Israel

National name: Medinat Yisra’el

Government
Parliamentary democracy.

Geography
Israel, lies at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea. Its maritime plain is extremely fertile. The southern Negev region, which comprises almost half the total area, is largely a desert. The Jordan, the only important river, flows from the north through Lake Hule (Waters of Merom) and Lake Kinneret (Sea of Galilee or Sea of Tiberias), finally entering the Dead Sea, 1,349 ft (411 m) below sea level—the world’s lowest land elevation.

Historical Background
Following World War II, the British withdrew from their mandate of Palestine, and the UN partitioned the area into Arab and Jewish states, an arrangement rejected by the Arabs. Subsequently, the Israelis defeated the Arabs in a series of wars without ending the deep tensions between the two sides. On 25 April 1982, Israel withdrew from the Sinai pursuant to the 1979 Israel Egypt Peace Treaty. Israel and Palestinian officials signed on 13 September 1993 a Declaration of Principles (also known as the "Oslo Accords") guiding an interim period of Palestinian self-rule. Outstanding territorial and other disputes with Jordan were resolved in the 26 October 1994 Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace. In addition, on 25 May 2000, Israel withdrew unilaterally from southern Lebanon, which it had occupied since 1982. In keeping with the framework established at the Madrid Conference in October 1991, bilateral negotiations were conducted between Israel and Palestinian representatives and Syria to achieve a permanent settlement. The election in January 2005 of Mahmud ABBAS as the new Palestinian leader following the November 2004 death of Yasir ARAFAT, the formation of a Likud Labor- United Torah Judaism coalition government in January 2005, and the successful Israeli disengagement from the Gaza Strip (August-September 2005), presented an opportunity for a renewed peace effort. At a Middle East peace conference in November hosted by the United States in Annapolis, Md., Olmert and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas agreed to work together to broker a peace treaty by the end of 2008.

Name

State of Israel

Capital

Jerusalem[a]

Government

Parliamentary democracy[1]-President Shimon Peres-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu- Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin-Supreme Court President Dorit Beinisch

Area

Total 1 20,770 / 22,072 km2 (151st) 8,019 / 8,522 sq mi

Population

2010 estimate 7,653,600[2] (95th)  2008 census 7,406,900[3]

GDP (PPP)

2009 estimate -Total $206.430 billion[4] (49th)

GDP (nominal)

2010 estimate  -Total $199.456 billion[4] (40th)

Currency

Shekel (₪‎) (ILS or NIS)

Time zone

IST (UTC+2) Summer (DST) IDT (UTC+3)