Israel's Security Threats, Government, and Counterterrorism

Background and Origins of the Israeli State

Israel is a young nation, established following World War II when Britain withdrew from Palestine and the United Nations partitioned a portion of it for the resettlement of displaced Jews. Arab nations in the region, along with the Palestinians themselves, rejected the arrangement, but it was implemented nonetheless. The arrangement led to several costly wars in which the Israeli army was ultimately successful, aided by foreign backing; however, many deep-rooted tensions have remained unresolved. The Israeli government also occupies additional lands acquired through these wars, most notably the Gaza Strip and several other regions, though some territories have since been returned to their nations of origin.

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. Progress toward a permanent status agreement, however, has been undermined by ongoing Palestinian-Israeli violence since September 2000 (CIA World Factbook).

It was hoped that the conflict between Palestine and Israel might move toward a peaceful resolution when the long-reigning Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) leader Yasir Arafat died in 2004 and was replaced by Mahmud Abbas, elected in 2005. Continued violence since 2005 does not suggest that a serious resolution of the many long-standing issues has been achieved, nor has it altered the view of many Arabs, who often regard Israel as a fundamentally aggressive nation.

Government Structure and Legal Framework

Israel is governed as a parliamentary democracy but without a formal constitution. Some constitutional functions are fulfilled by the 1948 Declaration of Establishment, the basic laws of parliament — known as the Knesset — and the Israeli citizenship law. The judiciary is a mixture of English common law, British Mandate regulations, and, according to the CIA World Factbook, personal matters decided through Jewish, Christian, and Muslim legal systems. There has in the past been some exercise of legal authority by the United Nations, but in 1985 Israel informed the UN that it would no longer accept compulsory International Court of Justice jurisdiction. The highest judicial authority is the Supreme Court, whose members are appointed for life by the Israeli president (CIA World Factbook).

The executive branch consists of two principal positions: the chief of state (President) and the head of government (Prime Minister). The cabinet is also considered part of the executive branch and is selected by the prime minister and approved by the Knesset. The presidential role is largely ceremonial; the president is elected by the Knesset to seven-year terms.

Geographic and Demographic Profile

The legislative branch is unicameral and is known as the Knesset, or parliament. There are 120 seats, each elected for four-year terms by popular vote. Election results at the time of this writing showed the distribution of seats as follows: Likud 38, Labor 19, Shinui 15, Shas 11, National Union 7, Meretz 6, National Religious Party 6, United Torah Judaism 5, Democratic Front for Peace and Equality 3, One Nation 3, National Democratic Assembly 3, Yisra'el Ba'Aliya 2, United Arab List 2 (CIA World Factbook).

Israel is located in the Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea between Egypt and Lebanon, at geographic coordinates 31°30'N, 34°45'E. The country has a total area of 20,770 sq km (land: 20,330 sq km; water: 440 sq km), making it slightly smaller than the state of New Jersey. Its land borders total 1,017 km, shared with Egypt (266 km), the Gaza Strip (51 km), Jordan (238 km), Lebanon (79 km), Syria (76 km), and the West Bank (307 km). The coastline extends 273 km.

The climate is temperate, with hot and dry conditions in the southern and eastern desert areas. The terrain includes the Negev desert in the south, a low coastal plain, central mountains, and the Jordan Rift Valley. Elevation extremes range from the Dead Sea at −408 m to Har Meron at 1,208 m. Natural resources include timber, potash, copper ore, natural gas, phosphate rock, magnesium bromide, clays, and sand. Key environmental concerns include limited arable land, freshwater scarcity, desertification, air pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions, and groundwater contamination from industrial waste, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides.

The population of Israel is approximately 6,199,008, which includes roughly 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank, about 20,000 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, more than 5,000 in the Gaza Strip, and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (CIA World Factbook, July 2004 estimate). Ethnic and religious diversity has evolved over the years. According to the CIA World Factbook, and excluding occupied Palestinian-associated territories, the ethnic composition is: Jewish 80.1% (Europe/America-born 32.1%, Israel-born 20.8%, Africa-born 14.6%, Asia-born 12.6%) and non-Jewish 19.9% (mostly Arab). Religious affiliation is: Jewish 80.1%, Muslim 14.6% (mostly Sunni), Christian 2.1%, and other 3.2% (1996 estimate). The official languages are Hebrew and Arabic, with English the most commonly used foreign language. Jerusalem is the proclaimed capital, though most countries, including the United States, maintain their embassies in Tel Aviv.