) and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.<ref>{{cite book |title=Jerusalem: its sanctity and centrality to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam |last=Levine |first=Lee I. |year=1999 |publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-8264-1024-5 |page=516}}</ref> Other locations of religious importance in Israel are [[Place:Nazareth|Nazareth]] (holy in Christianity as the site of the [[Religion:Annunciation|Annunciation]] of Mary), Tiberias and Safed (two of the Four Holy Cities in Judaism), the White Mosque in Ramla (holy in Islam as the shrine of the prophet Saleh), and the Church of Saint George and Mosque of Al-Khadr, Lod (holy in Christianity and Islam as the tomb of Saint George or Al Khidr). A number of other religious landmarks are located in the West Bank, among them Joseph's Tomb, the [[Religion:Church of the Nativity|birthplace of Jesus]], Rachel's Tomb, and the [[Religion:Cave of the Patriarchs|Cave of the Patriarchs]]. The administrative center of the [[Social:Baháʼí Faith|Baháʼí Faith]] and the Shrine of the Báb are located at the Baháʼí World Centre in Haifa; the leader of the faith is buried in Acre.<ref>{{cite book | title = Hebrew Phrasebook | publisher = Lonely Planet Publications |year=1999 | page = 156 |isbn=978-0-86442-528-7}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://info.bahai.org/article-1-6-0-5.html |title=The Baháʼí World Centre: Focal Point for a Global Community |publisher=The Baháʼí International Community |access-date=2 July 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070629171538/http://info.bahai.org/article-1-6-0-5.html |archive-date=29 June 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |publisher=Baháʼí Library Online |title=Teaching the Faith in Israel |date=23 June 1995 |url=http://bahai-library.com/uhj_teaching_in_israel |access-date=6 August 2007 }}</ref> The Mahmood Mosque is affiliated with the reformist Ahmadiyya movement. Kababir, Haifa's mixed neighbourhood of Jews and Ahmadi Arabs, is one of a few of its kind in the country.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.haifatrail.com/haifa-trail-segment14-eng.htm#./images/sect-14/Haifa-Trail-Sect14-P1610817.jpg | title=Kababir and Central Carmel – Multiculturalism on the Carmel | access-date=8 January 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.visit-haifa.org/eng/Kababir | title=Visit Haifa | access-date=8 January 2015}}</ref>

===Education===
[[File:Brain research labs-Bar Ilan university.jpg|thumb|Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center at Bar-Ilan University]]
Education is highly valued in the Israeli culture and was viewed as a fundamental block of ancient Israelites.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bibleresources.americanbible.org/resource/education-in-ancient-israel |title=Education in Ancient Israel |publisher=American Bible Society |access-date=3 July 2015}}</ref> In 2015, the country [[Social:List of countries by tertiary education attainment|ranked]] third among [[Organization:OECD|OECD]] members for the percentage of 25–64 year-olds that have attained [[Social:Tertiary education|tertiary education]] with 49% compared with the OECD average of 35%.<ref name="OECD_education">{{cite report |date=15 September 2016 |title=Education at a Glance: Israel |url=http://www.keepeek.com/Digital-Asset-Management/oecd/education/education-at-a-glance-2016/israel_eag-2016-63-en |publisher=Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development |access-date=18 January 2017}}</ref> In 2012, the country ranked third in the number of academic degrees per capita (20 percent of the population).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.american.edu/initeb/as5415a/Israel_ICT/itWork.html |title=Israel: IT Workforce |access-date=14 August 2007 |website=Information Technology Landscape in Nations Around the World |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060913013444/http://www.american.edu/initeb/as5415a/Israel_ICT/itWork.html |archive-date=13 September 2006}}</ref>

Israel has a [[Social:School life expectancy|school life expectancy]] of 16 years and a literacy rate of 97.8%.<ref name="cia"/> The State Education Law (1953) established five types of schools: state secular, state religious, ultra orthodox, communal settlement schools, and Arab schools. The public secular is the largest school group, and is attended by the majority of Jewish and non-Arab pupils. Most Arabs send their children to schools where Arabic is the language of instruction.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED250227&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=ED250227 |title=Israeli Schools: Religious and Secular Problems |publisher=Education Resources Information Center |date=10 October 1984 |access-date=20 March 2012}}</ref> Education is compulsory for children between the ages of three and eighteen.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/knesset-raises-school-dropout-age-to-18-1.225752 |newspaper=Haaretz |access-date=20 March 2012 |date=18 July 2007 |title=Knesset raises school dropout age to 18 |first1=Or |last1=Kashti |first2=Shahar |last2=Ilan}}</ref> Schooling is divided into three tiers&nbsp;– primary school (grades 1–6), [[Social:Middle school|middle school]] (grades 7–9), and high school (grades 10–12)&nbsp;– culminating with ''Bagrut'' matriculation exams. Proficiency in core subjects such as mathematics, the [[Social:Hebrew language|Hebrew language]], Hebrew and general literature, the [[Social:English language|English language]], history, Biblical scripture and civics is necessary to receive a Bagrut certificate.<ref name="moia">{{cite web |url=http://www.moia.gov.il/Publications/education_en.pdf |title=Education |last1=Shetreet |first1=Ida Ben |last2=Woolf |first2=Laura L. |year=2010 |website=Publications Department |publisher=Ministry of Immigrant Absorption |access-date=30 August 2012}}</ref>

Israel's Jewish population maintains a relatively high level of educational attainment where just under half of all Israeli Jews (46%) hold post-secondary degrees.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pewforum.org/2016/12/13/religion-and-education-around-the-world/|title=Religion and Education Around the World |date=13 December 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pewforum.org/2016/12/13/jewish-educational-attainment/|title=6. Jewish educational attainment|date=13 December 2016}}</ref> Israeli Jews (among those ages 25 and older) have average of 11.6 years of schooling making them one of the most highly educated of all major religious groups in the world.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pewforum.org/2016/12/13/how-religious-groups-differ-in-educational-attainment/|title=How Religious Groups Differ in Educational Attainment|date=13 December 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ncronline.org/news/world/jews-top-class-first-ever-global-study-religion-and-education|title=Jews at top of class in first-ever global study of religion and education|date=13 December 2016}}</ref> In Arab, Christian and [[Philosophy:Druze|Druze]] schools, the exam on Biblical studies is replaced by an exam on Muslim, Christian or Druze heritage.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bibl.u-szeged.hu/oseas/bagrut.html |publisher=United States-Israel Educational Foundation via the University of Szeged University Library |title=The Israeli Matriculation Certificate |access-date=5 August 2007 |date=January 1996 |archive-date=15 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170915073741/http://www.bibl.u-szeged.hu/oseas/bagrut.html }}</ref> In 2020, 68.7% of all Israeli twelfth graders earned a matriculation certificate.<ref>{{cite web |date=2023 |title=Students in Grade 12 – Matriculation Examinees and Those Entitled to a Certificate |url=https://www.cbs.gov.il/he/publications/LochutTlushim/2023/st04_19.pdf |access-date=19 October 2023 |publisher=Israel Central Bureau of Statistics}}</ref>

[[File:Hebrew University Jerusalem IL WV.JPG|thumb|Mount Scopus Campus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem]]

Israel has a tradition of higher education where its quality university education has been largely responsible in spurring the nation's modern economic development.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://kehilanews.com/2017/05/11/israels-educational-tradition-drives-economic-growth/ |title=Israel's educational tradition drives economic growth |last=Silver |first=Stefan |date=11 May 2017 |website=Kehlia News Israel}}</ref> Israel has [[Organization:List of Israeli universities and colleges|nine public universities subsidized by the state and 49 private colleges]].<ref name="moia"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://embassies.gov.il/delhi/Departments/Pages/Academic%20Affairs.aspx |title=Higher Education in Israel |access-date=19 March 2012 |publisher=Embassy of Israel In India |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120725031634/http://embassies.gov.il/delhi/Departments/Pages/Academic%20Affairs.aspx |archive-date=25 July 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Paraszczuk|first=Joanna|title=Ariel gets university status, despite opposition |url=http://www.jpost.com/National-News/Ariel-gets-university-status-despite-opposition|access-date=21 December 2013|newspaper=The Jerusalem Post|date=17 July 2012}}</ref> The [[Organization:Hebrew University of Jerusalem|Hebrew University of Jerusalem]] houses the National Library of Israel, the world's largest repository of Judaica and Hebraica.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://web.nli.org.il/sites/NLI/English/library/aboutus/past/Building/Pages/history.aspx |publisher=National Library of Israel |title=History of the Library |access-date=22 August 2014}}</ref> The Technion and the Hebrew University consistently ranked among world's 100 top universities by ARWU ranking.<ref name="ARWU">{{cite web |url=http://www.shanghairanking.com/World-University-Rankings-2016/Israel.html |title=Israel |date=2016 |publisher=Academic Ranking of World Universities |access-date=6 January 2017 |archive-date=17 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817025723/http://www.shanghairanking.com/World-University-Rankings-2016/Israel.html }}</ref> Other major universities include the Weizmann Institute of Science, [[Organization:Tel Aviv University|Tel Aviv University]], [[Organization:Ben-Gurion University of the Negev|Ben-Gurion University of the Negev]], [[Organization:Bar-Ilan University|Bar-Ilan University]], the [[Organization:University of Haifa|University of Haifa]] and the [[Organization:Open University of Israel|Open University of Israel]].

==Government and politics==
{{multiple image |total_width=260 |caption_align=center
 | image1   = Isaac Herzog, July 2021 (D1233-049).JPG
 | caption1 = President<br />Isaac Herzog

 | image2   = Benjamin Netanyahu, February 2023.jpg
 | caption2 = Prime Minister<br />Benjamin Netanyahu
}}
[[File:PikiWiki Israel 7260 Knesset-Room.jpg|thumb|The Knesset chamber, home to the Israeli parliament]]

Israel has a [[Social:Parliamentary system|parliamentary system]], [[Social:Proportional representation|proportional representation]] and [[Philosophy:Universal suffrage|universal suffrage]]. A member of parliament supported by a parliamentary majority becomes the prime minister—usually this is the chair of the largest party. The prime minister is the [[Social:Head of government|head of government]] and of cabinet.<ref name="cia2"/><ref>In 1996, direct elections for the prime minister were inaugurated, but the system was declared unsatisfactory and the old one reinstated. See {{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2683259.stm |publisher=BBC News |title=Israel's election process explained |access-date=31 March 2010 |date=23 January 2003}}</ref> The president is [[Social:Head of state|head of state]], with limited and largely ceremonial duties.<ref name="cia2">{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2077.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070613004001/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2077.html |archive-date=13 June 2007 |work=The World Factbook |title=Field Listing&nbsp;— Executive Branch |access-date=20 July 2007 |date=19 June 2007 }}</ref>

Israel is governed by a 120-member parliament, known as the Knesset. Membership of the Knesset is based on proportional representation of political parties,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.knesset.gov.il/description/eng/eng_mimshal_beh.htm |publisher=The Knesset |access-date=8 August 2007 |title=The Electoral System in Israel }}</ref>{{better source needed|date=February 2023}} with a 3.25% electoral threshold, which in practice has resulted in coalition governments. Residents of Israeli settlements in the West Bank are eligible to vote<ref>[https://www.foxnews.com/world/jewish-settlers-can-vote-in-israeli-elections-though-west-bank-is-officially-not-israel Jewish settlers can vote in Israeli elections, though West Bank is officially not Israel], Fox News, February 2015: "When Israelis go to the polls next month, tens of thousands of Jewish settlers in the West Bank will also be casting votes, even though they do not live on what is sovereign Israeli territory. This exception in a country that doesn't allow absentee voting for citizens living abroad is a telling reflection of Israel's somewhat ambiguous and highly contentious claim to the territory, which has been under military occupation for almost a half century."</ref> and after the 2015 election, 10 of the 120 members of the Knesset ({{percent|10|120}}) were settlers.<ref>[https://en.idi.org.il/articles/5199 The Social Composition of the 20th Knesset], Israeli Democracy Institute, 30 March 2015</ref> Parliamentary elections are scheduled every four years, but unstable coalitions or a no-confidence vote can dissolve a government earlier.<ref name="cnn">{{cite web |title=How Israel's electoral system works |website=CNN.com |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/02/05/israel.elections.explainer/index.html |access-date=14 October 2021 |publisher=CNN International}}</ref> The first Arab-led party was established in 1988<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Halbfinger |first1=David M. |last2=McCann |first2=Allison |date=28 February 2020 |title=As Israel Votes Again (and Again), Arabs See an Opportunity |language=en-US |work={{wipe|The New York Times}} |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/28/world/middleeast/israel-arabs-election-vote.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220106024835/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/28/world/middleeast/israel-arabs-election-vote.html%23commentsContainer |archive-date=6 January 2022}}</ref> and as of 2022, Arab-led parties hold about 10% of seats.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Abu Much |first=Afif |date=7 November 2022 |title=Arab Israeli parties trade blame for election fiasco |website=Al-Monitor |url=https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2022/11/arab-israeli-parties-trade-blame-election-fiasco |access-date=12 May 2023 |language=en}}</ref>

The Basic Laws of Israel function as an uncodified constitution. In its Basic Laws, Israel defines itself as a Jewish and democratic state, and the nation-state of the Jewish people.<ref name="freedomhouse2008">{{cite web |url=https://freedomhouse.org/country/israel/freedom-world/2020 |access-date=13 October 2020 |year=2020 |title=Israel |website=Freedom in the World |publisher=Freedom House}}</ref> In 2003, the Knesset began to draft an official constitution based on these laws.<ref name="cia"/>{{sfn|Mazie|2006|p=34}}

Israel has no official religion,<ref>{{cite book | title=Secularism on the Edge: Rethinking Church-State Relations in the United States, France, and Israel |last=Charbit |first=Denis | editor1-last=Berlinerblau | editor1-first=Jacques | editor2-last=Fainberg | editor2-first=Sarah | editor3-last=Nou | editor3-first=Aurora | chapter=Israel's Self-Restrained Secularism from the 1947 Status Quo Letter to the Present | publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-137-38115-6 | pages=167–169 |chapter-url={{Google books|gThvBAAAQBAJ|page=PA167|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |quote=The compromise, therefore, was to choose constructive ambiguity: as surprising as it may seem, there is no law that declares Judaism the official religion of Israel. However, there is no other law that declares Israel's neutrality toward all confessions. Judaism is not recognized as the official religion of the state, and even though the Jewish, Muslim and Christian clergy receive their salaries from the state, this fact does not make Israel a neutral state. This apparent pluralism cannot dissimulate the fact that Israel displays a clear and undoubtedly hierarchical pluralism in religious matters.&nbsp;... It is important to note that from a multicultural point of view, this self-restrained secularism allows Muslim law to be practiced in Israel for personal matters of the Muslim community. As surprising as it seems, if not paradoxical for a state in war, Israel is the only Western democratic country in which Sharia enjoys such an official status.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | title=The Sage Handbook of the Sociology of Religion |last=Sharot |first=Stephen | editor1-last=Beckford | editor1-first=James A. | editor2-last=Demerath | editor2-first=Jay | chapter=Judaism in Israel: Public Religion, Neo-Traditionalism, Messianism, and Ethno-Religious Conflict | publisher=Sage Publications |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-4129-1195-5 | pages=671–672 |chapter-url={{Google books|vA8edg7bv0kC|page=PA671|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |quote=It is true that Jewish Israelis, and secular Israelis in particular, conceive of religion as shaped by a state-sponsored religious establishment. There is no formal state religion in Israel, but the state gives its official recognition and financial support to particular religious communities, Jewish, Islamic and Christian, whose religious authorities and courts are empowered to deal with matters of personal status and family law, such as marriage, divorce, and alimony, that are binding on all members of the communities.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | title=Women in Zones of Conflict: Power and Resistance in Israel |last=Jacoby |first=Tami Amanda | publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-7735-2993-9 | pages=53–54|url={{Google books|pr1LJNrlmuIC|page=PA53|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |quote=Although there is no official religion in Israel, there is also no clear separation between religion and state. In Israeli public life, tensions frequently arise among different streams of Judaism: Ultra-Orthodox, National-Religious, ''Mesorati'' (Conservative), Reconstructionist Progressive (Reform), and varying combinations of traditionalism and non-observance. Despite this variety in religious observances in society, Orthodox Judaism prevails institutionally over the other streams. This boundary is an historical consequence of the unique evolution of the relationship between Israel nationalism and state building.&nbsp;... Since the founding period, in order to defuse religious tensions, the State of Israel has adopted what is known as the 'status quo,' an unwritten agreement stipulating that no further changes would be made in the status of religion, and that conflict between the observant and non-observant sectors would be handled circumstantially. The 'status quo' has since pertained to the legal status of both religious and secular Jews in Israel. This situation was designed to appease the religious sector, and has been upheld indefinitely through the disproportionate power of religious political parties in all subsequent coalition governments.&nbsp;... On one hand, the Declaration of Independence adopted in 1948 explicitly guarantees freedom of religion. On the other, it simultaneously prevents the separation of religion and state in Israel.}}</ref> but the definition of the state as "Jewish and democratic" creates a strong connection with Judaism. On 19 July 2018, the Knesset passed a Basic Law that characterizes the State of Israel as principally a "Nation State of the Jewish People", and Hebrew as its official language. The bill ascribes "special status" to the Arabic language. The same bill gives Jews a unique right to national self-determination, and views the developing of Jewish settlement in the country as "a national interest", empowering the government to "take steps to encourage, advance and implement this interest."<ref>{{cite news |title=Jewish nation state: Israel approves controversial bill |publisher=BBC |date=19 July 2018 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-44881554 |access-date=20 July 2018 }}</ref>

===Legal system===
[[File:Israel Supreme Court.jpg|thumb|Supreme Court of Israel, Givat Ram, Jerusalem]]
Israel has a three-tier court system. At the lowest level are [[Social:Magistrate|magistrate]] courts, situated in most cities across the country. Above them are district courts, serving as both [[Social:Appeal|appellate]] courts and courts of first instance; they are situated in five of Israel's six districts. The third and highest tier is the Supreme Court, located in Jerusalem; it serves a dual role as the highest court of appeals and the High Court of Justice. In the latter role, the Supreme Court rules as a court of first instance, allowing individuals, both citizens and non-citizens, to petition against the decisions of state authorities.<ref>{{cite news |title=Israel's high court unique in region |url=http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/opinion/editorials/2007/09/israel%E2%80%99s_high_court_unique_region |newspaper=Boston Herald |date=9 September 2007 |access-date=27 March 2013}}</ref>

Israel's legal system combines three legal traditions: English common law, civil law, and [[Religion:Halakha|Jewish law]].<ref name="cia"/> It is based on the principle of ''stare decisis'' (precedent) and is an adversarial system. Court cases are decided by professional judges with no role for juries.<ref name="judiciary">{{cite web |url=http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Government/Branches%20of%20Government/Judicial/The%20Judiciary-%20The%20Court%20System |publisher=Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs |access-date=5 August 2007 |date=1 August 2005 |title=The Judiciary: The Court System }}</ref>{{better source needed|date=January 2023}} [[Religion:Marriage in Israel|Marriage]] and divorce are under the jurisdiction of the religious courts: Jewish, [[Religion:Sharia|Muslim]], Druze, and Christian. The election of judges is carried out by a selection committee chaired by the justice minister (currently Yariv Levin).<ref>{{cite web |title=Yariv Levin |url=https://www.gov.il/en/departments/people/minister-of-justice |access-date=2023-11-21 |publisher=Ministry of Justice}}.</ref> Israel's Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty seeks to defend human rights and liberties in Israel. As a result of "Enclave law", large portions of Israeli civil law are applied to Israeli settlements and Israeli residents in the occupied territories.<ref name="Ben-NaftaliSfard2018">{{cite book|author1=Orna Ben-Naftali|author2=Michael Sfard|author3=Hedi Viterbo|title=The ABC of the OPT: A Legal Lexicon of the Israeli Control over the Occupied Palestinian Territory|url={{Google books|Is5TDwAAQBAJ|page=PA52|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}}|date=2018|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-107-15652-4|pages=52–}}</ref>

===Administrative divisions===
The State of Israel is divided into six main administrative districts, known as ''mehozot'' ({{Lang-he|מחוזות|link=no}}; singular: ''mahoz'')&nbsp;– Center, Haifa, Jerusalem, North, South, and Tel Aviv districts, as well as the Judea and Samaria Area in the West Bank. All of the Judea and Samaria Area and parts of the Jerusalem and Northern districts are not recognized internationally as part of Israel. Districts are further divided into fifteen sub-districts known as ''nafot'' ({{Lang-he|נפות|link=no}}; singular: ''nafa''), which are themselves partitioned into fifty natural regions.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Central Bureau of Statistics |title=Introduction to the Tables: Geophysical Characteristics |url=http://www.cbs.gov.il/shnaton53/download/st_eng01.doc |format=doc |access-date=4 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110221195435/http://www.cbs.gov.il/shnaton53/download/st_eng01.doc |archive-date=21 February 2011 }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! rowspan="2"| District
! rowspan="2"| Capital
! rowspan="2"| Largest city
! colspan="4"| Population, 2021<ref name="districts_pop">{{cite web |url=https://www.cbs.gov.il/he/publications/doclib/2022/2.shnatonpopulation/st02_17.pdf |title=Localities and Population, by Population Group, District, Sub-District and Natural Region |date=15 September 2022 |publisher=Israel Central Bureau of Statistics |access-date=21 February 2023}}</ref>
|-
! Jews
! Arabs
! Total
! class="unsortable"| note
|-
! Jerusalem
| colspan="2"| [[Place:Jerusalem|Jerusalem]]
| style="text-align:right"| {{percentage|802400|1209700}}
| style="text-align:right"| {{percentage|389000|1209700}}
| style="text-align:right"| {{sort|1209700|1,209,700}}
| {{ref|jerusalemdistrict|a}}
|-
! North
| Nof HaGalil
| [[Place:Nazareth|Nazareth]]
| style="text-align:right"| {{percentage|641500|1513600}}
| style="text-align:right"| {{percentage|811700|1513600}}
| style="text-align:right"| {{sort|1513600|1,513,600}}
|
|-
! Haifa
| colspan="2"| Haifa
| style="text-align:right"| {{percentage|735200|1092700}}
| style="text-align:right"| {{percentage|277600|1092700}}
| style="text-align:right"| {{sort|1092700|1,092,700}}
|
|-
! Center
| Ramla
| Rishon LeZion
| style="text-align:right"| {{percentage|2002100|2304300}}
| style="text-align:right"| {{percentage|190300|2304300}}
| style="text-align:right"| {{sort|2304300|2,304,300}}
|
|-
! Tel Aviv
| colspan="2"| [[Place:Tel Aviv|Tel Aviv]]
| style="text-align:right"| {{percentage|1362900|1481400}}
| style="text-align:right"| {{percentage|25200|1481400}}
| style="text-align:right"| {{sort|1481400|1,481,400}}
|
|-
! South
| Beersheba
| Ashdod
| style="text-align:right"| {{percentage|982800|1386000}}
| style="text-align:right"| {{percentage|303100|1386000}}
| style="text-align:right"| {{sort|1386000|1,386,000}}
|
|-
! Judea and Samaria Area
| Ariel
| Modi'in Illit
| style="text-align:right"| {{percentage|455700|465400}}
| style="text-align:right"| {{percentage|900|465400}}
| style="text-align:right"| {{sort|0465400|465,400}}
| {{ref|judeaandsamaria|b}}
|}

:{{note|jerusalemdistrict|a}} Including 361,700 Arabs and 233,900 Jews in East Jerusalem, {{as of|2020|lc=y}}.<ref name="jerusalem_pop">{{cite report |last1=Yaniv |first1=Omer |last2=Haddad |first2=Netta |last3=Assaf-Shapira |first3=Yair |date=2022 |title=Jerusalem Facts and Trends 2022 |url=https://jerusaleminstitute.org.il/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/2022-על-נתונייך-אנגלית-דיגיטל-1.pdf |publisher=Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research |page=25 |access-date=21 February 2023}}</ref>
:{{note|judeaandsamaria|b}} Israeli citizens only.

===Israeli-occupied territories===
<!---As prose text is preferred overly detailed data charts and diagrams such as weather data boxes, population charts and past elections results etc should be reserved for main sub articles on the topic as per WP:DETAIL.--->
[[File:Map of Israel, neighbours and occupied territories.svg|thumb|upright=1.35|Map of Israel showing the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and the Golan Heights]]
In 1967, as a result of the Six-Day War, Israel captured and [[Place:Israeli-occupied territories|occupied]] the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip and the [[Place:Golan Heights|Golan Heights]]. Israel also captured the [[Place:Sinai Peninsula|Sinai Peninsula]], but returned it to Egypt as part of the 1979 Egypt–Israel peace treaty.{{sfn|Bregman|2002|pp=186–187}} Between 1982 and 2000, Israel occupied part of southern Lebanon, in what was known as the Security Belt. Since Israel's capture of these territories, Israeli settlements and military installations have been built within each of them, except Lebanon.

The Golan Heights and East Jerusalem have been fully incorporated into Israel under Israeli law, but not under international law. Israel has applied civilian law to both areas and granted their inhabitants permanent residency status and the ability to apply for citizenship. The UN Security Council has declared the annexation of the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem to be "null and void" and continues to view the territories as occupied.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/73D6B4C70D1A92B7852560DF0064F101 |title=Resolution 497 (1981) |year=1981 |publisher=United Nations |access-date=20 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120612120152/http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/73D6B4C70D1A92B7852560DF0064F101 |archive-date=12 June 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/dde590c6ff232007852560df0065fddb?OpenDocument |title=East Jerusalem: UNSC Res. 478 |year=1980 |publisher=UN |access-date=10 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101231090053/http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/dde590c6ff232007852560df0065fddb?OpenDocument |archive-date=31 December 2010 }}</ref> The status of East Jerusalem in any future peace settlement has at times been a difficult issue in negotiations between Israeli governments and representatives of the Palestinians.

[[File:West_Bank_Fence_South_Hebron.JPG|thumb|Israeli West Bank barrier is a separation barrier built by Israel along the Green Line and inside parts of the West Bank.]]
The West Bank excluding East Jerusalem is known in Israeli law as the Judea and Samaria Area; the almost 400,000 Israeli settlers residing in the area are considered part of Israel's population, have Knesset representation and are subject to a large part of Israel's civil and criminal laws, and their output is considered part of Israel's economy.<ref name=Sher>Gilead Sher, [http://www.inss.org.il/publication/the-application-of-israeli-law-to-the-west-bank-de-facto-annexation/ The Application of Israeli Law to the West Bank: De Facto Annexation?], INSS Insight No. 638, 4 December 2014</ref>{{refn|group=fn|name=oecd|Israeli population and economic data covers the economic territory of Israel, including the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem and Israeli settlements in the West Bank.{{sfn|OECD|2011}}<ref>[http://mas.ps/files/server/20141911093442-1.pdf ''Quarterly Economic and Social Monitor''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211009161737/http://mas.ps/files/server/20141911093442-1.pdf |date=9 October 2021 }}, Volume 26, October 2011, p. 57: "When Israel bid in March 2010 for membership in the 'Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development'... some members questioned the accuracy of Israeli statistics, as the Israeli figures (relating to gross domestic product, spending and number of the population) cover geographical areas that the Organization does not recognize as part of the Israeli territory. These areas include East Jerusalem, Israeli settlements in the West Bank and the Golan Heights."</ref>}} The land itself is not considered part of Israel under Israeli law, as Israel has consciously refrained from annexing the territory, without ever relinquishing its legal claim to the land or defining a border.<ref name=Sher/> Israeli political opposition to annexation is primarily due to the perceived "demographic threat" of incorporating the West Bank's Palestinian population into Israel.<ref name=Sher/> Outside of the Israeli settlements, the West Bank remains under direct Israeli military rule, and Palestinians in the area cannot become Israeli citizens. The international community maintains that Israel does not have sovereignty in the West Bank, and considers Israel's control of the area to be the longest military occupation in modern history.<ref name="occhist">See for example:<br />* {{cite book |title=Courting Conflict: The Israeli Military Court System in the West Bank and Gaza |last=Hajjar |first=Lisa |publisher=University of California Press |date=2005 |isbn=978-0-520-24194-7 |page=96 |url={{Google books|mcjoHq2wqdUC|page=PA96|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |quote=The Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza is the longest military occupation in modern times.}}<br />* {{cite journal |first=Perry |last=Anderson |title=Editorial: Scurrying Towards Bethlehem |date=July–August 2001 |journal=New Left Review|volume=10 |url=https://newleftreview.org/article/download_pdf?id=2330 |quote=longest official military occupation of modern history—currently entering its thirty-fifth year|access-date=9 January 2015|archive-date=1 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181001124430/https://newleftreview.org/article/download_pdf?id=2330}}<br />* {{cite book |first=Saree |last=Makdisi|author-link=Saree Makdisi|url={{Google books|2dBM3Ago2BAC|page=PA299|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |quote=longest-lasting military occupation of the modern age|title=Palestine Inside Out: An Everyday Occupation |publisher=W.W. Norton & Company|date=2010 |isbn=978-0-393-33844-7}}<br />* {{cite journal |volume=94|issue=885|date=Spring 2012|journal=International Review of the Red Cross|title=The law of belligerent occupation in the Supreme Court of Israel |first=David|last=Kretzmer|author-link=David Kretzmer |doi=10.1017/S1816383112000446|url=https://www.icrc.org/eng/assets/files/review/2012/irrc-885-kretzmer.pdf |quote=This is probably the longest occupation in modern international relations, and it holds a central place in all literature on the law of belligerent occupation since the early 1970s|pages=207–236|s2cid=32105258}}<br />* {{cite news|title=The Justice of Occupation|quote=Israel is the only modern state that has held territories under military occupation for over four decades|type=opinion|first=Ra'anan |last=Alexandrowicz|date=24 January 2012|work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/25/opinion/the-justice-of-occupation.html}}<br />* {{cite book|title=The Role of National Courts in Applying International Humanitarian Law |first=Sharon |last=Weill |url={{Google books|bDnnAgAAQBAJ|page=PA22|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |page=22 |date=2014 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-968542-4 |quote=Although the basic philosophy behind the law of military occupation is that it is a temporary situation modem occupations have well demonstrated that ''rien ne dure comme le provisoire'' A significant number of post-1945 occupations have lasted more than two decades such as the occupations of Namibia by South Africa and of East Timor by Indonesia as well as the ongoing occupations of Northern Cyprus by Turkey and of Western Sahara by Morocco. The Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories, {{underline|which is the longest in all occupation's history}} has already entered its fifth decade.}}<br />* Azarova, Valentina. 2017, [http://www.ecfr.eu/publications/summary/israels_unlawfully_prolonged_occupation_7294 Israel's Unlawfully Prolonged Occupation: Consequences under an Integrated Legal Framework], European Council on Foreign Affairs Policy Brief: "June 2017 marks 50 years of Israel's belligerent occupation of Palestinian territory, making it the longest occupation in modern history."</ref> The West Bank was occupied and annexed by Jordan in 1950, following the 1949 Armistice Agreements. Only Britain recognized this annexation and Jordan has since ceded its claim to the territory to the PLO. The population are mainly Palestinians, including refugees of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.<ref>{{cite web |title=UNRWA in Figures: Figures as of 30 June 2009 |publisher=United Nations |date=June 2009 |url=http://www.unrwa.org/userfiles/uif-june09.pdf |access-date=27 September 2007 }}</ref> From their occupation in 1967 until 1993, the Palestinians living in these territories were under Israeli military administration. Since the Israel–PLO letters of recognition, most of the Palestinian population and cities have been under the internal jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority, and only partial Israeli military control, although Israel has redeployed its troops and reinstated full military administration during periods of unrest. In response to increasing attacks during the Second Intifada, the Israeli government started to construct the Israeli West Bank barrier.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.securityfence.mod.gov.il/Pages/ENG/questions.htm |title=Questions and Answers |access-date=17 April 2007 |date=22 February 2004 |website=Israel's Security Fence |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003072906/http://www.securityfence.mod.gov.il/Pages/ENG/questions.htm |archive-date=3 October 2013 }}</ref> When completed, approximately 13% of the barrier will be constructed on the Green Line or in Israel with 87% inside the West Bank.<ref>{{cite web|author=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees |url=http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4875de625.html |title=Refworld {{pipe}} West Bank Barrier Route Projections, July 2008 |publisher=Unhcr.org |access-date=11 April 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.btselem.org/publications/summaries/200512_under_the_guise_of_security |title=Under the Guise of Security: Routing the Separation Barrier to Enable Israeli Settlement Expansion in the West Bank |access-date=20 March 2012 |date=December 2005 |website=Publications |publisher=B'Tselem}}</ref>

Israel's claim of universal suffrage has been questioned due to its blurred territorial boundaries and its simultaneous extension of voting rights to Israeli settlers in the occupied territories and denial of voting rights to their Palestinian neighbours, as well as the alleged [[Social:Ethnocracy|ethnocratic]] nature of the state.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Yiftachel, O. |date=1999 |title='Ethnocracy': The Politics of Judaizing Israel/Palestine |journal=Constellations |volume=6 |issue=3 |pages=364–390 |doi=10.1111/1467-8675.00151 |quote=Israel's political structure and settlement activity have [...] in effect undermined the existence of universal suffrage (as Jewish settlers in the Occupied Territories can vote to the parliament that governs them, but their Palestinian neighbours cannot). |url=https://www.academia.edu/download/31054252/ethnocracy-yiftachel.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Ghanem, A. A. |author2=Rouhana, N. |author3=Yiftachel, O. |date=1998 |title=Questioning" ethnic democracy": A response to Sammy Smooha |journal=Israel Studies |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=253–267 |doi=10.2979/ISR.1998.3.2.253 |quote=settlers remain fully enfranchised Israeli citizens while their Palestinian neighbors have no voting rights and no impact on Israeli policies |jstor=30245721|s2cid=3524173}}</ref>

The Gaza Strip is considered to be a "foreign territory" under Israeli law; Israel, along with Egypt, operates a land, air, and sea blockade of the Gaza Strip. The Gaza Strip was occupied by Israel after 1967. In 2005, as part of Israel's unilateral disengagement plan, Israel removed its settlers and forces from the territory, however, it continues to maintain control of its airspace and waters. The international community, including numerous international humanitarian organizations and bodies of the UN, consider Gaza to remain occupied.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/F0B7D1A3A8E7CF1985257552004F640E |title=Situation Report on the Humanitarian Situation in the Gaza Strip |publisher=Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs |date=23 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120612121839/http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/F0B7D1A3A8E7CF1985257552004F640E |archive-date=12 June 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/report/palestine-report-131207.htm |title=The occupied Palestinian territories: Dignity Denied |publisher=International Committee of the Red Cross |date=13 December 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2013/country-chapters/israel-palestine |title=Israel/Palestine |chapter=World Report 2013: Israel/Palestine |year=2013 |publisher=Human Rights Watch |access-date=13 June 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://unispal.un.org/pdfs/AHRC1248.pdf|title=Human Rights in Palestine and Other Occupied Arab Territories: Report of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict |publisher=United Nations Human Rights Council |date=15 September 2009 |page=85}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde15/093/2006/en/ |title=Israel/Occupied Territories: Road to nowhere |publisher=Amnesty International |date=1 December 2006 }}</ref> Following the 2007 Battle of Gaza, when Hamas assumed power in the Gaza Strip,<ref name=gaza/> Israel tightened control of the Gaza crossings along its border, as well as by sea and air, and prevented persons from entering and exiting except for isolated cases it deemed humanitarian.<ref name=gaza>{{cite web |url=http://www.btselem.org/gaza_strip/gaza_status |title=The scope of Israeli control in the Gaza Strip |publisher=B'Tselem |access-date=20 March 2012}}</ref> Gaza has a border with Egypt, and an agreement between Israel, the European Union, and the PA governed how border crossing would take place.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/foreignpolicy/peace/mfadocuments/pages/agreed%20documents%20on%20movement%20and%20access%20from%20and%20to%20gaza%2015-nov-2005.aspx |title=Agreed documents on movement and access from and to Gaza |date=15 November 2005 |publisher=Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs |access-date=13 June 2013}}</ref> The application of democracy to its Palestinian citizens, and the selective application of Israeli democracy in the Israeli-controlled Palestinian territories, has been criticized.<ref name="Slater2020">{{cite book|author=Jerome Slater|title=Mythologies Without End: The US, Israel, and the Arab-Israeli Conflict, 1917–2020|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yVAAEAAAQBAJ|date=1 October 2020|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-045909-3|page=15|quote=It is now clear that Israel is a true democracy in its broadest sense only for its Jewish citizens. The Arab-Israeli (or, as some prefer, the Palestinian-Israeli) peoples, roughly 20 percent of the total population of Israel its pre-1967 boundaries, are citizens and have voting rights, but they face political, economic, and social discrimination. And, of course, Israeli democracy is inapplicable to the nearly 4 million Palestinian Arabs in the West Bank and Gaza, conquered by Israel in June 1967, who are occupied, repressed, and in many ways, directly and indirectly, effectively ruled by Israel.}}</ref><ref name="White2012">{{cite book|author=Ben White|title=Palestinians in Israel: Segregation, Discrimination and Democracy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Bp1PXwAACAAJ|date=15 January 2012|publisher=Pluto Press|isbn=978-0-7453-3228-4}}</ref>

====International opinion====
The International Court of Justice said, in its 2004 advisory opinion on the legality of the construction of the Israeli West Bank barrier, that the lands captured by Israel in the Six-Day War, including East Jerusalem, are occupied territory, and further found that the construction of the wall within the occupied Palestinian territory to violate international law.<ref>{{cite news |title=Arabs will ask U.N. to seek razing of Israeli wall |url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/5400559/ |publisher=NBC News |date=9 July 2004 |access-date=9 February 2013}}</ref> Most negotiations relating to the territories have been on the basis of UN Security Council Resolution 242, which emphasizes "the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war", and calls on Israel to withdraw from occupied territories in return for normalization of relations with Arab states ("Land for peace").<ref>{{cite news |title=Olmert: Willing to trade land for peace |work=Ynetnews |date =16 December 2006 |url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3340641,00.html |access-date=26 September 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Syria ready to discuss land for peace |newspaper=The Jerusalem Post |date=12 June 2007 |url=http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=64667 |access-date=20 March 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Egypt: Israel must accept the land-for-peace formula |newspaper=The Jerusalem Post |date=15 March 2007 |url=http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=54876 |access-date=20 March 2012}}</ref> Israel has been criticized for engaging in systematic and widespread violations of human rights in the occupied territories, including the occupation itself,<ref>{{cite web|title=A/RES/36/147. Report of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Population of the Occupied Territories |url=https://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/36/a36r147.htm|access-date=12 February 2017}}</ref> and [[Social:War crime|war crime]]s against civilians.<ref name="tny1">{{cite news |last1=Rudoren |first1=Jodi |last2=Sengupta |first2=Somini |date=22 June 2015 |title=U.N. Report on Gaza Finds Evidence of War Crimes by Israel and by Palestinian Militants |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/23/world/middleeast/israel-gaza-report.html |access-date=12 February 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=23 July 2014 |title=Human Rights Council establishes Independent, International Commission of Inquiry for the Occupied Palestinian Territory |url=https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2014/07/human-rights-council-establishes-independent-international-commission |access-date=12 February 2017 |publisher=Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=UN condemns Israel's West Bank settlement plans|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-38740712|publisher=BBC News|access-date=12 February 2017 |date=25 January 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=22 December 1987 |title=The Avalon Project: United Nations Security Council Resolution 605 |url=http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/un605.asp |access-date=12 February 2017 |website=avalon.law.yale.edu}}</ref> The allegations include violations of international humanitarian law<ref>{{cite web|title=Faced with Israeli denial of access to Occupied Palestinian Territory, UN expert resigns |url=https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=52935|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161205095623/http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=52935|archive-date=5 December 2016 |date=4 January 2016}}</ref> by the UN Human Rights Council,<ref>{{cite web|title=Human Rights Council adopts six resolutions and closes its thirty-first regular session |url=http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=18535&LangID=E |access-date=12 February 2017}}</ref> The U.S. State Department has called reports of abuses of significant human rights of Palestinians 'credible' both within Israel<ref>'Significant human rights issues included credible reports of: unlawful or arbitrary killings; arbitrary detention, often extraterritorial detention of Palestinians from the occupied territories in Israel; restrictions on Palestinians residing in Jerusalem including arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy, family, and home; substantial interference with the freedom of association; arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy; harassment of nongovernmental organizations; significant restrictions on freedom of movement within the country; violence against asylum seekers and irregular migrants; violence or threats of violence against national, racial, or ethnic minority groups; and labor rights abuses against foreign workers and Palestinians from the West Bank.' [https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/313615_ISRAEL-2021-HUMAN-RIGHTS-REPORT.pdf ''Israel 2021 Human Rights Report,''] United States Department of State 17 April 2021.</ref> and the occupied territories.<ref>'With respect to Israeli security forces in the West Bank: credible reports of unlawful or arbitrary killings due to unnecessary or disproportionate use of force by Israeli officials; torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by Israeli officials; arbitrary arrest or detention; arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy; restrictions on free expression and media, including violence, threats of violence, unjustified arrests and prosecutions against journalists, and censorship; restrictions on internet freedom; restrictions on Palestinians residing in Jerusalem, including arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy, family, and home; substantial interference with the rights of peaceful assembly and freedom of association, including harassment of nongovernmental organizations; and restrictions on freedom of movement and residence.' [https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/israel-west-bank-and-gaza/west-bank-and-gaza/ 2021 ''Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Israel, West Bank and Gaza,''] United States Department of State 12 April 2022</ref> Amnesty International and other NGOs have documented mass arbitrary arrests, torture, unlawful killings, systemic abuses and impunity<ref>{{cite news|last1=Heyer |first1=Julia Amalia|title=Kids Behind Bars: Israel's Arbitrary Arrests of Palestinian Minors |work=Der Spiegel |url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/israeli-military-arrest-large-numbers-of-palestinian-children-a-995758.html |access-date=23 April 2017|date=7 October 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Israel and Occupied Palestinian Territories 2016/2017 |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/middle-east-and-north-africa/israel-and-occupied-palestinian-territories/report-israel-and-occupied-palestinian-territories/|publisher=Amnesty International|access-date=23 April 2017|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Eight hundred dead Palestinians. But Israel has impunity|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/eight-hundred-dead-palestinians-but-israel-has-impunity-9629726.html |newspaper=The Independent|access-date=23 April 2017|date=26 July 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Isfahan|first1=Ali |title=Why Israel's Impunity Goes Unpunished by International Authorities |url=https://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2014/08/11/why-israels-impunity-goes-unpunished-by-international-authorities/ |publisher=Foreign Policy Journal|access-date=23 April 2017|date=11 August 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=How impunity defines Israel and victimises Palestinians |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2016/03/impunity-defines-israel-victimises-palestinians-160327085608275.html |publisher=Al Jazeera |access-date=23 April 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Barghouti |first1=Marwan|date=16 April 2017 |title=Why We Are on Hunger Strike in Israel's Prisons |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/16/opinion/palestinian-hunger-strike-prisoners-call-for-justice.html|newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=23 April 2017}}</ref> in tandem with a denial of the right to Palestinian self-determination.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Dorfman|first1=Zach |title=George Mitchell wrote 'A Path to Peace' about Israel and Palestine. Is there one?|url=http://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-ca-jc-mitchell-peace-20170127-story.html|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|access-date=1 February 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Outrage over Maimane's visit to Israel |url=http://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/outrage-over-maimanes-visit-to-israel-7397147|access-date=1 February 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The subordination of Palestinian rights must stop |url=http://www.thenational.ae/opinion/comment/the-subordination-of-palestinian-rights-must-stop|access-date=1 February 2017|publisher=The National}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Palestine-Israel Journal: Settlements and the Palestinian Right to Self-Determination |website=pij.org |url=http://www.pij.org/details.php?id=478 |access-date=1 February 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Hammond |first1=Jeremy R.|title=The Rejection of Palestinian Self Determination |url=http://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Hammond-Rejection-Palestinian-Self-Determination.pdf|access-date=1 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170203161044/http://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Hammond-Rejection-Palestinian-Self-Determination.pdf|archive-date=3 February 2017}}</ref> Prime Minister Netanyahu has defended the country's security forces for protecting the innocent from terrorists<ref>{{cite news|title=Top US senator clashes with Netanyahu over Israeli rights record |url=http://www.politico.eu/article/patrick-leahy-clashes-with-netanyahu-over-israeli-rights-record-human-rights-violations/ |work=Politico|access-date=12 February 2017|date=31 March 2016}}</ref> and expressed contempt for what he describes as a lack of concern about the human rights violations committed by "criminal killers".<ref>{{cite news|title=Allegations of Israeli Human Rights Violations Closely Scrutinized, Says U.S. State Department |language=en|url=http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.718320 |newspaper=Haaretz|access-date=12 February 2017 |date=6 May 2017}}</ref>

The [[Social:International community|international community]] widely regards Israeli settlements in the occupied territories illegal under international law.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Israel: The security barrier—between international law, constitutional law, and domestic judicial review |last=Barak-Erez |first=Daphne |journal=International Journal of Constitutional Law |date=1 July 2006 |volume=4 |issue=3 |page=548| doi=10.1093/icon/mol021 |doi-access=free |quote=The real controversy hovering over all the litigation on the security barrier concerns the fate of the Israeli settlements in the occupied territories. Since 1967, Israel has allowed and even encouraged its citizens to live in the new settlements established in the territories, motivated by religious and national sentiments attached to the history of the Jewish nation in the land of Israel. This policy has also been justified in terms of security interests, taking into consideration the dangerous geographic circumstances of Israel before 1967 (where Israeli areas on the Mediterranean coast were potentially threatened by Jordanian control of the West Bank ridge). The international community, for its part, has viewed this policy as patently illegal, based on the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention that prohibit moving populations to or from territories under occupation.}}</ref> The United Nations however, has been accused of bias against Israel.<ref>''American interest and UN reform. Report of the Task Force on the United Nations'', United States Institute of Peace, 2005, [http://www.usip.org/files/file/usip_un_report.pdf www.usip.org]</ref><ref>Caplen, Robert A., "The Charlie Brown 'Rain Cloud Effect' in International Law: An Empirical Study," 36 ''Capital Univ. Law Review'' 693 (2008). http://ssrn.com/abstract=1663902</ref> United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 (passed 2016) states that Israel's settlement activity constitutes a "flagrant violation" of [[Finance:International law|international law]] and demands that Israel stop such activity and fulfill its obligations as an [[Social:Military occupation#The occupying power|occupying power]] under the Fourth Geneva Convention.<ref name=toi>{{cite news|title=Choosing not to veto, Obama lets anti-settlement resolution pass at UN Security Council |url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/choosing-not-to-veto-obama-lets-anti-settlement-resolution-pass-at-un-security-council/|access-date=23 December 2016|work=The Times of Israel}}</ref> A United Nations special rapporteur concluded that settlement program was a [[Social:War crime|war crime]] under the Rome Statute,<ref>{{cite web |last=Nebehay |first=Stephanie |title=Israeli settlements amount to war crime - U.N. rights expert |website=Reuters |date=9 July 2021 |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-settlements-amount-war-crime-un-rights-expert-2021-07-09/ |access-date=6 April 2023}}</ref> and Amnesty International found that the settlement program constitutes an illegal transfer of civilians into occupied territory as well as amounting to "pillage", which is prohibited by both the Hague Conventions and the Geneva Conventions as well as being a war crime under the Rome Statute.<ref>{{cite web |title=Chapter 3: Israeli Settlements and International Law |website=Amnesty International |date=30 January 2019 |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2019/01/chapter-3-israeli-settlements-and-international-law/ |access-date=6 April 2023}}</ref>

====Apartheid accusations====
{{main|Social:Israel and apartheid}}
Israel's treatment of the Palestinians within the occupied territories have drawn widespread [[Social:Israel and apartheid|accusations that it is guilty]] of apartheid, a crime against humanity under the Rome Statute and the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Shakir |first=Omar |date=27 April 2021 |title=A Threshold Crossed |url=https://www.hrw.org/report/2021/04/27/threshold-crossed/israeli-authorities-and-crimes-apartheid-and-persecution |journal=Human Rights Watch |access-date=6 April 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=27 April 2021 |title=Israel committing crimes of apartheid and persecution - HRW |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-56898864 |access-date=6 April 2023 |website=BBC News}}</ref> A 2021 survey of academic experts on the Middle East found an increase from 59% to 65% of these scholars describing Israel as a "one-state reality akin to apartheid".<ref>{{cite news |date=16 February 2021 |title=Here's how experts on the Middle East see the region's key issues, our new survey finds |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/02/16/heres-how-experts-middle-east-see-regions-key-issues-our-new-survey-finds/}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=17 September 2021 |title=Academic experts believe that Middle East politics are actually getting worse |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/09/17/academic-experts-believe-that-middle-east-politics-are-actually-getting-worse/}}</ref> This claim has been affirmed by the Israeli human rights organizations Yesh Din and B'tselem, along with other international human rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, with the criticism extending to its treatment of Palestinians within Israel.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Rosenfeld|first=Arno|date=27 April 2021|title=Israel is committing 'crime of apartheid,' Human Rights Watch says|url=https://forward.com/news/468473/israel-apartheid-human-rights-watch/|access-date=15 February 2022|work=The Forward |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite news|last=Berger|first=Miriam|date=1 February 2022|title=Amnesty International, joining other human rights groups, says Israel is 'committing the crime of apartheid'|language=en-US|newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/02/01/amnesty-international-joining-other-human-rights-groups-says-israel-is-committing-crime-apartheid/|access-date=15 February 2022}}</ref> Amnesty's report was criticised by politicians and representatives from Israel and its closest allies such as, the United States,<ref>{{Cite news |title=U.S. State Department Rejects Amnesty's Apartheid Claim Against Israel |language=en |work=Haaretz |url=https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/u-s-state-department-rejects-amnesty-s-apartheid-claims-against-israel-1.10583830 |access-date=16 February 2022}}</ref> the United Kingdom,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Elgot |first=Jessica |date=2022-04-28 |title=Keir Starmer hosts Israeli Labor party in charm offensive ahead of local elections |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/apr/28/keir-starmer-hosts-israeli-labor-party-in-charm-offensive-ahead-of-local-elections |access-date=2023-10-25 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> the European Commission,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-01-20 |title=Parliamentary question E-000932/2022(ASW) {{!}} Answer given by High Representative/Vice-President Borrell i Fontelles on behalf of the European Commission |url=https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-9-2022-000932-ASW_EN.html |access-date=2023-10-25 |website=European Parliament |language=en}}</ref> Australia,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Andrew Tillett |date=2022-02-02 |title=PM, Labor defend Israel over apartheid claim |url=https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/pm-labor-defend-israel-over-apartheid-claim-20220202-p59t33 |access-date=2023-10-25 |website=Australian Financial Review |language=en}}</ref> Netherlands<ref>{{Cite news |title=Netherlands rejects Amnesty report accusing Israel of apartheid |work=The Jerusalem Post |url=https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-705664 |access-date=2 May 2022}}</ref> and Germany,<ref>{{Cite news |date=2 February 2022 |title=Germany rejects use of word 'apartheid' in connection with Israel |language=en |publisher=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/germany-rejects-use-word-apartheid-connection-with-israel-2022-02-02/ |access-date=16 February 2022}}</ref> while said accusations were welcomed by Palestinians,<ref>{{Cite news |date=1 February 2022 |title=Israeli policies against Palestinians amount to apartheid – Amnesty |language=en-GB |publisher=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-60197918 |access-date=15 February 2022}}</ref> representatives from other states,{{Which|date=January 2024}} and organizations such as the Arab League.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://arab.news/mggnn |title=Arab League, OIC welcome Amnesty's report on Israel's 'apartheid' against Palestinians|date=3 February 2022 |website=Arab News}}</ref> In 2022, Michael Lynk, a Canadian law professor appointed by the U.N. Human Rights Council said that the situation met the legal definition of apartheid.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kingsley |first=Patrick |date=23 March 2022 |title=U.N. Investigator Accuses Israel of Apartheid, Citing Permanence of Occupation |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/23/world/middleeast/israel-apatheid-un.html |website={{wipe|The New York Times}}}}</ref> Subsequent reports from his successor, Francesca Albanese and from Permanent United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Israel Palestine conflict chair Navi Pillay echoed the opinion.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.newarab.com/news/un-report-urges-plan-end-israeli-colonialism-apartheid|title=UN report urges plan to 'end Israeli colonialism, apartheid'|website=The New Arab|date=19 October 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/un-commission-says-it-will-investigate-apartheid-charges-against-israel/|title=UN commission says it will investigate 'apartheid' charges against Israel|first=Luke|last=Tress|website=The Times of Israel |date=28 October 2022}}</ref> 

===Foreign relations===
[[File:Foreign relations of Israel Map July 2011.PNG|thumb|upright=1.35|{{legend|#0000ff|Diplomatic relations}} {{legend|#80ffff|Diplomatic relations suspended}} {{legend|#00ff00|Former diplomatic relations}} {{legend|#ff00ff|No diplomatic relations, but former trade relations}} {{legend|#ff8040|No diplomatic relations}}]]
Israel maintains diplomatic relations {{Numrec|Israel|with|member states of the United Nations|link=N}}, as well as with the [[Organization:Holy See|Holy See]], Kosovo, the Cook Islands and Niue. It has 107 diplomatic missions;<ref>{{cite web |url=http://mfa.gov.il/MFA/AboutTheMinistry/Pages/Israel-s%20Diplomatic%20Missions%20Abroad.aspx |title=Israel's Diplomatic Missions Abroad: Status of relations |publisher=Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs |access-date=25 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160420071334/http://mfa.gov.il/MFA/AboutTheMinistry/Pages/Israel-s%20Diplomatic%20Missions%20Abroad.aspx |archive-date=20 April 2016 }}</ref> countries with whom they have no diplomatic relations include most Muslim countries.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-Ed-Contributors/Why-doesnt-the-Muslim-world-recognize-Israel#article=0QUFFOUZBN0YxODM3RDE5NDM4OUEyRkE5MjY1OEJCRDI= |title=Why Doesn't the Muslim World Recognize Israel? |author=Mohammed Mostafa Kamal|newspaper=The Jerusalem Post |date=21 July 2012|access-date=30 November 2015}}</ref> Six out of twenty-two nations in the Arab League have normalized relations with Israel. Israel remains formally in a state of war with Syria, a status that dates back uninterrupted to 1948. It has been in a similarly formal state of war with Lebanon since the end of the Lebanese Civil War in 2000, with the Israel–Lebanon border remaining unagreed by treaty.

Despite the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt, Israel is still widely considered an enemy country among Egyptians.<ref>"Massive Israel protests hit universities" (Egyptian Mail, 16 March 2010) "According to most Egyptians, almost 31 years after a peace treaty was signed between Egypt and Israel, having normal ties between the two countries is still a potent accusation and Israel is largely considered to be an enemy country"</ref> Iran withdrew its recognition of Israel during the Islamic Revolution.{{sfn|Abadi|2004|pp=47–49}} Israeli citizens may not visit Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen without permission from the Ministry of the Interior.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFAHeb/MFAArchive/2004/horaot+din+israeli0304.htm |publisher=Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs |script-title=he:הוראות הדין הישראלי |year=2004 |language=he |access-date=9 August 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070701072212/http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFAHeb/MFAArchive/2004/horaot%2Bdin%2Bisraeli0304.htm |archive-date=1 July 2007}}</ref> As a result of the 2008–09 Gaza War, Mauritania, Qatar, Bolivia, and Venezuela suspended political and economic ties with Israel,<ref name="al-jaz-eng">{{cite news |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2009/01/2009116151135307776.html |publisher=Al Jazeera English |title=Qatar, Mauritania cut Israel ties |access-date=20 March 2012 |date=17 January 2009}}</ref> though Bolivia renewed ties in 2019.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Flores |first1=Paola |title=Bolivia to renew Israel ties after rupture under Morales |url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/bolivia-renew-israel-ties-rupture-morales-67374746 |access-date=15 December 2020 |agency=ABC News |date=29 November 2019}}</ref>

[[File:Bill Clinton, Yitzhak Rabin, Yasser Arafat at the White House 1993-09-13.jpg|thumb|left|Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat at the signing ceremony of the Oslo Accords with then US President Bill Clinton]]
The United States and the Soviet Union were the first two countries to recognize the State of Israel, having declared recognition roughly simultaneously.<ref>{{Cite journal |jstor=2193961 |title=The Recognition of Israel |journal=The American Journal of International Law |volume=42 |issue=3 |pages=620–627 |last1=Brown |first1=Philip Marshall |doi=10.2307/2193961 |year=1948 |s2cid=147342045}}</ref> Diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union were broken in 1967, following the Six-Day War, and renewed in October 1991.<ref>{{cite news|last=Yaakov |first=Saar |title= There Were Times (Hayu Zemanim) |page= 30 |language= he |publisher= Israel Hayom |date= 18 October 2017 }}</ref> The United States regards Israel as its "most reliable partner in the Middle East",<ref>{{cite web |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3581.htm |title=U.S. Relations With Israel Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs Fact Sheet March 10, 2014|website=U.S. Department of State|access-date=30 October 2014}}</ref> based on "common democratic values, religious affinities, and security interests".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA470003&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf |title=Israel: Background and Relations with the United States Updated |publisher=Defense Technical Information Center|access-date=19 October 2009|archive-date=5 February 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110205011800/http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA470003&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf}}</ref> The US has provided $68&nbsp;billion in military assistance and $32&nbsp;billion in grants to Israel since 1967, under the Foreign Assistance Act (period beginning 1962),<ref name=PNADR900>{{Cite web |url=http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNADT555.pdf|title=U.S. Overseas Loans and Grants}}</ref> more than any other country for that period until 2003.<ref name=PNADR900/><ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s1297.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111020131918/http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s1297.pdf |archive-date=20 October 2011 |title=U.S. Government Foreign Grants and Credits by Type and Country: 2000 to 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/cats/foreign_commerce_aid/foreign_aid.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071225192852/http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/cats/foreign_commerce_aid/foreign_aid.html |archive-date=25 December 2007 |title=Foreign Aid}}</ref> Most surveyed Americans have also held consistently favorable views of Israel.<ref>{{Cite web |date=17 March 2022 |title=Americans Still Pro-Israel, Though Palestinians Gain Support |url=https://news.gallup.com/poll/390737/americans-pro-israel-though-palestinians-gain-support.aspx |website=Gallup, Inc |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2 February 2022 |title=Friend or Enemy — Israel |url=https://today.yougov.com/topics/travel/trackers/friend-enemy-israel |website=YouGov |language=en-us}}</ref> The United Kingdom is seen as having a "natural" relationship with Israel because of the Mandate for Palestine.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ukinisrael.fco.gov.uk/en/about-us/working-with-israel/uk-israel-relations/bilateral-relations |publisher=Foreign and Commonwealth Office |title=The bilateral relationship |website=UK in Israel |access-date=20 March 2012}}</ref> {{As of|2007|alt=By 2007}}, Germany had paid 25&nbsp;billion euros in reparations to the Israeli state and individual Israeli Holocaust survivors.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL33808.pdf |title=Congressional Research Service: Germany's Relations with Israel: Background and Implications for German Middle East Policy, Jan 19, 2007. (p. CRS-2) |access-date=29 September 2010}}</ref> Israel is included in the European Union's European Neighbourhood Policy.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://euobserver.com/foreign/127874|title=EU to Revise Relations with Turbulent Neighbourhood|author=Eric Maurice |publisher=EUobserver|date=5 March 2015|access-date=1 December 2015}}</ref>

Although Turkey and Israel did not establish full diplomatic relations until 1991,<ref>{{harvnb|Abadi|2004|p=3}}. "However, it was not until 1991 that the two countries established full diplomatic relations."</ref> Turkey has cooperated with the Jewish state since its recognition of Israel in 1949. Turkey's ties to other Muslim-majority nations in the region have at times resulted in pressure from Arab and Muslim states to temper its relationship with Israel.{{sfn|Abadi|2004|pp=4–6}} Relations between Turkey and Israel took a downturn after the 2008–09 Gaza War and Israel's raid of the Gaza flotilla.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Uzer |first=Umut |date=26 March 2013 |title=Turkish-Israeli Relations: Their Rise and Fall |url=http://www.mepc.org/journal/middle-east-policy-archives/turkish-israeli-relations-their-rise-and-fall |journal=Middle East Policy |volume=XX |issue=1 |pages=97–110 |doi=10.1111/mepo.12007 |access-date=7 January 2017}}</ref> Relations between Greece and Israel have improved since 1995 due to the decline of Israeli–Turkish relations.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-11556442 |title=Israel woos Greece after rift with Turkey |publisher=BBC News |date=16 October 2010}}</ref> The two countries have a defense cooperation agreement and in 2010, the {{wipe|Israeli Air Force}} hosted Greece's {{wipe|Hellenic Air Force}} in a joint exercise. The joint Cyprus-Israel oil and gas explorations centered on the Leviathan gas field are an important factor for Greece, given its strong links with Cyprus.<ref>{{cite news |title=Turkey, Greece discuss exploration off Cyprus |agency=Associated Press |url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/turkey-greece-discuss-exploration-off-cyprus-1.386864 |newspaper=Haaretz |date=26 September 2011 |access-date=1 January 2012}}</ref> Cooperation in the world's longest [[Engineering:Submarine power cable|submarine power cable]], the EuroAsia Interconnector, has strengthened Cyprus–Israel relations.<ref>{{cite news |last=Benari |first=Elad |date=5 March 2012 |title=Israel, Cyprus Sign Deal for Underwater Electricity Cable |url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/153437 |website=Arutz Sheva |access-date=7 January 2017}}</ref>

[[Place:Azerbaijan|Azerbaijan]] is one of the few majority Muslim countries to develop strategic and economic relations with Israel.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=7 August 2014 |title=In Muslim Azerbaijan, Self-Interest Prompts Support for Israel on Gaza |url=https://eurasianet.org/in-muslim-azerbaijan-self-interest-prompts-support-for-israel-on-gaza |website=Eurasianet |language=en}}</ref>Kazakhstan also has an economic and strategic partnership with Israel.<ref>{{Cite web |date=19 July 2016 |title=The Israel-Kazakhstan Partnership |url=https://thediplomat.com/2016/07/the-israel-kazakhstan-partnership/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220518015549/https://thediplomat.com/2016/07/the-israel-kazakhstan-partnership/ |archive-date=18 May 2022 |website=The Diplomat |language=en-US}}</ref> India established full diplomatic ties with Israel in 1992 and has fostered a strong military, technological and cultural partnership with the country since then.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://pakistanyouthmovement.com/Research-Reports/India%20Israel%20Ties.pdf |publisher=Jerusalem Institute for Western Defense |last=Kumar |first=Dinesh |title=India and Israel: Dawn of a New Era |access-date=19 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120512233225/http://pakistanyouthmovement.com/Research-Reports/India%20Israel%20Ties.pdf |archive-date=12 May 2012 }}</ref> India is the largest customer of the Israeli military equipment and Israel is the second-largest military partner of India after Russia.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-01-19/india/28119010_1_largest-ever-defence-deal-second-largest-defence-supplier-sensitive-technology-control-requirements |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120707084501/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-01-19/india/28119010_1_largest-ever-defence-deal-second-largest-defence-supplier-sensitive-technology-control-requirements |archive-date=7 July 2012 |title=India to hold wide-ranging strategic talks with US, Israel |date=19 January 2010 |newspaper=The Times of India |access-date=20 March 2012}}</ref> Ethiopia is Israel's main ally in Africa due to common political, religious and security interests.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.economist.com/node/15453225 |title=Iran and Israel in Africa: A search for allies in a hostile world |newspaper=The Economist |date=4 February 2010 |access-date=20 March 2012}}</ref>

====Foreign aid====

Israel has a history of providing emergency foreign aid and humanitarian response to disasters across the world.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.653988 |last=Pfeffer|first=Anshel|newspaper=Haaretz|title=The Downsides of Israel's Missions of Mercy Abroad|date=28 April 2015|access-date=22 November 2015|quote=And even when no Israelis are involved, few countries are as fast as Israel in mobilizing entire delegations to rush to the other side of the world. It has been proved time and again in recent years, after the earthquake in Haiti, the typhoon in the Philippines and the quake/tsunami/nuclear disaster in Japan. For a country of Israel's size and resources, without conveniently located aircraft carriers and overseas bases, it is quite an impressive achievement.}}</ref> In 1955 Israel began its foreign aid programme in Burma. The programme's focus subsequently shifted to Africa.<ref name="Geldenhuys">{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/isolatedstatesco0000geld |url-access=registration |quote=israel international aid africa 1970. |title=Isolated States: A Comparative Analysis |author=Deon Geldenhuys |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1990 |page=[https://archive.org/details/isolatedstatesco0000geld/page/428 428] |isbn=978-0-521-40268-2}}</ref> Israel's humanitarian efforts officially began in 1957, with the establishment of Mashav, the Israel's Agency for International Development Cooperation.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://mfa.gov.il/MFA/mashav/AboutMASHAV/Pages/Background.aspx |title=About MASHAV |publisher=Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs |access-date=20 January 2017}}</ref> In this early period, whilst Israel's aid represented only a small percentage of total aid to Africa, its programme was effective in creating goodwill; however, following the 1967 war relations soured.<ref name="Ismael">{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/internationalrel0000isma |url-access=registration |quote=Israel foreign aid 1958 burundi. |title=International Relations of the Contemporary Middle East: A Study in World Politics |author=Tareq Y. Ismael |publisher=Syracuse University Press| year=1986 |page=[https://archive.org/details/internationalrel0000isma/page/249 249] |isbn=978-0-8156-2382-3}}</ref> Israel's foreign aid programme subsequently shifted its focus to Latin America.<ref name="Geldenhuys"/> Since the late 1970s Israel's foreign aid has gradually decreased, although in recent years Israel has tried to reestablish aid to Africa.<ref>{{cite book |title=Israel and Africa: A Genealogy of Moral Geography |author=Haim Yacobi |publisher=Routledge |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-138-90237-4 |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=lgQXCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA111 111–112] |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lgQXCgAAQBAJ}}</ref> There are additional Israeli humanitarian and emergency response groups that work with the Israel government, including IsraAid, a joint programme run by Israeli organizations and North American Jewish groups,<ref>{{cite book |author=Haim Yacobi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lgQXCgAAQBAJ |title=Israel and Africa: A Genealogy of Moral Geography |publisher=Routledge |year=2016<!--Google has 2015--> |isbn=978-1-138-90237-4 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=lgQXCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA113 113]}}</ref> ZAKA,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/statement/2016-12-01/secretary-generals-remarks-reception-honour-zaka-international |title=Secretary-General's remarks at reception in honour of ZAKA International Rescue Unit [as prepared for delivery] |last=Ki-moon |first=Ban |date=1 December 2016 |publisher=United Nations |access-date=20 January 2017}}</ref> The Fast Israeli Rescue and Search Team,<ref>Ueriel Hellman,[http://www.jta.org/2010/01/19/news-opinion/israel-middle-east/israeli-aid-effort-helps-haitians-and-israels-image "Israeli aid effort helps Haitians – and Israel's image"], Jewish Telegraphic Agency 19 January 2010</ref> Israeli Flying Aid,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.israel21c.org/israels-superwoman-takes-flight-to-help-others/|title=Israel's 'superwoman' takes flight to help others |website=ISRAEL21c |author=Jenny Hazan|date=12 March 2006}}</ref> Save a Child's Heart<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Wolfson-cardiac-surgeons-save-lives-of-more-Gazan-children-374391|title=Wolfson cardiac surgeons save lives of more Gazan children |website=The Jerusalem Post|date=4 September 2014 }}</ref> and Latet.<ref>{{cite press release |date=17 January 2010 |url=http://reliefweb.int/report/haiti/earthquake-haiti-latet-organization-deploys-immediate-relief-victims|title=Earthquake in Haiti – Latet Organization deploys for immediate relief to victims |website=ReliefWeb}}</ref> Between 1985 and 2015, Israel sent 24 delegations of IDF search and rescue unit, the Home Front Command, to 22 countries.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/26634/Default.aspx|date=20 May 2015|access-date=24 November 2015|newspaper=Israel Today|title=When catastrophe strikes the IDF is there to help|archive-date=19 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160119084926/http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/26634/Default.aspx}}</ref> Currently Israeli foreign aid ranks low among [[Organization:OECD|OECD]] nations, spending less than 0.1% of its [[Finance:Gross national income|GNI]] on development assistance.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Israel's Official Development Assistance (ODA) |url=https://www.oecd.org/israel/israels-official-development-assistance.htm#:~:text=In%202016,%20preliminary%20data%20show%20that%20ODA%20reached,a%20share%20of%20GNI%20remained%20stable%20at%200.07%25. |access-date=30 March 2023 |website=oecd.org |publisher=OECD}}</ref> The country ranked 38th in the 2018 World Giving Index.<ref>{{cite report|title=World Giving Index|date=October 2018 |url=https://www.cafonline.org/docs/default-source/about-us-publications/caf_wgi2018_report_webnopw_2379a_261018.pdf |publisher=Charities Aid Foundation |access-date=22 February 2022}}</ref>

===Military===
[[File:The_Southern_Lions._Squadron_116._I.jpg|thumb|F-35 fighter jets of the {{wipe|Israeli Air Force}}]]

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces and is headed by its Chief of General Staff, the ''Ramatkal'', subordinate to the Cabinet. The IDF consists of the army, {{wipe|Israeli Air Force}} and navy. It was founded during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War by consolidating paramilitary organizations—chiefly the Haganah.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://dover.idf.il/IDF/English/about/History/40s/1948/default.htm |publisher=Israel Defense Forces |access-date=31 July 2007 |title=History: 1948 |year=2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080412082705/http://dover.idf.il/IDF/English/about/History/40s/1948/default.htm |archive-date=12 April 2008 }}</ref> The IDF also draws upon the resources of the Military Intelligence Directorate (''Aman'').{{sfn|Henderson|2003|p=97}} The IDF have been involved in several major wars and border conflicts, making it one of the most battle-trained armed forces in the world.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Facts+About+Israel/State/THE+STATE-+Israel+Defense+Forces+-IDF-.htm |publisher=Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs |title=The State: Israel Defense Forces (IDF) |access-date=9 August 2007 |date=13 March 2009 }}</ref>

Most Israelis are conscripted at age 18. Men serve two years and eight months and women two years.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Facts%20About%20Israel/State/The%20Israel%20Defense%20Forces |title=The Israel Defense Forces |publisher=Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs |access-date=21 October 2006}}</ref> Following mandatory service, Israeli men join the reserve forces and usually do up to several weeks of reserve duty every year until their forties. Most women are exempt from reserve duty. Arab citizens of Israel (except the Druze) and those engaged in full-time religious studies are exempt, although the exemption of yeshiva students has been a source of contention.{{sfn|Stendel|1997|pp=191–192}}<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/cool-law-for-wrong-population-1.220687 |date=16 May 2007 |access-date=19 March 2012 |title=Cool law, for wrong population |last=Shtrasler |first=Nehemia |newspaper=Haaretz}}</ref> An alternative for those who receive exemptions on various grounds is ''Sherut Leumi'', or national service, which involves a programme of service in social welfare frameworks.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nbn.org.il/aliyahpedia/army/585-sherut-leumi-national-service.html |publisher=Nefesh B'Nefesh |access-date=20 March 2012 |title=Sherut Leumi (National Service)}}</ref> A small minority of Israeli Arabs also volunteer in the army.<ref>{{Cite news |date=8 November 2016 |title=Israel's Arab soldiers who fight for the Jewish state |language=en-GB |publisher=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-37895021}}</ref> As a result of its conscription programme, the IDF maintains approximately 176,500 active troops and 465,000 reservists, giving Israel one of the world's highest percentage of citizens with military training.<ref name=IISS_military>IISS 2018, pp. 339–340</ref>

[[File:IDF_Air_Defense_fighters_during_Operation_Guardian_of_the_Walls,_May_2021._I.jpg|left|thumb|Iron Dome is the world's first operational anti-artillery rocket defense system.]]
The military relies heavily on high-tech weapons systems designed and manufactured in Israel as well as some foreign imports. The Arrow missile is one of the world's few operational [[Engineering:Anti-ballistic missile|anti-ballistic missile]] systems.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=56544 |newspaper=The Jerusalem Post |title=Arrow can fully protect against Iran |last=Katz |first=Yaakov |date=30 March 2007 |access-date=20 March 2012}}</ref> The Python air-to-air missile series is often considered one of the most crucial weapons in its military history.<ref>''Israeli Mirage III and Nesher Aces'', By Shlomo Aloni, (Osprey 2004), p. 60</ref> Israel's Spike missile is one of the most widely exported [[Engineering:Anti-tank guided missile|anti-tank guided missile]]s in the world.<ref>[http://www.army-technology.com/projects/gill Spike Anti-Tank Missile, Israel] army-technology.com</ref> Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile air defense system gained worldwide acclaim after intercepting hundreds of rockets fired by Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip.<ref name=Johnson>{{cite news|title=How Israel Developed Such A Shockingly Effective Rocket Defense System|author=Robert Johnson|work=Business Insider |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/how-israel-developed-the-iron-dome-2012-11?op=1#ixzz2Cme6aQn5|date=19 November 2012|access-date=20 November 2012}}</ref><ref name=Tory>{{cite news|title=A Missile-Defense System That Actually Works?|author=Sarah Tory |url=http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2012/11/israel_iron_dome_defense_how_has_missile_defense_changed_battle_in_gaza.html|work=Slate|date=19 November 2012|access-date=20 November 2012}}</ref> Since the Yom Kippur War, Israel has developed a network of reconnaissance satellites.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/kent-csi/vol44no5/html/v44i5a04p.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100426215752/https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/kent-csi/vol44no5/html/v44i5a04p.htm |archive-date=26 April 2010 |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |title=Israel's Quest for Satellite Intelligence |last=Zorn |first=E.L. |date=8 May 2007 |access-date=19 March 2012}}</ref> The ''Ofeq'' programme has made Israel [[Engineering:Timeline of first orbital launches by country|one of seven countries]] capable of launching such satellites.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=64499 |newspaper=The Jerusalem Post |title=Analysis: Eyes in the sky |last=Katz |first=Yaakov |date=11 June 2007 |access-date=20 March 2012}}</ref>

Israel is widely believed to possess nuclear weapons<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/transcripts/2004/alahram27072004.html |title=Transcript of the Director General's Interview with Al-Ahram News |first=Mohamed |last=ElBaradei |publisher=International Atomic Energy Agency |date=27 July 2004 |access-date=20 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120418221656/http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/transcripts/2004/alahram27072004.html |archive-date=18 April 2012 }}</ref> and per a 1993 report, chemical and biological weapons of mass destruction.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vaccines.mil/documents/library/proliferation.pdf |title=Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction: Assessing the Risks |publisher=Office of Technology Assessment |date=August 1993 |access-date=29 March 2012 |pages=65, 84 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120528155012/http://www.vaccines.mil/documents/library/proliferation.pdf |archive-date=28 May 2012 }}</ref>{{update after|2021|11}} Israel has not signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/en/conf/npt/2005/background.html |title=Background Information |date=27 May 2005 |website=2005 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) |publisher=United Nations |access-date=9 April 2012}}</ref> and maintains a policy of deliberate ambiguity toward its nuclear capabilities.<ref>Ziv, Guy, "To Disclose or Not to Disclose: The Impact of Nuclear Ambiguity on Israeli Security", Israel Studies Forum, Vol. 22, No. 2 (Winter 2007): 76–94</ref> The Israeli Navy's [[Engineering:Dolphin-class submarine|Dolphin submarines]] are believed to be armed with nuclear missiles offering second-strike capability.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://fas.org/nuke/guide/israel/missile/popeye-t.htm |title=Popeye Turbo |publisher=Federation of American Scientists |access-date=19 February 2011}}</ref> Since the Gulf War in 1991, all homes in Israel are required to have a reinforced security room, Merkhav Mugan, impermeable to chemical and biological substances.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://israelhomeowner.brinkster.net/Glossary.asp |title=Glossary |publisher=Israel Homeowner |access-date=20 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120517224030/http://israelhomeowner.brinkster.net/Glossary.asp |archive-date=17 May 2012 }}</ref>

Since Israel's establishment, military expenditure constituted a significant portion of the country's [[Finance:Gross domestic product|gross domestic product]], with peak of 30.3% of GDP in 1975.<ref>{{cite report |date=29 May 2017 |title=Defence Expenditure in Israel, 1950–2015 |url=http://cbs.gov.il/publications17/1680/pdf/t04.pdf |publisher=Israel Central Bureau of Statistics |access-date=22 June 2017 |archive-date=19 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170619053457/http://cbs.gov.il/publications17/1680/pdf/t04.pdf }}</ref> In 2021, Israel ranked 15th in the world [[Finance:List of countries by military expenditures|by total military expenditure]], with $24.3 billion, and 6th by defense spending as a percentage of GDP, with 5.2%.<ref>{{cite report |date=April 2022 |title=Trends in World Military Expenditure, 2021 |url=https://www.sipri.org/sites/default/files/2022-04/fs_2204_milex_2021_0.pdf |publisher=Stockholm International Peace Research Institute |access-date=21 February 2023}}</ref> Since 1974, the United States has been a particularly notable contributor of military aid.<ref>{{cite report |last=Sharp |first=Jeremy M. |date=22 December 2016 |title=U.S. Foreign Aid to Israel |url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RL33222.pdf |publisher=Congressional Research Service |page=36 |access-date=22 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150731092044/http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RL33222.pdf |archive-date=31 July 2015 }}</ref> Under a [[Finance:Memorandum of understanding|memorandum of understanding]] signed in 2016, the U.S. is expected to provide the country with $3.8&nbsp;billion per year, or around 20% of Israel's defense budget, from 2018 to 2028.<ref>{{cite news |last=Lake |first=Eli |date=15 September 2016 |title=The U.S.-Israel Memorandum of Misunderstanding |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2016-09-15/the-u-s-israel-memorandum-of-misunderstanding |publisher=Bloomberg |access-date=17 March 2017}}</ref> Israel ranked 9th globally for [[Engineering:Arms industry|arms exports]] in 2022.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://armstrade.sipri.org/armstrade/page/toplist.php |title=Top List TIV Tables |publisher=Stockholm International Peace Research Institute |access-date=18 April 2023}}</ref> The majority of Israel's arms exports are unreported for security reasons.<ref>[http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.567693 Israel reveals more than $7 billion in arms sales, but few names] By Gili Cohen | 9 January 2014, Haaretz</ref> Israel is consistently rated low in the Global Peace Index, ranking 134th out of 163 nations for peacefulness in 2022.<ref name=GPI>{{cite report |date=June 2022 |title=Global Peace Index 2022 |url=https://www.visionofhumanity.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/GPI-2022-web.pdf |publisher=Institute for Economics and Peace |page=11 |access-date=21 February 2023}}</ref>

==Economy==
[[File:Ayalon Highway, Tel Aviv (cropped).jpg|thumb|The Diamond Exchange District in Ramat Gan]]
[[File:Tel_Aviv_Stock_Exchange_-_New_Building_Lobby_1.jpg|thumb|Tel Aviv Stock Exchange]]
Israel is considered the most advanced country in [[Place:Western Asia|Western Asia]] and the Middle East in economic and industrial development.<ref name="Chua 2003 219–220">{{Cite book|title=World On Fire |last=Chua |first=Amy |publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-385-72186-8 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/worldonfirehowex00chua_0/page/219 219–220] |url= https://archive.org/details/worldonfirehowex00chua_0/page/219}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url={{Google books|Up_7Bh8SbDcC|page=|keywords=%22israel+is+the+most+industrialized%22|text=%22israel+is+the+most+industrialized%22|plainurl=yes}} |title=Northern and Western Asia |isbn=978-0-8225-2915-6 |last1=Bramwell |first1=Martyn |year=2000 |publisher=Lerner Publications Company}}</ref> {{Asof|2023|10}}, the IMF estimated Israel's GDP at 521.7&nbsp;billion dollars and Israel's GDP per capita at 53.2&nbsp;thousand (ranking 13th worldwide), a figure comparable to other highly developed and rich countries.<ref>{{Cite web |work=IMF data mapper |title=Israel |date=October 2023 |url=https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/profile/ISR |access-date=2023-11-21 |publisher=International Monetary Fund}}</ref> It is the third richest country in Asia by nominal per capita income.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Team |first=FAIR |date=2023-09-06 |title=Top 10 Richest Countries in Asia [2023] |url=https://fairbd.net/top-10-richest-countries-in-asia/ |access-date=2023-11-20 |website=FAIR |language=en-GB}}</ref> Israel has the highest average wealth per adult in the Middle East.<ref name="CS 2019-1">{{Cite web |title=Global wealth report |url=https://www.credit-suisse.com/about-us/en/reports-research/global-wealth-report.html |access-date=20 September 2022 |website=credit-suisse.com |publisher=[[Company:Credit Suisse|Credit Suisse]]}}</ref> ''[[Finance:The Economist|The Economist]]'' ranked Israel as the 4th most successful economy among the developed countries for 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Israel ranked 4th-best-performing economy among OECD countries in 2022 |date=26 December 2022 |first=Sharon |last=Wrobel |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-ranked-4th-best-performing-economy-among-oecd-countries-in-2022/amp/ |access-date=8 February 2023 |website=The Times of Israel}}</ref> It has the most billionaires in the Middle East, and the 18th most in the world.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Chang |first=Richard J. |title=The Countries With The Most Billionaires 2022 |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/richardjchang/2022/04/05/the-countries-with-the-most-billionaires-2022/ |access-date=29 March 2023 |website=Forbes |language=en}}</ref> In recent years Israel had one of the highest growth rates in the developed world.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Israel |website=OECD Data |publisher=OECD |url=http://data.oecd.org/israel.htm |access-date=2023-10-13 |language=en}}</ref> In 2010, it joined the [[Organization:OECD|OECD]].<ref name="OECD"/><ref>{{cite web |title=List of OECD Member countries&nbsp;— Ratification of the Convention on the OECD |website=oecd.org |url=http://www.oecd.org/general/listofoecdmembercountries-ratificationoftheconventionontheoecd.htm |access-date=12 August 2012 |publisher=OECD}}</ref> The country is ranked 20th in the [[Organization:World Economic Forum|World Economic Forum]]'s ''Global Competitiveness Report''<ref name="rank 2019">{{cite web |title=The Global Competitiveness Report 2019 |url=http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_TheGlobalCompetitivenessReport2019.pdf|access-date=1 December 2021}}</ref> and 35th on the [[Organization:World Bank|World Bank]]'s [[Finance:Ease of doing business index|''Ease of Doing Business'' index]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Rankings |website=World Bank |language=en |url=http://www.doingbusiness.org/en/rankings |access-date=1 December 2021}}</ref> Israel was also ranked fifth in the world by share of people in high-skilled employment.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://reports.weforum.org/global-human-capital-report-2017/dataexplorer/#economy=ISR |title=Global Human Capital Report 2017 |date=13 September 2017 |publisher=World Economic Forum |access-date=23 April 2018}}</ref> Israeli economic data covers the economic territory of Israel, including the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem and Israeli settlements in the West Bank.{{sfn|OECD|2011}}

Despite limited natural resources, intensive development of the agricultural and industrial sectors over the past decades has made Israel largely self-sufficient in food production, apart from grains and beef. Imports to Israel, totaling $96.5&nbsp;billion in 2020, include raw materials, military equipment, investment goods, rough diamonds, fuels, grain, and consumer goods.<ref name="cia"/> Leading exports include machinery and equipment, software, cut diamonds, agricultural products, chemicals, and textiles and apparel; in 2020, Israeli exports reached $114&nbsp;billion.<ref name="cia"/> The Bank of Israel holds $201 billion of [[Finance:Foreign-exchange reserves|foreign-exchange reserves]], the 17th highest in the world.<ref name="cia"/> Since the 1970s, Israel has received military aid from the United States, as well as economic assistance in the form of [[Finance:Loan guarantee|loan guarantee]]s, which now account for roughly half of Israel's [[Finance:External debt|external debt]]. Israel has [[Finance:List of countries by external debt|one of the lowest]] external debts in the developed world, and is a lender in terms of net external debt ([[Finance:Net international investment position|assets vs. liabilities abroad]]), which {{as of|2015|alt=in 2015}} stood at a surplus of $69&nbsp;billion.<ref>{{cite press release |date=20 September 2015 |title=Israel's International Investment Position (IIP), June 2015 |url=http://www.boi.org.il/en/NewsAndPublications/PressReleases/Pages/20-09-2015-IIP-Q2.aspx |publisher=Bank of Israel |access-date=29 January 2017 |archive-date=15 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215171824/https://www.boi.org.il/en/NewsAndPublications/PressReleases/Pages/20-09-2015-IIP-Q2.aspx}}</ref>

Israel has the second-largest number of [[Finance:Startup company|startup companies]] after the United States,<ref>{{cite book |title=Intellectual Capital for Communities: Nations, Regions, and Cities |last=Bounfour |first=Ahmed |author2=Edvinsson, Leif |year=2005 |publisher=Butterworth-Heinemann |isbn=978-0-7506-7773-8 |page=47 (368 pages)}}</ref> and the third-largest number of NASDAQ-listed companies.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/richardbehar/2016/05/11/inside-israels-secret-startup-machine/ |title=Inside Israel's Secret Startup Machine |magazine=Forbes |date=11 May 2016 |access-date=30 October 2016 |author=Richard Behar}}</ref> It is the world leader for number of start-ups per capita.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Israeli technological Eco-system |url=https://www2.deloitte.com/il/en/pages/innovation/article/the_israeli_technological_eco-system.html |access-date=26 February 2023 |website=Deloitte Israel |language=en}}</ref> Israel has been dubbed the "[[Finance:Start-up Nation|Start-Up Nation]]".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Yerman |first=Jordan |date=2019-05-22 |title=A Startup Nation: Why Israel Has Become The New Silicon Valley |url=https://apex.aero/articles/startup-nation-israel-become-silicon-valley/ |access-date=2023-10-22 |website=APEX |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Israel's economy is a study in contrasts |newspaper=The Economist |url=https://www.economist.com/special-report/2017/05/18/israels-economy-is-a-study-in-contrasts |access-date=2023-10-22 |issn=0013-0613}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Ioniță |first=Antoanela |date=2023-02-03 |title=Lessons from Tel Aviv: What Has Fueled Israel's Startup Ecosystem's Growth |url=https://therecursive.com/lessons-from-tel-aviv-what-has-fueled-israel-s-startup-ecosystem-s-growth/ |access-date=2023-10-22 |website=TheRecursive.com |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2016-01-06 |title=Israel: Start-up nation comes of age |work=Financial Times |url=https://www.ft.com/content/a5c2ad5a-b471-11e5-b147-e5e5bba42e51 |access-date=2023-10-22}}</ref> [[Company:Intel|Intel]]<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.jpost.com/Business/BusinessNews/Article.aspx?id=52876 |newspaper=The Jerusalem Post |date=27 February 2007 |access-date=20 March 2012 |title=Intel to expand Jerusalem R&D |last=Krawitz |first=Avi}}</ref> and [[Company:Microsoft|Microsoft]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.microsoftrnd.co.il/about/leadership |publisher=Microsoft |access-date=19 March 2012 |title=Microsoft Israel R&D center: Leadership |quote=Avi returned to Israel in 1991, and established the first Microsoft R&D Center outside the US&nbsp;... |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120313223906/http://www.microsoftrnd.co.il/about/leadership |archive-date=13 March 2012 }}</ref> built their first overseas [[Research and development|research and development]] facilities in Israel, and other high-tech multinational corporations have opened research and development centres in the country.

The days which are allocated to working times in Israel are Sunday through Thursday (for a five-day workweek), or Friday (for a six-day workweek). In observance of ''[[History:Shabbat|Shabbat]]'', in places where Friday is a work day and the majority of population is Jewish, Friday is a "short day". Several proposals have been raised to adjust the work week with the majority of the world.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.themarker.com/career/1.1739743 |newspaper=The Marker |title=Instead of 4 work days: 6 optional days to be considered half day-outs |last=Koren |first=Orah |date=26 June 2012 |access-date=26 June 2012}} (in Hebrew)</ref>

===Science and technology===
[[File:Matam hi-tech park (Haifa).jpg|thumb|left|Matam high-tech park in Haifa]]

Israel's development of cutting-edge technologies in software, communications and the life sciences have evoked comparisons with Silicon Valley.<ref>{{cite news |title=Israel keen on IT tie-ups |date=10 January 2001 |newspaper=Business Line |url=http://www.hindu.com/businessline/2001/01/11/stories/151139ue.htm |access-date=19 March 2012 |archive-date=2013-01-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116074212/http://www.hindu.com/businessline/2001/01/11/stories/151139ue.htm}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Israel's technology industry: Punching above its weight |date=10 November 2005 |newspaper=The Economist |url=http://www.economist.com/node/5149411 |access-date=20 March 2012}}</ref> Israel is first in the world in expenditure on research and development as a percentage of GDP.<ref name=OECD_R&D>{{cite web |url=https://data.oecd.org/rd/gross-domestic-spending-on-r-d.htm|title=Research and development (R&D) – Gross domestic spending on R&D |website=OECD Data |publisher=OECD |access-date=10 February 2016}}</ref> It is ranked 14th in the [[Global Innovation Index]] in 2023,<ref>{{Cite report |editor1=Soumitra Dutta |editor2=Bruno Lanvin |editor3=Lorena Rivera León |editor4=Sacha Wunsch-Vincent |title=Global Innovation Index 2023 |edition=16th |page=22 |website=wipo.int |url=https://www.wipo.int/edocs/pubdocs/en/wipo-pub-2000-2023-en-main-report-global-innovation-index-2023-16th-edition.pdf |access-date=2023-10-17 |language=en |isbn=978-92-805-3321-7}} [https://www.wipo.int/global_innovation_index/en/2023/index.html Overview].</ref> and fifth in the 2019 [[Bloomberg Innovation Index]].<ref name=Bloomberg_innovation>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-22/germany-nearly-catches-korea-as-innovation-champ-u-s-rebounds|title=These Are the World's Most Innovative Countries|website=Bloomberg.com |date=22 January 2019|access-date=24 January 2019}}</ref> Israel has 140 scientists, technicians, and engineers per 10,000 employees, the highest number in the world.<ref>{{cite web |last=Shteinbuk |first=Eduard |date=22 July 2011 |url=http://sun.inc.hse.ru/sites/default/files/Shteinbuk.pdf |title=R&D and Innovation as a Growth Engine |publisher=National Research University – Higher School of Economics |access-date=11 May 2013 |archive-date=8 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190808102137/http://sun.inc.hse.ru/sites/default/files/Shteinbuk.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{Cite report |author1=Augusto Lopez-Claros |author2=Irene Mia |date=2006 |url=http://www.investinisrael.gov.il/NR/rdonlyres/61BD95A0-898B-4F48-A795-5886B1C4F08C/0/israelcompleteweb.pdf |title=Israel: Factors in the Emergence of an ICT Powerhouse |publisher=Foreign Direct Investment Database |place=Geneva |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150712025800/http://www.investinisrael.gov.il/NR/rdonlyres/61BD95A0-898B-4F48-A795-5886B1C4F08C/0/israelcompleteweb.pdf |archive-date=2015-07-12 |via=InvestinIsrael.gov}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nyjtimes.com/Heritage/News/2003/Aug/InvestinginIsrael.htm|url-status=live|title=Investing in Israel|first=Yoram|last=Ettinger|publisher=New York Jewish Times|year=2003|archive-date=22 August 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040822112811/http://nyjtimes.com/Heritage/News/2003/Aug/InvestinginIsrael.htm}}</ref> Israel has produced six Nobel Prize-winning scientists since 2004<ref name="nobel">{{cite news |author=Haviv Rettig Gur |date=9 October 2013 |title=Tiny Israel a Nobel heavyweight, especially in chemistry |url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/tiny-israel-a-nobel-heavyweight-especially-in-chemistry/ |website=The Times of Israel |access-date=30 January 2017}}</ref> and has been frequently ranked as one of the countries with the highest ratios of scientific papers per capita.<ref>{{cite news |last=Heylin |first=Michael |date=27 November 2006 |title=Globalization of Science Rolls On |work=Chemical & Engineering News |pages=29–31 |url=http://www.achem.univ.kiev.ua/news/pdf/globalization_of_science_rolls_on.pdf |access-date=5 February 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-EdContributors/Article.aspx?id=32635 |newspaper=The Jerusalem Post |last=Gordon |first=Evelyn |title=Kicking the global oil habit |access-date=20 March 2012 |date=24 August 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Israel's scientific fall from grace: Study shows drastic decline in publications per capita |author=Yarden Skop |url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/.premium-1.544767 |newspaper=Haaretz |date=2 September 2013}}</ref> [[Organization:List of Israeli universities and colleges|Israeli universities]] are ranked among the top 50 world universities in computer science (Technion and [[Organization:Tel Aviv University|Tel Aviv University]]), mathematics ([[Organization:Hebrew University of Jerusalem|Hebrew University of Jerusalem]]) and chemistry (Weizmann Institute of Science).<ref name="ARWU"/>

In 2012, Israel was ranked ninth in the world by the Futron's Space Competitiveness Index.<ref>{{cite web|title=Futron Releases 2012 Space Competitiveness Index|url=http://spaceref.biz/2012/08/futron-releases-2012-space-competitiveness-index.html|access-date=21 December 2013|archive-date=24 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224114215/http://spaceref.biz/2012/08/futron-releases-2012-space-competitiveness-index.html}}</ref> The Israel Space Agency coordinates all Israeli space research programmes with scientific and commercial goals, and have indigenously designed and built at least 13 commercial, research and spy satellites.<ref>{{cite news |title=Israel's domestic satellite industry saved |first=Arieh |last=O'Sullivan |url=http://www.jpost.com/Features/InThespotlight/Article.aspx?id=276757 |newspaper=The Jerusalem Post |date=9 July 2012 |access-date=9 December 2012 |quote=The Amos 6 will be IAI's 14th satellite}}</ref> Some of Israel's satellites are ranked among the world's most advanced space systems.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/jan/21/iran.marktran |title=Israel launches new satellite to spy on Iran |access-date=20 March 2012 |date=21 January 2008 |newspaper=The Guardian |first=Mark |last=Tran}}</ref> [[Engineering:Shavit 2|Shavit]] is a space [[Engineering:Launch vehicle|launch vehicle]] produced by Israel to launch small [[Astronomy:Satellite|satellite]]s into [[Astronomy:Low Earth orbit|low Earth orbit]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Space launch systems – Shavit|publisher=Deagel |url=http://www.deagel.com/Space-Launch-Systems/Shavit_a001901001.aspx|access-date=19 November 2013}}</ref> It was first launched in 1988, making Israel the [[Engineering:Timeline of first orbital launches by country|eighth nation]] to have a space launch capability. In 2003, Ilan Ramon became Israel's first astronaut, serving on the [[Engineering:Space Shuttle Columbia disaster|fatal mission]] of [[Engineering:Space Shuttle Columbia|Space Shuttle ''Columbia'']].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://m.jpost.com/PromoContent/Learning-Hebrew-Online-Colonel-Ilan-Ramon#article=0OTBDN0ZDNEMyQTAzMDUyNTZCQTAxQzhERUM4OTczMkQ= |title=Learning Hebrew Online – Colonel Ilan Ramon |author=e-Teacher |newspaper=The Jerusalem Post |date=9 February 2010 |access-date=1 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208124754/http://m.jpost.com/PromoContent/Learning-Hebrew-Online-Colonel-Ilan-Ramon |archive-date=8 December 2015 }}</ref>

The ongoing water shortage has spurred innovation in water conservation techniques, and a substantial agricultural modernization, drip irrigation, was invented in Israel. Israel is also at the technological forefront of [[Chemistry:Desalination|desalination]] and water recycling. The Sorek desalination plant is the largest seawater [[Chemistry:Reverse osmosis|reverse osmosis]] desalination facility in the world.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.technologyreview.com/s/534996/megascale-desalination/ |title=Megascale Desalination |last=Talbot |first=David |date=2015 |magazine=MIT Technology Review |access-date=13 February 2017}}</ref> By 2014, Israel's desalination programmes provided roughly 35% of Israel's drinking water and it is expected to supply 70% by 2050.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.yahoo.com/israel-solves-water-woes-desalination-053359192.html |title=Israel solves water woes with desalination |author=Federman, Josef |agency=Associated Press |date=30 May 2014 |access-date=30 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140602041312/http://news.yahoo.com/israel-solves-water-woes-desalination-053359192.html |archive-date=2 June 2014 }}</ref> {{as of|2015}}, more than 50 percent of the water for Israeli households, agriculture and industry is artificially produced.<ref name="Kershner">{{Cite news|title = Aided by the Sea, Israel Overcomes an Old Foe: Drought|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/30/world/middleeast/water-revolution-in-israel-overcomes-any-threat-of-drought.html|newspaper = The New York Times|date = 29 May 2015|access-date = 31 May 2015|first = Isabel|last = Kershner}}</ref> In 2011, Israel's [[Earth:Water industry|water technology industry]] was worth around $2 billion a year with annual exports of products and services in the tens of millions of dollars. As a result of innovations in reverse osmosis technology, Israel is set to become a net [[Chemistry:Water export|exporter of water]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-desalination-idUSTRE7B50V520111206 |title=Desalination plant could make Israel water exporter |newspaper=Reuters |date=6 December 2011 |first=Ari |last=Rabinovitch}}</ref>

[[File:Solar dish at Ben-Gurion National Solar Energy Center in Israel.jpg|thumb|alt=A horizontal parabolic dish, with a triangular structure on its top.|The world's largest [[Parabolic reflector|solar parabolic dish]] at the Ben-Gurion National Solar Energy Center<ref name=Register>{{cite news |url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/25/faiman_negev_solar_plan/ |title=Giant solar plants in Negev could power Israel's future |first=John |last=Lettice |newspaper=The Register |date=25 January 2008}}</ref>]]

Israel has embraced solar energy; its engineers are on the cutting edge of solar energy technology<ref name=NPR>{{cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15503716 |title=Israel Pushes Solar Energy Technology |publisher=NPR |first=Linda |last=Gradstein |date=22 October 2007}}</ref> and its solar companies work on projects around the world.<ref name=CBC>{{cite news |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/reportsfromabroad/parry/20070815.html |title=Looking to the sun |first=Tom |last=Parry |date=15 August 2007 |newspaper=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080924093635/http://www.cbc.ca/news/reportsfromabroad/parry/20070815.html |archive-date=24 September 2008 }}</ref><ref name=BW>{{cite news |title=At the Zenith of Solar Energy |first=Neal |last=Sandler |url=http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2008-03-26/at-the-zenith-of-solar-energybusinessweek-business-news-stock-market-and-financial-advice |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105185413/http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2008-03-26/at-the-zenith-of-solar-energybusinessweek-business-news-stock-market-and-financial-advice |archive-date=5 November 2012 |newspaper=Bloomberg Businessweek |date=26 March 2008 |access-date=12 August 2012}}</ref> Over 90% of Israeli homes use solar energy for hot water, the highest per capita.<ref name="Solar energy">{{cite web |url=http://www.neaman.org.il/Neaman2011/Templates/ShowPage.asp?DBID=1&TMID=581&LNGID=1&FID=646&IID=7974 |title=Solar energy for the production of heat Summary and recommendations of the 4th assembly of the energy forum at SNI |last1=Grossman |first1=Gershon |last2=Ayalon |first2=Ofira |last3=Baron |first3=Yifaat |last4=Kauffman |first4=Debby |publisher=Samuel Neaman Institute for Advanced Studies in Science and Technology |access-date=12 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116083312/http://www.neaman.org.il/Neaman2011/Templates/ShowPage.asp?DBID=1&TMID=581&LNGID=1&FID=646&IID=7974 |archive-date=16 January 2013 }}</ref><ref name="Environment California SWH">{{cite web |last1=Del Chiaro |first1=Bernadette |last2=Telleen-Lawton |first2=Timothy |title=Solar Water Heating: How California Can Reduce Its Dependence on Natural Gas |publisher=Environment California |url=http://www.environmentcalifornia.org/reports/cae/solar-water-heating-how-california-can-reduce-its-dependence-natural-gas |access-date=20 March 2012 |format=PDF}}</ref> According to government figures, the country saves 8% of its electricity consumption per year because of its solar energy use in heating.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://roma.mfa.gov.il/mfm/Data/156237.pdf |title=Solar, what else?! |last=Berner |first=Joachim |date=January 2008 |website=Sun & Wind Energy |publisher=Israel Special |page=88 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721141348/http://roma.mfa.gov.il/mfm/Data/156237.pdf |archive-date=21 July 2011 |access-date=15 May 2010}}</ref> The high annual incident [[Physics:Irradiance|solar irradiance]] at its geographic [[Earth:Latitude|latitude]] creates ideal conditions for what is an internationally renowned solar research and development industry in the Negev Desert.<ref name=NPR/><ref name=CBC/><ref name=BW/> Israel had a modern [[Engineering:Electric vehicle network|electric car infrastructure]] involving a countrywide network of [[Engineering:Charging station|charging station]]s.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2066975,00.html |title=Will Israel's Electric Cars Change the World? |magazine=Time |access-date=11 April 2012 |date=26 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415081103/http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0%2C8599%2C2066975%2C00.html |archive-date=15 April 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/c0ef35cc-c06a-11df-8a81-00144feab49a.html | title=Electric cars are all the rage in Israel |newspaper=Financial Times | date=17 September 2010 | access-date=11 April 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.haaretz.com/business/israel-to-keep-electric-car-recharging-fees-low-1.418128 | title=Israel to keep electric car recharging fees low | newspaper=Haaretz | access-date=11 April 2012| date=13 March 2012 }}</ref> However, Israel's electric car company Better Place shut down in 2013.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.businessinsider.com/better-place-folds-2013-5 |title=Electric Car Company Folds After Taking $850 Million From GE And Others |work=Business Insider |date=26 May 2013}}</ref>

===Energy===
Israel began producing natural gas from its own offshore gas fields in 2004. In 2009, a natural gas reserve, Tamar, was found near the coast of Israel. A second reserve, Leviathan, was discovered in 2010.<ref>{{cite news|title=Israel Billionaire Tshuva Strikes Gas, Fueling Expansion in Energy, Hotels |first1=David |last1=Wainer |first2=Calev |last2=Ben-David |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-04-21/israel-billionaire-tshuva-strikes-gas-fueling-expansion-in-energy-hotels.html |publisher=Bloomberg News |date=22 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110112194937/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-04-21/israel-billionaire-tshuva-strikes-gas-fueling-expansion-in-energy-hotels.html |archive-date=12 January 2011 }}</ref> The natural gas reserves in these two fields could make Israel energy-secure for more than 50 years. In 2013, Israel began commercial production of natural gas from the Tamar field. {{as of|2014}}, Israel produced over 7.5 billion cubic meters (bcm) of [[Chemistry:Natural gas|natural gas]] a year.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2249rank.html|title=The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency |website=cia.gov|access-date=11 May 2018|archive-date=15 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160315051210/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2249rank.html}}</ref> Israel had 199 billion bcm of proven reserves of natural gas as of 2016.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2253rank.html#is|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615230151/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2253rank.html#is|archive-date=15 June 2013|title=The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency|website=cia.gov}}</ref> The Leviathan gas field started production in 2019.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-natgas-leviathan/israel-gets-first-gas-from-leviathan-with-exports-to-follow-idUSKBN1YZ0H9 |publisher=Reuters |title=Israel gets first gas from Leviathan with exports to follow |last1=Cohen |first1=Tova |last2=Ari |first2=Rabinovitch |date=31 December 2019 |access-date=26 June 2022}}</ref>

Ketura Sun is Israel's first commercial solar field. Built in 2011 by the Arava Power Company, the field consists of 18,500 [[Chemistry:Photovoltaics|photovoltaic]] panels made by Suntech, which will produce about 9 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity per year.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.aravapower.com/Technical%20Figures |title= Ketura Sun Technical Figures |access-date= 26 June 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120309003501/http://www.aravapower.com/Technical%20Figures |archive-date= 9 March 2012}}</ref> In the next twenty years, the field will spare the production of some 125,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aravapower.com/Environmental%20Figures |title=Ketura Sun Environmental Figures|access-date= 26 June 2011}}{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=Triggerhippie4 |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

===Transport===
[[File:4X-ECC LLBG 09-05-2014b.jpg|thumb|Ben Gurion International Airport]]
Israel has {{convert|19224|km|mi}} of paved roads,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cbs.gov.il/reader/shnaton/templ_shnaton_e.html?num_tab=st24_10&CYear=2016 |title=Roads, by Length and Area |date=1 September 2016 |publisher=Israel Central Bureau of Statistics |access-date=15 February 2017}}</ref> and 3&nbsp;million motor vehicles.<ref name="vehicles">{{cite web |url=http://www.cbs.gov.il/reader/newhodaot/hodaa_template.html?hodaa=201627085 |title=3.09&nbsp;Million Motor Vehicles in Israel in 2015 |date=30 March 2016 |publisher=Israel Central Bureau of Statistics |access-date=15 February 2017}}</ref> The number of motor vehicles per 1,000 persons is 365, relatively low among developed countries.<ref name="vehicles"/> Israel has 5,715 buses on scheduled routes,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cbs.gov.il/shnaton60/st24_04.pdf |title=Bus Services on Scheduled Routes |year=2009 |publisher=Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics |access-date=5 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610053142/http://www.cbs.gov.il/shnaton60/st24_04.pdf |archive-date=10 June 2011 }}</ref> operated by several carriers, the largest and oldest of which is Egged, serving most of the country.<ref>{{cite news|last=Stub|first=Zev|title=Egged's monopoly ends, Superbus taking over Jerusalem lines in late 2021|url=https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/eggeds-monopoly-ending-superbus-to-take-over-j-m-bus-lines-in-late-2021-657673|access-date=1 December 2021|work=The Jerusalem Post}}</ref> Railways stretch across {{convert|1277|km|mi}} and are operated by government-owned Israel Railways.<ref name="cbs_rails">{{cite web |url=http://www.cbs.gov.il/reader/shnaton/templ_shnaton_e.html?num_tab=st24_03&CYear=2016 |title=Railway Services |date=1 September 2016 |publisher=Israel Central Bureau of Statistics |access-date=15 February 2017}}</ref> Following major investments beginning in the early to mid-1990s, the number of train passengers per year has grown from 2.5&nbsp;million in 1990, to 53&nbsp;million in 2015; railways transport 7.5&nbsp;million tons of cargo, per year.<ref name="cbs_rails"/>

Israel is served by three international airports: Ben Gurion Airport, the country's main hub for international air travel; Ramon Airport; and Haifa Airport. Ben Gurion, Israel's largest airport, handled over 15&nbsp;million passengers in 2015.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.iaa.gov.il/en-US/airports/bengurion/Pages/Statistics.aspx |title=Statistics |publisher=Israel Airports Authority |access-date=15 February 2017}}</ref> The country has three main ports: the Port of Haifa, the country's oldest and largest, on the Mediterranean coast, Ashdod Port; and the smaller Port of Eilat on the Red Sea.

===Tourism===
[[File:Ein Bokek - Dead Sea2.jpg|thumb|Ein Bokek resort on the shore of the Dead Sea]]
Tourism, especially religious tourism, is an important industry in Israel, with the country's beaches, archaeological, other historical and biblical sites, and unique geography also drawing tourists. Israel's security problems have taken their toll on the industry, but the number of tourists is on the rebound.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.jpost.com/LandedPages/PrintArticle.aspx?id=71992 |newspaper=The Jerusalem Post |title=Tourist visits above pre-war level |last=Burstein |first=Nathan |date=14 August 2007 |access-date=20 March 2012}}</ref> In 2017, a record 3.6 million tourists visited Israel, yielding a 25 percent growth since 2016 and contributed NIS 20 billion to the Israeli economy.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-01/03/c_136867704.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180124195618/http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-01/03/c_136867704.htm |archive-date=24 January 2018 |title=Israel sees record 3.6 mln inbound tourists in 2017 |last=Yan |date=3 January 2018 |website=Xinhua}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.israel21c.org/israel-sets-new-record-with-3-6-million-tourists-in-2017/ |title=Israel sets new record with 3.6 million tourists in 2017 |last=Amir |first=Rebecca Stadlen |date=3 January 2018 |website=ISRAEL21c}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-record-36m-tourists-visit-israel-in-2017-1001217309 |title=Record 3.6m tourists visit Israel in 2017 |last=Raz-Chaimovich |first=Michal |date=27 December 2017 |newspaper=Globes}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.atlantajewishtimes.timesofisrael.com/israel-sees-record-3-6-million-tourists-in-2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180111022050/http://atlantajewishtimes.timesofisrael.com/israel-sees-record-3-6-million-tourists-in-2017/ |archive-date=11 January 2018 |title=Israel Sees Record 3.6 Million Tourists in 2017 |date=4 January 2018 |website=Atlanta Jewish Times}}</ref>

===Real estate===
Housing prices in Israel are listed in the top third of all countries,<ref>{{cite web |title=Housing prices |website=OECD Data |publisher=OECD |language=en |url=https://data.oecd.org/price/housing-prices.htm}}</ref> with an average of 150 salaries required to buy an apartment.<ref>{{cite web |title=Average salary in Israel |url=https://www.cbs.gov.il/he/mediarelease/DocLib/2022/002/26_22_002b.pdf |website=Central Bureau of Statistics of Israel |access-date=4 January 2022}}</ref> As of 2022, there are about 2.7 million properties in Israel, with an annual increase of more than 50,000.<ref>{{cite web |title=Dwellings and Buildings in Israel |website=Central Bureau of Statistics of Israel |url=https://www.cbs.gov.il/he/mediarelease/DocLib/2021/030/04_21_030b.pdf |access-date=26 January 2022}}</ref> However, the demand for housing exceeds supply, with a shortage of about 200,000 apartments as of 2021.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Tsion |first1=Hila |date=23 June 2021 |title=Housing crisis: about 200,000 apartments are missing |work=Ynet |language=he |url=https://www.ynet.co.il/economy/article/S1KYZ9kh00}}</ref> As a result, by 2021 housing prices rose by 5.6%.<ref>{{cite web|title=Israeli housing prices show largest increase in the world |url=https://www.israel21c.org/israeli-housing-prices-show-largest-increase-in-the-world/ |website=ISRAEL21c |author=Brian Blum|date=15 September 2021|access-date=28 January 2022 |language=en}}</ref> In 2021, Israelis took a record of NIS 116.1 billion in mortgages, an increase of 50% from 2020.<ref>{{cite web |title=Report on housing loans |website=Bank of Israel |url=https://www.boi.org.il/he/BankingSupervision/Data/Pages/HousingLoan.aspx |access-date=26 January 2022 |archive-date=26 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220126140617/https://www.boi.org.il/he/BankingSupervision/Data/Pages/HousingLoan.aspx}}</ref>

==Culture==
Israel's diverse culture stems from the diversity of its population: Jews from diaspora communities around the world brought their cultural and religious traditions back with them.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hse.ru/en/news/28331917.html |publisher=National Research University Higher School of Economics |title=Asian Studies: Israel as a 'Melting Pot' |access-date=18 April 2012}}</ref> Arab influences are present in many cultural spheres,<ref name="MendelRanta2016p137">{{cite book|last1=Mendel|first1=Yonatan|last2=Ranta|first2=Ronald|title=From the Arab Other to the Israeli Self: Palestinian Culture in the Making of Israeli National Identity|url={{Google books|dD_7CwAAQBAJ|page=|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}}|year=2016|publisher=Routled|isbn=978-1-317-13171-7|page=137, 140-141}}</ref> such as architecture,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFA+Publications/Photo+exhibits/Encounters-+The+Vernacular+Paradox+of+Israeli+Arch-+Intro.htm |publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs |title=Encounters: The Vernacular Paradox of Israeli Architecture |last=Ran |first=Ami |access-date=6 September 2007 |date=25 August 1998 }}</ref> music,<ref>{{cite news |work=ISRAEL21c |url=http://www.israel21c.org/culture/israeli-palestinian-and-jordanian-djs-create-bridge-for-peace |title=Israeli, Palestinian and Jordanian DJs create bridge for peace |last=Brinn |first=David |date=23 October 2005 |access-date=20 March 2012}}</ref> and cuisine.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/History/Modern%20History/Israel%20at%2050/The%20International%20Israeli%20Table |publisher=Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs |title=The International Israeli Table |access-date=26 June 2009 }}</ref> Israel is the only country where life revolves around the [[History:Hebrew calendar|Hebrew calendar]]. Holidays are determined by the Jewish holidays. The official day of rest is Saturday, the [[History:Shabbat|Jewish Sabbath]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Facts%20About%20Israel/People/Jewish%20Festivals%20in%20Israel |publisher=Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs |title=Jewish Festivals and Days of Remembrance in Israel |access-date=16 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070814055003/http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/facts%20about%20israel/people/jewish%20festivals%20in%20israel |archive-date=14 August 2007 }}</ref>

===Literature===
[[File:Agnon.jpg|thumb|upright|Shmuel Yosef Agnon, laureate of the Nobel Prize in Literature]]
Israeli literature is primarily poetry and prose written in [[Social:Hebrew language|Hebrew]], as part of the renaissance of Hebrew as a spoken language since the mid-19th century, although a small body of literature is published in other languages. By law, two copies of all printed matter published in Israel must be deposited in the National Library of Israel. In 2001, the law was amended to include audio and video recordings, and other non-print media.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://jnul.huji.ac.il/eng/lgd.html |publisher=Jewish National and University Library |title=Depositing Books to The Jewish National & University Library |access-date=21 August 2007 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120529153016/http://jnul.huji.ac.il/eng/lgd.html |archive-date=29 May 2012 }}</ref> In 2016, 89&nbsp;percent of the 7,300 books transferred to the library were in Hebrew.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://web.nli.org.il/sites/NLI/English/library/depositing/statistics/Pages/lgd-statistics-2016.aspx |title=The Annual Israeli Book Week Report 2016 |publisher=National Library of Israel |access-date=26 April 2018}}</ref>

In 1966, Shmuel Yosef Agnon shared the Nobel Prize in Literature with German Jewish author Nelly Sachs.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1966/index.html |publisher=Nobel Foundation |title=The Nobel Prize in Literature 1966 |access-date=12 August 2007 }}</ref> Leading Israeli poets include Yehuda Amichai, Nathan Alterman, Leah Goldberg, and Rachel Bluwstein.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Yehuda Amichai |url=https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/yehuda-amichai |access-date=1 July 2023 |website=Poetry Foundation |language=en}}</ref> Internationally famous contemporary Israeli novelists include Amos Oz, Etgar Keret and David Grossman.<ref>{{Cite web |title=5 Israeli authors you should know – DW – 09/03/2021 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/5-israeli-authors-you-should-know/a-59072065 |access-date=1 July 2023 |website=dw.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Books |first=Five |title=The Best Contemporary Israeli Fiction |url=https://fivebooks.com/best-books/israeli-novels-ayelet-gundar-goshen/ |access-date=1 July 2023 |website=Five Books |language=en}}</ref>

===Music and dance===
[[File:Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|Israel Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Zubin Mehta|alt=Several dozen musicians in formal dress, holding their instruments, behind a conductor]]
Israeli music includes Mizrahi and Sephardic music, Hasidic melodies, Greek music, jazz, and pop rock.{{sfn |Broughton |Ellingham |Trillo |1999 |pp=365–369}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Israel |url=http://worldmusic.nationalgeographic.com/view/page.basic/country/content.country/israel_36 |publisher=National Geographic Society |website=World Music |access-date=20 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120210070052/http://worldmusic.nationalgeographic.com/view/page.basic/country/content.country/israel_36 |archive-date=10 February 2012 }}</ref> The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra{{sfn|Ben-Sasson|1985|p=1095}}<ref>{{cite book |title=Whose Master's Voice?: The Development of Popular Music in Thirteen Cultures |last1=Ewbank |first1=Alison J. |last2=Papageorgiou |first2=Fouli T. |year=1997 |publisher=Greenwood Press |isbn=978-0-313-27772-6 |page=117}}</ref> has been in operation for over seventy years and performs more than two hundred concerts each year.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.israel21c.org/us-music-lovers-join-the-birthday-fun-for-israels-greatest-classical-ensemble-the-ipo/ |website=ISRAEL21c |title=US music lovers join the birthday fun for Israel's greatest classical ensemble – the IPO |date=4 February 2007 |last=Davis |first=Barry}}</ref> Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman and Ofra Haza are among the internationally acclaimed musicians born in Israel. Israel has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest nearly every year since 1973, winning the competition four times and hosting it twice.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eurovision.tv/page/history/by-country/country?country=18 |title=Israel |website=Eurovision Song Contest |publisher=European Broadcasting Union |access-date=31 May 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eurovision.tv/page/history/year |title=History |website=Eurovision Song Contest |publisher=European Broadcasting Union |access-date=31 May 2013}}</ref> Eilat has hosted its own international music festival, the Red Sea Jazz Festival, every summer since 1987.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.redseajazzeilat.com/en/about/ |publisher=Red Sea Jazz Festival |title=About the Red Sea Jazz Festival |access-date=20 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120312202659/http://www.redseajazzeilat.com/en/about/ |archive-date=12 March 2012 }}</ref> The nation's canonical [[Social:Folk music|folk songs]] are known as "Songs of the Land of Israel".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://worldmusic.nationalgeographic.com/view/page.basic/genre/content.genre/israeli_folk_735/en_US |publisher=National Geographic Society |title=Israeli Folk Music |access-date=20 March 2012 |website=World Music |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120103145812/http://worldmusic.nationalgeographic.com/view/page.basic/genre/content.genre/israeli_folk_735/en_US |archive-date=3 January 2012 }}</ref>

===Cinema and theatre===

Ten Israeli films have been final nominees for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards. Palestinian Israeli filmmakers have made films dealing with the Arab-Israeli conflict and status of Palestinians within Israel, such as Mohammed Bakri's 2002 film ''Jenin, Jenin'' and ''The Syrian Bride''.

Continuing the strong theatrical traditions of the Yiddish theatre in Eastern Europe, Israel maintains a vibrant theatre scene. Founded in 1918, Habima Theatre in Tel Aviv is Israel's oldest repertory theater company and national theater.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.habima.co.il/ |script-title=he:התיאטרון הלאומי הבימה |publisher=Habima National Theatre |access-date=13 August 2007 |language=he }}</ref> Other theatres include Ohel, the Cameri and Gesher.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Theatre in Israel |url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/theatre-in-israel |access-date=2023-10-19 |website=jewishvirtuallibrary.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Israeli Theatre |url=https://www.myjewishlearning.com/culture/2/Theatre_and_Dance/Theatre/Israel.shtml |access-date=2023-10-19 |website=My Jewish Learning |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Arts ===
Israeli Jewish art has been particularly influenced by the [[Unsolved:Kabbalah|Kabbalah]], the Talmud and the Zohar. Another art movement that held a prominent role in the 20th century was the School of Paris. In the late 19th and early 20th century, the Yishuv's art was dominated by art trends emanating Bezalel. Beginning in the 1920s, the local art scene was heavily influenced by modern French art, first introduced by Isaac Frenkel Frenel.<ref>{{Cite web |title=1883 {{!}} Encyclopedia of the Founders and Builders of Israel |url=https://www.tidhar.tourolib.org/tidhar/view/4/1883 |access-date=2023-10-19 |website=tidhar.tourolib.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-01-02 |title=Alexandre FRENEL |url=https://ecoledeparis.org/fr/alexandre-frenel/ |access-date=2023-10-19 |website=Bureau d’art Ecole de Paris |language=fr-FR}}</ref> Jewish masters of the school of Paris, such as Soutine, Kikoine, Frenkel, Chagall heavily influenced the subsequent development of Israeli art.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-05-25 |title=Chaim Soutine – From Russia to Paris by Ben Uri Research Unit |url=https://issuu.com/benurigallery/docs/chaim_soutine___from_russia_to_paris |access-date=2023-10-19 |website=issuu.com |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":43">{{Cite web |title=Israel Studies An Anthology: Art in Israel |url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/israel-studies-an-anthology-art-in-israel |access-date=2023-10-19 |website=jewishvirtuallibrary.org}}</ref> Israeli sculpture took inspiration from modern European sculpture as well Mesopotamian, Assyrian and local art.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |title=Israeli Sculpture |url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/israeli-sculpture |access-date=2023-12-26 |website=jewishvirtuallibrary.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Israel - Art, Music, Dance  |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Israel/Cultural-life |access-date=2023-12-26 |website=britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> Avraham Melnikov's roaring lion, David Polus' Alexander Zaid and Ze'ev Ben Zvi's cubist sculpture exemplify some of the different streams in Israeli sculpture.<ref name=":6" /><ref>{{Cite journal |date=2008-01-18 |title=Encyclopaedia Judaica (2nd edition) |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/09504120810843177 |journal=Reference Reviews |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=51–53 |doi=10.1108/09504120810843177 |issn=0950-4125}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-04-11 |title=1938-1941 - Alexander Zaid, David Polus |url=https://israeled.org/1938-1941-alexander-zaid-david-polus/ |access-date=2023-12-26 |website=CIE |language=en}}</ref>

Common themes in Israeli art are the mystical cities of Safed and [[Place:Jerusalem|Jerusalem]], the bohemian café culture of [[Place:Tel Aviv|Tel Aviv]], agricultural landscapes, biblical stories and war. Today Israeli art has delved into Optical art, [[Artificial intelligence art|AI art]], digital art and the use of salt in sculpture.<ref name=":43" />

=== Architecture ===
[[File:מוזיאון הבאוהאוס1.jpg|thumb|Bauhaus Museum, Tel Aviv]]
Due to the immigration of Jewish architects, architecture in Israel has come to reflect different styles. In the early 20th century Jewish architects sought to combine Occidental and Oriental architecture producing buildings that showcase a myriad of infused styles.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Eclectic–Modern \ Tel Aviv Museum of Art |url=https://www.tamuseum.org.il/en/exhibition/eclecticmodern/ |access-date=2023-10-22 |website=tamuseum.org.il |language=en}}</ref> The eclectic style gave way to the modernist [[Engineering:Bauhaus|Bauhaus]] style with the influx of German Jewish architects (among them Erich Mendelsohn) fleeing Nazi persecution.<ref>{{Cite web |title="Erich Mendelsohn: Berlin – Jerusalem" Photography by Carsten Krohn {{!}} Bauhaus Center Tel Aviv |url=https://bauhaus-center.com/gallery-art-exhibition/erich-mendelsohn-berlin-jerusalem-photography-by-carsten-krohn/ |access-date=2023-10-27 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Erich Mendelsohn |url=https://wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/about/erich-mendelsohn |access-date=2023-10-27 |website=Weizmann Wonder Wander |language=en}}</ref> The White City of Tel Aviv is a UNESCO heritage site.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Centre |first=UNESCO World Heritage |title=White City of Tel-Aviv &ndash; the Modern Movement |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1096/ |access-date=2023-10-22 |website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre |language=en}}</ref> Following independence, multiple government projects were commissioned, a grand part built in a brutalist style with heavy emphasis on the use of concrete and acclimatization to the Israel's desert climate.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Constantinoiu |first=Marina |date=2021-04-21 |title=In Tel Aviv, amazing Brutalist architecture hides in plain sight |url=https://www.israel21c.org/in-tel-aviv-amazing-brutalist-architecture-hides-in-plain-sight/ |access-date=2023-10-22 |website=ISRAEL21c |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-01-12 |title=Beyond Bauhaus - The allure of Israeli Brutalism |url=https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/brutally-beautiful-576859 |access-date=2023-10-22 |website=The Jerusalem Post {{!}} JPost.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

Several novel ideas such as the [[Engineering:Garden city movement|Garden City]] were implemented Israeli cities; the Geddes plan of Tel Aviv became renowned internationally for its revolutionary design and adaptation to the local climate.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sir Patrick Geddes Plan for Tel-Aviv |url=https://magazine.esra.org.il/posts/entry/sir-patrick-geddes.html |access-date=2023-10-22 |website=ESRAmagazine |language=en-gb}}</ref> The design of kibbutzim also came to reflect ideology, such as the planning of the circular kibbutz Nahalal by Richard Kauffmann.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Amir |first1=Eyal |last2=Churchman |first2=Arza |last3=Wachman |first3=Avraham |date=October 2005 |journal=Housing Theory and Society |volume=22 |issue=3 |pages=147–165 |doi=10.1080/14036090510040313 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/248979674 |title=The Kibbutz Dwelling: Ideology and Design|s2cid=145220156 }}</ref>

===Media===
The 2017 ''Freedom of the Press'' annual report by [[Organization:Freedom House|Freedom House]] ranked Israel as the [[Finance:MENA|Middle East and North Africa]]'s most free country, and 64th globally.<ref>{{cite report |date=April 2017 |title=Freedom of the Press 2017 |url=https://freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/FOTP_2017_booklet_FINAL_April28.pdf |publisher=Freedom House |page=26 |access-date=30 September 2017}}</ref> In the 2017 Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders, Israel (including "Israel extraterritorial" since 2013 ranking)<ref>{{cite news |last=Diab |first=Khaled |date=11 February 2013 |title=Preaching – and Practicing – Media Freedom in the Middle East |url=http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/preaching-8211-and-practicing-8211-media-freedom-in-the-middle-east.premium-1.502769 |newspaper=Haaretz |access-date=9 January 2017}}</ref> was placed 91st of 180 countries, first in the Middle East and North Africa region.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://rsf.org/en/ranking |title=2017 World Press Freedom Index |date=2017 |publisher=Reporters Without Borders |access-date=30 September 2017}}</ref> Reporters Without Borders noted that "Palestinian journalists are systematically subjected to violence as a result of their coverage of events in the West Bank".<ref>{{cite web | title=Israel | website=RSF | date=1 January 2022 | url=https://rsf.org/en/country/israel | access-date=15 May 2022}}</ref> More than fifty Palestinian journalists have been killed by Israel since 2001.<ref name="Guyer 2022">{{cite web | last=Guyer | first=Jonathan | title=The killing of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, explained | website=Vox | date=11 May 2022 | url=https://www.vox.com/2022/5/11/23067365/shireen-abu-akleh-palestinian-journalist-killed-israel | access-date=15 May 2022}}</ref>

===Museums===
[[File:Billy Rose Art Garden (14755133799).jpg|thumb|Shrine of the Book, repository of the Dead Sea Scrolls in Jerusalem]]
The Israel Museum in Jerusalem is one of Israel's most important cultural institutions<ref name="imj">{{cite web |url=http://www.english.imjnet.org.il/page_1465?c0=14896&bsp=14393 |publisher=The Israel Museum, Jerusalem |title=About the Museum |access-date=13 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130302154234/http://www.english.imjnet.org.il/page_1465?c0=14896&bsp=14393 |archive-date=2 March 2013 }}</ref> and houses the Dead Sea Scrolls,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.imj.org.il/eng/shrine/index.html |publisher=The Israel Museum, Jerusalem |title=Shrine of the Book |access-date=13 August 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070709044752/https://www.imj.org.il/eng/shrine/index.html |archive-date=9 July 2007 }}</ref> along with an extensive collection of Judaica and European art.<ref name="imj"/> Israel's national [[Social:The Holocaust|Holocaust]] museum, Yad Vashem, is the world central archive of Holocaust-related information.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www1.yadvashem.org/yv/en/about/index.asp |publisher=Yad Vashem |title=About Yad Vashem |access-date=20 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314132026/http://www1.yadvashem.org/yv/en/about/index.asp |archive-date=14 March 2012 }}</ref> ANU - Museum of the Jewish People on the campus of [[Organization:Tel Aviv University|Tel Aviv University]], is an interactive museum devoted to the history of Jewish communities around the world.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bh.org.il/about-us.aspx |publisher=Beth Hatefutsoth |title=Museum Information |access-date=13 August 2007 }}</ref>

Israel has the highest number of museums per capita.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://travel.cnn.com/best-israel-museums-361281/ |title=10 of Israel's best museums |last=Ahituv |first=Netta |date=29 January 2013 |publisher=CNN |access-date=9 January 2017}}</ref> Several Israeli museums are devoted to Islamic culture, including the Rockefeller Museum and the L. A. Mayer Institute for Islamic Art, both in Jerusalem. The Rockefeller specializes in archaeological remains from Middle East history. It is also the home of the first hominid fossil skull found in Western Asia, called Galilee Man.<ref>{{cite book|url={{Google books|4Z0YrPfeHa8C|page=|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}}|title=Through the Ages in Palestinian Archaeology: An Introductory Handbook |page=50|first=Walter E.|last=Rast|year=1992|isbn=978-1-56338-055-6|publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group}} "Galilee man" (lowercase "m") in this source is a typo&nbsp;– ref. [[Biology:Solo Man|Solo Man]], [[Earth:Peking Man|Peking Man]] and so forth.</ref>

===Cuisine===
[[File:Food in Israel.jpg|thumb|A meal including falafel, hummus, French fries and Israeli salad]]
Israeli cuisine includes local dishes as well as Jewish cuisine brought to the country by immigrants. Particularly since the late 1970s, an Israeli fusion cuisine has developed.<ref name=raviv/> Israeli cuisine has adopted, and continues to adapt, elements of the Mizrahi, Sephardi, and Ashkenazi styles of cooking. It incorporates many foods traditionally eaten in the Levantine, Arab, Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisines, such as falafel, hummus, shakshouka, couscous, and za'atar. Schnitzel, pizza, hamburgers, French fries, [[Biology:Rice|rice]] and salad are common in Israel.

Roughly half of the Israeli-Jewish population attests to keeping kosher at home.<ref>Uzi Rebhun, Lilakh Lev Ari, [https://books.google.com/books?id=CG-WQZDJdo8C&pg=PA113 ''American Israelis: Migration, Transnationalism, and Diasporic Identity,''] Brill, 2010 pp. 112–113.</ref><ref name="bernstein 227, 233–234">{{harvnb|Bernstein|2010|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=FYXlAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA227 227], [https://books.google.com/books?id=FYXlAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA233 233–234]}}</ref> Kosher restaurants make up around a quarter of the total {{As of|2015|lc=y}}.<ref name=raviv>Yael Raviv, [https://books.google.com/books?id=KjuYCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT119 ''Falafel Nation,''] University of Nebraska Press, 2015</ref> Together with non-kosher fish, rabbits and ostriches, pork—often called "white meat" in Israel<ref name=bernstein-231>{{harvnb|Bernstein|2010|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=FYXlAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA232 231–233]}}</ref>—is produced and consumed, though it is forbidden by both Judaism and Islam.<ref>{{cite news |author=Jeffrey Yoskowitz |url=http://www.slate.com/articles/life/faithbased/2012/08/israel_s_pork_problem_and_what_it_means_for_the_country_s_christian_arabs_.single.html|work=Slate|title=Israel's Pork Problem|date=8 August 2012 |access-date=28 December 2015}}</ref>

===Sports===
[[File:ירוק עולה.jpg|thumb|left|Maccabi Haifa F.C. fans at Sammy Ofer Stadium in the city of Haifa]]
The most popular spectator sports in Israel are association football and basketball.{{sfn|Torstrick|2004|p=141}} The Israeli Premier League is the country's premier football league, and the Israeli Basketball Premier League is the premier basketball league.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.basket.co.il/Data.asp?id=1&lang=en |publisher=Winner Basketball Super League |title=Basketball Super League Profile |access-date=13 August 2007 }}</ref> Maccabi Haifa, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Hapoel Tel Aviv and Beitar Jerusalem are the largest football clubs. Maccabi Tel Aviv, Maccabi Haifa and Hapoel Tel Aviv have competed in the UEFA Champions League and Hapoel Tel Aviv reached the UEFA Cup quarter-finals. Israel hosted and won the 1964 AFC Asian Cup; in 1970 the Israel national football team qualified for the FIFA World Cup, the only time it participated in the World Cup. The 1974 Asian Games, held in Tehran, were the last Asian Games in which Israel participated, plagued by the Arab countries that refused to compete with Israel. Israel was excluded from the 1978 Asian Games and since then has not competed in Asian sport events.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jta.org/1976/07/26/archive/israel-barred-from-asian-games |title=Israel Barred from Asian Games |publisher=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |date=26 July 1976 |access-date=11 April 2014}}</ref> In 1994, UEFA agreed to admit Israel, and its football teams now compete in Europe. Maccabi Tel Aviv B.C. has won the European championship in basketball six times.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.euroleague.net/final-four/milan-2014/maccabi-electra-tel-aviv |title=Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv – Welcome to EUROLEAGUE BASKETBALL |access-date=30 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140625083458/http://www.euroleague.net/final-four/milan-2014/maccabi-electra-tel-aviv |archive-date=25 June 2014 }}</ref>

Israel has won nine Olympic medals since its first win in 1992, including a gold medal in windsurfing at the 2004 Summer Olympics.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.olympic.org/israel |publisher=International Olympic Committee |title=Israel |access-date=20 March 2012}}</ref> Israel has won over 100 gold medals in the Paralympic Games and is ranked 20th in the all-time medal count. The 1968 Summer Paralympics were hosted by Israel.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.paralympic.org/paralympic-games/tel-aviv-1968 |title=Tel Aviv 1968 |publisher=International Paralympic Committee |access-date=20 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320024849/http://www.paralympic.org/paralympic-games/tel-aviv-1968 |archive-date=20 March 2012 }}</ref> The Maccabiah Games, an Olympic-style event for Jewish and Israeli athletes, was inaugurated in the 1930s, and has been held every four years since then. Krav Maga, a martial art developed by Jewish ghetto defenders during the struggle against [[Social:Fascism|fascism]] in Europe, is used by the Israeli security forces and police. Its effectiveness and practical approach to self-defense, have won it widespread admiration and adherence around the world.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,988284,00.html|url-access=subscription|title=Choke! Gouge! Smash!|last=Ellis|first=Judy|magazine={{wipe|Time (magazine)}} |date=4 May 1998|access-date=1 January 2017}}</ref>

[[File:BorisGelfandSicilianDefence.jpg|thumb|Boris Gelfand, chess Grandmaster]]
Chess is a leading sport in Israel. There are many Israeli grandmasters and Israeli chess players have won a number of youth world championships.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/pawn-stars-shine-in-new-national-sport-1.317002 | title=Pawn stars shine in new 'national sport' | newspaper=Haaretz | access-date=21 May 2012| date=4 October 2010 }}</ref> Israel stages an annual international championship and hosted the World Team Chess Championship in 2005. The Ministry of Education and the World Chess Federation agreed upon a project of teaching chess within Israeli schools, and it has been introduced into the curriculum of some schools.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://cis.fide.com/en/reports/186-chess-in-schools-in-israel-progress-report |title=Chess in Schools in Israel: Progress report |date=28 May 2012 |publisher=FIDE |access-date=7 January 2017 |archive-date=8 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170108193104/http://cis.fide.com/en/reports/186-chess-in-schools-in-israel-progress-report }}</ref> The city of Beersheba has become a national chess center, with the game being taught in the city's kindergartens. Owing partly to Soviet immigration, it is home to the largest number of chess grandmasters of any city in the world.<ref>{{cite news |title=Chess masters set to blitz Rishon Letzion |first=Eitan |last=Bekerman |newspaper=Haaretz |date=4 September 2006 |url=http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/chess-masters-set-to-blitz-rishon-letzion-1.196475}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fide.com/component/content/article/9-other/2182-673-world-team-championship-in-beer-sheva-israel|title=World Team Championship in Beer Sheva, Israel |publisher=World Chess Federation |access-date=13 March 2009 |date=1 November 2005 }}</ref> The Israeli chess team won the silver medal at the 2008 Chess Olympiad<ref>{{cite news |title=Israel takes silver medal in Chess Olympiad |first=Uri |last=Tzahor |newspaper=Ynetnews |date=26 November 2008 |url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3628765,00.html}}</ref> and the bronze, coming in third among 148 teams, at the 2010 Olympiad. Israeli grandmaster Boris Gelfand won the Chess World Cup 2009.<ref>{{cite news |title=Israeli grand master Boris Gelfand wins Chess World Cup |first=Eli |last=Shvidler |newspaper=Haaretz |date=15 December 2009 |url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/israeli-grand-master-boris-gelfand-wins-chess-world-cup-1.2120}}</ref>

==See also==
* Index of Israel-related articles
* [[Place:Outline of Israel|Outline of Israel]]

==References==
===Notes===
{{Reflist|group=fn}}
{{notelist}}

===Citations===
{{reflist}}

===Sources===
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{{Refend}}

==External links==
'''Government'''
* of the Israel Prime Minister's Office
* of the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics
* [https://www.nli.org.il/en/discover/israel The Israel Collection] at the National Library of Israel

'''General information'''
* {{Britannica|296740}}
* [https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-14628835 Israel] at BBC News Online
* [https://www.oecd.org/israel/ Israel] at the [[Organization:OECD|OECD]]

'''Maps'''
* {{OSM relation|1473946}}

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[[Category:Eastern Mediterranean]]

{{Sourceattribution|Israel}}