Israel

Israel,[a] officially the State of Israel,[b] is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. It is bordered by Lebanon to the north, Syria to the northeast, Jordan to the east, the Red Sea to the south, Egypt to the southwest, the Mediterranean Sea to the west, and the Palestinian territories – the West Bank along the east and the Gaza Strip along the southwest.[21] Tel Aviv is the country's financial, economic, and technological center. Israel's governmental seat is in its proclaimed capital of Jerusalem, although recognition of Israeli sovereignty over East Jerusalem is limited internationally.[c][23]

Israel is located in a region known historically as Canaan, Palestine, and the Holy Land. In antiquity, it was home to several Canaanite, and later, Israelite and Judahite states, and is referred to as the Land of Israel in Jewish tradition. Situated at a continental crossroad, the region subsequently came under the rule of many different empires.[24] The late 19th century saw the rise of Zionism in Europe, a movement seeking a Jewish homeland, which garnered British support during World War I. During the war, British occupation led to the setting up of Mandatory Palestine in 1920. Increased Jewish immigration, combined with British colonial policy, led to intercommunal conflict between Jews and Arabs.[25][26] The 1947 UN Partition Plan triggered a civil war between the two groups, which saw the expulsion and flight of most of Mandatory Palestine's predominantly Arab population, known as the Nakba.[27][28][29] A minority remained and became Arab citizens of Israel.[30]

The State of Israel declared its establishment on 14 May 1948, the eve of the British termination of the Mandate. On 15 May 1948, the armies of neighboring Arab states invaded the area of former Mandatory Palestine, starting the First Arab–Israeli War. Primarily as a consequence of the war,[31][32] from 1948 to 1951, 260,000 Jews migrated, fled, or were expelled from Muslim-majority countries throughout North Africa and the Middle East[33] beginning a near total exodus of the more than 850,000 Jews living in the Muslim world[34][35], and whose descendants today constitute the largest Jewish ethnic identity group in Israel.[36] The 1949 Armistice Agreements established Israel's borders over most of the former Mandate territory. The rest, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, were taken by Jordan and Egypt respectively.[37][38][39] The 1967 Six-Day War saw Israel occupying the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Egyptian Sinai Peninsula and Syrian Golan Heights. The Israeli government has since established and continues to expand settlements across the occupied territories, actions which are deemed illegal under international law, and has annexed both East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, actions which are largely unrecognized internationally. Since the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Israel has signed peace treaties with Egypt, returning the Sinai Peninsula, and with Jordan, and has more recently normalized relations with several Arab countries. However, international efforts to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict have not succeeded. Israel's practices in its occupation of the Palestinian territories have drawn sustained international criticism along with accusations from human rights organizations and United Nations officials that it has committed war crimes and crimes against humanity against the Palestinian people.

The country has a parliamentary system elected by proportional representation. The prime minister serves as head of government, and is elected by the Knesset, Israel's unicameral legislature.[40] Israel has one of the biggest economies in the Middle East by nominal GDP,[41] it is one of the richest countries in the Middle East and Asia,[42][43][44] and an OECD member since 2010.[45] It has one of the highest standards of living in the Middle East and Asia, and has been ranked as one of the most advanced and technological countries.[46][47][48] Israel has a population of nearly 10 million people as of 2023[update].[49][18]