This page was last updated on 19 December, 2006
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@Israel
Introduction Israel
Background:
Following World War II, the British withdrew from their mandate of
Palestine, and the UN partitioned the area into Arab and Jewish
states, an arrangement rejected by the Arabs. Subsequently, the
Israelis defeated the Arabs in a series of wars without ending the
deep tensions between the two sides. The territories occupied by
Israel since the 1967 war are not included in the Israel country
profile, unless otherwise noted. On 25 April 1982, Israel withdrew
from the Sinai pursuant to the 1979 Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty.
Israel and Palestinian officials signed on 13 September 1993 a
Declaration of Principles (also known as the "Oslo Accords") guiding
an interim period of Palestinian self-rule. Outstanding territorial
and other disputes with Jordan were resolved in the 26 October 1994
Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace. In addition, on 25 May 2000, Israel
withdrew unilaterally from southern Lebanon, which it had occupied
since 1982. In keeping with the framework established at the Madrid
Conference in October 1991, bilateral negotiations were conducted
between Israel and Palestinian representatives and Syria to achieve
a permanent settlement. In April 2003, US President BUSH, working in
conjunction with the EU, UN, and Russia - the "Quartet" - took the
lead in laying out a roadmap to a final settlement of the conflict
by 2005, based on reciprocal steps by the two parties leading to two
states, Israel and a democratic Palestine. However, progress toward
a permanent status agreement was undermined by Palestinian-Israeli
violence between September 2000 and February 2005. An agreement
reached at Sharm al-Sheikh in February 2005 significantly reduced
the violence. The election in January 2005 of Mahmud ABBAS as the
new Palestinian leader following the November 2004 death of Yasir
ARAFAT, the formation of a Likud-Labor-United Torah Judaism
coalition government in January 2005, and the successful Israeli
disengagement from the Gaza Strip (August-September 2005), presented
an opportunity for a renewed peace effort. However, internal Israeli
political events between October and December 2005 have destabilized
the political situation and forced early elections, scheduled for
March 2006.
Geography Israel
Location:
Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and
Lebanon
Geographic coordinates:
31 30 N, 34 45 E
Map references:
Middle East
Area:
total: 20,770 sq km
land: 20,330 sq km
water: 440 sq km