India: Difference between revisions

{{short description|Country in West Asia}}

{{Other uses}}

| capital                = [[Jerusalem]]<br />([[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 [[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=[[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=[[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 [[Tel Aviv]].}}

| population_estimate    = {{IncreaseNeutral}} {{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/>

| GDP_nominal_per_capita    = {{increase}} $53,372<ref name="IMFWEO.IL" />

| 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>

'''Israel''',{{efn|group=fn|{{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɪ|z|r|i|.|ə|l|,_|-|r|eɪ|-}}; {{lang-he|יִשְׂרָאֵל}} {{Transliteration|he|Yīsrāʾēl}} {{IPA-he|jisʁaˈʔel|}}; {{lang-ar|إِسْرَائِيل}} {{Transliteration|ar|ʾIsrāʾīl}}}} officially the '''State of Israel''',{{efn|group=fn|{{lang-he|מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל}} {{transliteration|he|Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl}} {{IPA-he|mediˈnat jisʁaˈʔel|}}; {{lang-ar|دَوْلَة إِسْرَائِيل}} {{transliteration|ar|Dawlat Isrāʾīl}}}} is a country in the [[Southern Levant]] region of [[West Asia]]. It is [[Borders of Israel|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]]{{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> [[Tel Aviv]] is the [[financial center|financial]], [[Economy of Israel|economic]], and [[Science and technology in Israel|technological]] center of the country, while its seat of government is in its proclaimed capital of [[Jerusalem]], although Israeli sovereignty over [[East Jerusalem]] is [[Status of Jerusalem|unrecognized internationally]].{{efn|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 [[Knesset|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 [[Status of Jerusalem]] for more information.}}<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>

On 29 November 1947, the General Assembly adopted [[United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine|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 }}, [[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 [[1947 Jerusalem riots|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 spiralled into a [[1947–48 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine|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 [[Causes of the 1948 Palestinian exodus|numerous factors]].{{sfn|Morris|2008}}

=== State of Israel ===

{{main|History of Israel (1948–present)}}

[[File:Declaration of State of Israel 1948.jpg|thumb|right|[[David Ben-Gurion]] declaring the [[Israeli Declaration of Independence|establishment of Israel]] on 14 May 1948]]

On 14 May 1948, the day before the expiration of the British Mandate, [[David Ben-Gurion]], the head of the Jewish Agency, [[Israeli Declaration of Independence|declared]] "the establishment of a Jewish state in [[Eretz-Israel]], to be known as the State of Israel."<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'' ("[[Land of Israel]]").{{citation needed|date=March 2024}} The following day, the armies of four Arab countries—[[Kingdom of Egypt|Egypt]], [[Syrian Republic (1946–63)|Syria]], [[Jordan|Transjordan]] and [[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-link=Henry Laurens (scholar) |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 [[Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen|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 [[1949 Armistice Agreements|ceasefire was declared]] and temporary borders, known as the [[Green Line (Israel)|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 [[Jordanian annexation of the West Bank|annexed]] what became known as the [[West Bank]], including [[East Jerusalem]], and Egypt [[Occupation of the Gaza Strip by Egypt|occupied]] the [[Gaza Strip]]. The UN estimated that more than 700,000 Palestinians were [[1948 Palestinian exodus|expelled by or fled]]—what would become known in Arabic as the ''[[Nakba]]'' ("catastrophe").<ref>{{cite book |last=Morris|first=Benny|author-link=Benny Morris|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>

[[File:Raising the Ink Flag at Umm Rashrash (Eilat) (3x4).jpg|thumb|150px|right|Raising of the [[Ink Flag]] on 10 March 1949, marking the end of the [[1948 Arab–Israeli War|1948 war]]]]

Israel [[United Nations General Assembly Resolution 273|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 [[Government of Jordan|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 [[Labor Zionism|Labor Zionist]] movement led by Prime Minister [[David Ben-Gurion]] dominated [[Politics of Israel|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 [[Aliyah Bet|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 [[Aliyah#Early statehood (1948–1960)|influx of Holocaust survivors]] and [[Jewish exodus from Arab and Muslim countries|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> [[Ashkenazi Jews|Jews of European background]] were often treated more favorably than Jews from [[Mizrahi Jews|Middle Eastern]] and [[Sephardi Jews|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,''] [[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 in Israel|austerity period]]. The need to solve the crisis led Ben-Gurion to sign a [[Reparations Agreement between Israel and West Germany|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}}

{{main|Arab–Israeli conflict}}

During the 1950s, Israel was frequently [[List of attacks against Israeli civilians before 1967|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 [[Protocol of Sèvres|a secret alliance]] with the UK and France and overran the [[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 [[Eichmann trial|trial]].{{sfn|Bascomb|2009|p=219–229}} Eichmann remains the only person executed in Israel by conviction in an [[Israeli judicial system|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 weapons and Israel|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 [[Israeli coastal plain|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 [[War over Water (Jordan river)|tensions]] between Israel on the one hand, and Syria and Lebanon on the other. [[Arab nationalist]]s 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 [[United Nations Emergency Force|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 (academic)|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 ''[[casus belli]]'' and, on 5 June, launched a [[Operation Focus|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 [[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 (Israel)|Green Line]] became the administrative boundary between Israel and the [[Israeli-occupied territories|occupied territories]].{{sfn|Shlay|Rosen|2010|pp=362–363}}

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 [[Palestinian political violence|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 |author-link=Edmund Andrews (reporter) |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 [[Munich massacre|a massacre of Israeli athletes]] at the [[1972 Summer Olympics]] in Munich. The Israeli government responded with an [[Operation Wrath of God|assassination campaign]] against the organizers of the massacre, a [[1972 Israeli air raid in Syria and Lebanon|bombing]] and a [[1973 Israeli raid on Lebanon|raid on the PLO headquarters in Lebanon]].

On 6 October 1973, the Egyptian and Syrian armies launched [[Operation Badr (1973)|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 [[Agranat Commission|internal inquiry]] exonerated [[Fifteenth government of Israel|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 [[Operation Entebbe|rescued]] 102 out of 106 Israeli hostages.

The [[1977 Israeli legislative election|1977 Knesset elections]] marked a major turning point in Israeli political history as [[Menachem Begin]]'s [[Likud]] party took control from the [[Labor Party (Israel)|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 [[1978 South Lebanon conflict|invasion of southern Lebanon]] to destroy PLO bases. Most PLO fighters withdrew, but Israel was able to secure southern Lebanon until a [[United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon|UN force]] and the Lebanese army could take over. The PLO soon resumed its [[Palestinian insurgency in South Lebanon|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 [[Israeli settlements|settle]] in the [[Israeli occupation of the West Bank|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 [[UN Security Council Resolution 478|reignited international controversy]] over the [[Positions on Jerusalem|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 [[Golan Heights Law|effectively annexed]] the [[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]] [[Aliyah from Ethiopia|immigrated]] to Israel since the 1980s, while between 1990 and 1994, [[1990s Post-Soviet aliyah|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 [[Operation Opera|destroyed]] Iraq's sole [[Osirak|nuclear reactor]] under construction just outside [[Baghdad]], to impede Iraq's nuclear weapons programme. Following a series of PLO attacks in 1982, Israel [[1982 Lebanon War|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 of Israel|Defense minister]] [[Ariel Sharon]] as bearing "personal responsibility".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Schiff |first1=Ze'ev |author-link=Ze'ev Schiff |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=[[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 [[Larnaca yacht killings|terrorist attack]] in [[Cyprus]] by [[Operation Wooden Leg|bombing]] the PLO headquarters in Tunisia. Israel withdrew from most of Lebanon in 1986, but maintained a [[Israeli occupation of Southern Lebanon|borderland buffer zone]] in southern Lebanon until 2000, from where Israeli forces [[South Lebanon conflict (1985–2000)|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 [[Iraqi rocket attacks on Israel|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}}

In 1992, [[Yitzhak Rabin]] became prime minister following [[1992 Israeli legislative election|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, [[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 [[West Bank Areas in the Oslo II Accord|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 [[Israel–Palestine Liberation Organization letters of recognition|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 [[Israeli checkpoint|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 [[List of Palestinian suicide attacks|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 [[assassination of 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|Benjamin Netanyahu's]] premiership at the end of the 1990s, Israel agreed to [[Protocol Concerning the Redeployment in Hebron|withdraw]] from [[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]], [[1999 Israeli general election|elected]] Prime Minister in 1999, withdrew forces from Southern Lebanon and conducted negotiations with PNA Chairman [[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.

{{further|Iran–Israel proxy conflict}}

{{Update section|date=March 2023|reason=the events of the last two decades outside of conflict is barely covered}}

[[File:Rocket Attacks fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip by year.png|thumb|upright=1.25|[[Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel|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. [[Palestinian suicide attacks|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 Israeli prime ministerial election|2001 election]]; he carried out his plan to [[Israeli disengagement from Gaza|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 [[2006 Hezbollah cross-border raid|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 [[Operation Outside the Box|destroyed]] a nuclear reactor in Syria. In 2008, [[2008 Israel–Hamas ceasefire|a ceasefire]] between [[Hamas]] and Israel collapsed. The [[Gaza War (2008–2009)|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 [[Blockade of the Gaza Strip|border crossings]]. Despite neither the [[Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel|rocket launchings]] nor Israeli [[Military operations of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict|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 [[List of Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel in 2012|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 [[2012 Israeli operation in the Gaza Strip|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 [[2014 Gaza War|operation]] in Gaza following an [[List of Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel in 2014|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 [[2021 Israel–Palestine crisis|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 [[Arab–Israeli alliance|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 [[Iran–Israel conflict during the Syrian civil war|direct confrontation with Iran during the Syrian civil war]]. On 7 October 2023, Palestinian militant groups from Gaza, led by [[Hamas]], launched [[2023 Hamas attack on Israel|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=[[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 [[Re'im music festival massacre|during a music festival]]. [[Kidnappings during the 2023 Israel–Hamas war|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>

{{Main|Geography of Israel}}

{{see also|Agriculture in Israel|Wildlife of Israel|List of forests in Israel|Yatir Forest}}

{{Israel Geographical Map}}

{{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=[[Satellite imagery|Satellite images]] of Israel and neighboring territories during the day and night}}

Israel is located in the [[Levant]] area of the [[Fertile Crescent]]. The country is at the [[Eastern Mediterranean|eastern end]] of the [[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 [[29th parallel north|29°]] and [[34th parallel north|34° N]], and longitudes [[34th meridian east|34°]] and [[36th meridian east|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 [[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 [[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 National Authority|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 [[Galilee]], [[Mount Carmel|Carmel]] and toward the [[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 [[Dead Sea]], the [[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 Aqaba|Gulf of Eilat]], part of the [[Red Sea]]. [[Makhtesh]], or "erosion cirques" are unique to the [[Negev]] and the [[Sinai Peninsula]], the largest being the [[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 [[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: [[Eastern Mediterranean conifer-sclerophyllous-broadleaf 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>

The forests accounted for 8.5% of the country's area in 2016, up from 2% in 1948, as the result of a large-scale forest planting program by the [[Jewish National Fund]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Tal |first1=Alon |title=All the Trees of the Forest |date=2013 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=9780300189506 |pages=5, 66}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Forestry and Green Innovations |url=https://www.jnf.org/our-work/forestry-green-innovations |access-date=2023-11-13 |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>

===Tectonics and seismicity===

{{Further|List of earthquakes in the Levant}}

The [[Jordan Rift Valley]] is the result of tectonic movements within the [[Dead Sea Transform]] (DSF) fault system. The DSF forms the [[transform fault|transform boundary]] between the [[African Plate]] to the west and the [[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 [[List of earthquakes in the Levant|seismic activity]]. The entire Jordan Valley segment is thought to have ruptured repeatedly, for instance during the last two major [[Geography of Israel#Seismic activity|earthquakes]] along this structure in [[749 Galilee earthquake|749]] and [[1033 Jordan Rift Valley earthquake|1033]]. The deficit in [[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, [[Galilee earthquake of 363|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===

{{Further|Climate change in Israel}}

[[File:Soil moisture and climate change.svg|thumb|upright=1.25|The projections of the [[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 [[Tel Aviv]] and [[Haifa]], have a typical [[Mediterranean climate]] with cool, rainy winters and long, hot summers. The area of [[Beersheba]] and the Northern Negev have a [[semi-arid climate]] with hot summers, cool winters, and fewer rainy days. The Southern Negev and the Arava areas have a [[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 [[Snow in Israel|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=[[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=[[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 [[List of endemic flora of Israel|species of plants in Israel]]. Of these, at least 253 species are [[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 [[National parks and nature reserves of Israel|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 [[solar energy]] makes [[Solar power in Israel|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 (Israel)|Ministry of Environmental Protection]] has reported that [[Climate change in Israel|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 (Israel)|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>

==Government and politics==

{{Main|Israeli system of government|Politics of Israel}}

| image1  = Isaac Herzog, July 2021 (D1233-049).JPG

| caption1 = [[President of Israel|President]]<br />[[Isaac Herzog]]

| image2  = Benjamin Netanyahu, February 2023.jpg

| caption2 = [[Prime Minister of Israel|Prime Minister]]<br />[[Benjamin Netanyahu]]

[[File:Israel Supreme Court.jpg|thumb|[[Supreme Court of Israel]], Givat Ram, Jerusalem]]

Israel has a [[Israeli judicial system|three-tier court system]]. At the lowest level are [[magistrate]] courts, situated in most cities across the country. Above them are [[district court]]s, serving as both [[appeal|appellate]] courts and [[trial court|courts of first instance]]; they are situated in five of Israel's six [[Districts of Israel|districts]]. The third and highest tier is the [[Supreme Court of Israel|Supreme Court]], located in Jerusalem; it serves a dual role as the highest court of appeals and the [[High Court of Justice (Israel)|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 law|English common law]], [[civil law (legal system)|civil law]], and [[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}} [[Marriage in Israel|Marriage]] and divorce are under the jurisdiction of the religious courts: [[Beth din|Jewish]], [[Sharia|Muslim]], Druze, and Christian. The election of judges is carried out by a [[Judicial Selection Committee (Israel)|selection committee]] chaired by the [[Ministry of Justice (Israel)|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 in Israel|human rights and liberties in Israel]]. The [[United Nations Human Rights Council]] and Israeli human rights organization [[Adalah (legal center)|Adalah]] have highlighted that this law does not in fact contain a general provision for equality and non-discrimination.<ref name="adalah" /><ref>Concluding Observations of the Human Rights Committee—Israel, CCPR/C/ISR/CO/3, 29 July 2010, para. 2, available at: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrc/docs/CCPR.C.ISR.CO.3.doc</ref> As a result of "[[Enclave law]]", large portions of Israeli [[Civil law (legal system)|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>

{{Main|Districts of Israel}}

The State of Israel is divided into six main administrative [[Districts of Israel|districts]], known as ''mehozot'' ({{Lang-he|מחוזות|link=no}}; singular: ''mahoz'')&nbsp;– [[Central District (Israel)|Center]], [[Haifa District|Haifa]], [[Jerusalem District|Jerusalem]], [[Northern District (Israel)|North]], [[Southern District (Israel)|South]], and [[Tel Aviv District|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"

|-

! 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>

! [[Jerusalem District|Jerusalem]]

| colspan="2"| [[Jerusalem]]

| style="text-align:right"| {{sort|1209700|1,209,700}}

| {{ref|jerusalemdistrict|a}}

! [[Northern District (Israel)|North]]

| [[Nof HaGalil]]

| [[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 District|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}}

! [[Central District (Israel)|Center]]

| [[Ramla]]

| [[Rishon LeZion]]

| style="text-align:right"| {{percentage|190300|2304300}}

| style="text-align:right"| {{sort|2304300|2,304,300}}

! [[Tel Aviv District|Tel Aviv]]

| colspan="2"| [[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}}

! [[Southern District (Israel)|South]]

| [[Beersheba]]

| [[Ashdod]]

! [[Judea and Samaria Area]]

| [[Ariel (city)|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 citizenship law===

The two primary pieces of legislation relating to Israeli citizenship are the 1950 [[Law of Return]] and 1952 Citizenship Law. The law of return grants Jews the unrestricted right to immigrate to Israel and obtain Israeli citizenship. Individuals born within the country receive citizenship at birth if at least one parent is a citizen.<ref>{{cite report |last1=Harpaz |first1=Yossi |last2=Herzog |first2=Ben |title=Report on Citizenship Law: Israel |publisher=[[European University Institute]] |date=June 2018 |hdl=1814/56024 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

Israeli law defines Jewish nationality as distinct from Israeli nationality. In fact, the [[Supreme Court of Israel]] has ruled that an Israeli nationality does not exist.<ref name='tekiner'>{{cite journal |last=Tekiner |first=Roselle |year=1991 |title=Race and the Issue of National Identity in Israel |journal=International Journal of Middle East Studies |volume=23 |issue=1 |pages=39–55 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |jstor=163931 |doi=10.1017/S0020743800034541 |s2cid=163043582 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Goldenberg |first=Tia |date=4 October 2013 |title=Supreme Court rejects 'Israeli' nationality status |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/supreme-court-rejects-israeli-nationality-status/ |work=[[The Times of Israel]] |access-date=6 November 2018 |archive-date=13 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200213205459/https://www.timesofisrael.com/supreme-court-rejects-israeli-nationality-status/ |url-status=live }}</ref> A Jewish national is defined in Israel law as any person practicing Judaism and their descendants.<ref name='tekiner'/> Legislation has defined Israel as the [[nation state]] of the Jewish people since 2018.<ref>{{cite news |last=Berger |first=Miriam |date=31 July 2018 |title=Israel's hugely controversial "nation-state" law, explained |work=[[Vox (website)|Vox]] |url=https://www.vox.com/world/2018/7/31/17623978/israel-jewish-nation-state-law-bill-explained-apartheid-netanyahu-democracy |access-date=2 March 2022 |archive-date=27 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220127192528/https://www.vox.com/world/2018/7/31/17623978/israel-jewish-nation-state-law-bill-explained-apartheid-netanyahu-democracy |url-status=live }}</ref>