Israel
Israel, officially known as the State of Israel, is a country in Western Asia. It has land borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the northeast, Jordan on the east, the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to the east and west, respectively. In its Basic Laws, Israel defines itself as a Jewish and democratic state and the nation state of the Jewish people. The country is a liberal democracy with a parliamentary system, proportional representation, and universal suffrage.
About Israel in brief
Israel, officially known as the State of Israel, is a country in Western Asia. It has land borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the northeast, Jordan on the east, the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to the east and west, respectively. Israel’s economic and technological center is Tel Aviv, while its seat of government and proclaimed capital is Jerusalem. In its Basic Laws, Israel defines itself as a Jewish and democratic state and the nation state of the Jewish people. The country is a liberal democracy with a parliamentary system, proportional representation, and universal suffrage. With a population of around 9 million as of 2019, Israel has the world’s 31st-largest economy by nominal GDP. It is the most developed country currently in the Middle East, with the highest standard of living and highest military training and percentage of citizens with a tertiary education. Israel has evidence of the earliest migration of hominids out of Africa. The Neo-Assyrian Empire destroyed Israel around 720 BCE. The Levant was taken from the Byzantine Empire by the Arabs and remained in Muslim control until the First Crusade of 1099, followed by the Ayyubid conquest of 1187. The Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt extended its control over the Levant in the 13th century until its defeat by the Ottoman Empire in 1517. During the 19th century, national awakening among Jews led to the establishment of the Zionist movement followed by immigration to Palestine.
The land was controlled as a mandate of the British Empire from 1920-1948, having been ceded by the Ottomans at the end of the First World War. Since the Six-Day War in June 1967 Israel has held occupied territories including the West West Bank, Golan Heights and the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. Efforts to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict have not resulted in a final peace agreement, while Israel has signed peace treaties with both Egypt and Jordan. The whole region was known as Palestine under the British Mandate. Upon independence in 1948, the country formally adopted the name ‘State of Israel’ after other other other names for the region, such as Palestine, Islār, Dawr and Islár (lit. ‘Palestine’ or ‘Islāl’ in Arabic, lit. ‘Palestine,’ ‘ Palestine’ or ‘Isla’ in Hebrew, and ‘Israel’s’ after ‘The Land of Israel’. Israel is a member of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the United Nations (UN), and is a non-member state in the Arab world. It was established as a state by the Jewish Agency in 1948. The Israeli parliament, the Knesset, is the legislature, and the prime minister is the head of government. Israel was founded in 1948 by the Israeli Jewish Agency, and later became the country’s first president, Shimon Peres.
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This page is based on the article Israel published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 30, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
