_#_Maritime claims:

Continental shelf: to depth of exploitation;

Territorial sea: 6 nm

_#_Disputes: separated from Lebanon, Syria, and the West Bank by the 1949 Armistice Line; differences with Jordan over the location of the 1949 Armistice Line which separates the two countries; West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli occupied with status to be determined; Golan Heights is Israeli occupied; Israeli troops in southern Lebanon since June 1982; water-sharing issues with Jordan

_#_Climate: temperate; hot and dry in desert areas

_#_Terrain: Negev desert in the south; low coastal plain; central mountains; Jordan Rift Valley

_#_Natural resources: copper, phosphates, bromide, potash, clay, sand, sulfur, asphalt, manganese, small amounts of natural gas and crude oil

_#_Land use: arable land 17%; permanent crops 5%; meadows and pastures 40%; forest and woodland 6%; other 32%; includes irrigated 11%

_#_Environment: sandstorms may occur during spring and summer; limited arable land and natural water resources pose serious constraints; deforestation

_#_Note: there are 175 Jewish settlements in the West Bank, 38 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, 18 in the Gaza Strip, and 14 Israeli-built Jewish neighborhoods in East Jerusalem