ALL ABOUT ISRAEL ; FAST FACTS

Population: 8,412,000
Capital: Jerusalem
Languages: Hebrew, Arabic
Currency: New Israeli Shekel
President: Reuven Rivlin
Prime Minister: Benjamin Netanyahu
Israel Flag: The flag of the State of Israel is based on the design of the Jewish prayer
shawl (tallit), with a blue Shield of David (Magen David).
National Emblem: The official emblem of the State of Israel is a candelabrum
(menorah). The olive branches on either side represent Israel's yearning for peace.
Location: Israel is located in the Middle East, along the eastern coastline of the
Mediterranean Sea, bordered by Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt. It lies at the junction
of three continents: Europe, Asia and Africa.
System of Government: Israel is a parliamentary democracy with legislative, executive
and judicial branches. The head of the state is the president, whose duties are mostly
ceremonial and formal; the office symbolizes the unity and sovereignty of the state.
The Knesset, Israel's legislative authority, is a 120-member unicameral parliament which
operates in plenary session and through 12 standing committees. Its members are
elected every four years in universal nationwide elections. The government (cabinet of
ministers) is charged with administering internal and foreign affairs. It is headed by a
prime minister and is collectively responsible to the Knesset.
Industry: Israel's industry concentrates on manufacturing products with a high added
value that are primarily based on technological innovation. These include medical
electronics, agrotechnology, telecommunications, computer hardware and software,
solar energy, food processing and fine chemicals.

Foreign Trade: Trade is conducted with countries on six continents. Some 48% of
imports and 32% of exports are with Europe, boosted by Israel's free trade agreement
with the EU (concluded in 1975). A similar agreement was signed with the United States
(1985), whose trade with Israel accounts for 12% of Israel's imports and 35% of its
exports.
The State of Israel, a member of the United Nations since 1949, maintains relations with
the majority of the world's countries. With memories of centuries of persecution, the
shattering experience of the Holocaust, and the decadeslong Arab-Israeli conflict,
Israels foreign policy has been geared to advance peace in the region while ensuring
the countrys security and promoting cooperation with all nations.

ISRAEL bilateral agreements

Israel and Egypt signed a peace treaty in 1979, marking the end of 30 years of relentless
hostility and five costly wars.
The peace implemented between Israel and Egypt consists of several major elements,
including the termination of the state of war as well as acts or threats of belligerency,
hostility or violence; the establishment of diplomatic, economic, and cultural ties; the
removal of barriers to trade and freedom of movement; and withdrawal by Israel from
the Sinai peninsula, with agreed security arrangements and limited force zones. Israel
completed its withdrawal from Sinai (1982) according to the terms of the treaty, giving
up strategic military bases and other assets in exchange for peace.
Although Egypt was ostracized by other Arab states following the signing of the treaty,
all have since reestablished relations with Egypt and reopened their embassies in Cairo.
The headquarters of the Arab League, which had been transferred to Tunis, were
reinstated in Cairo in the early 1980s.
Having to overcome 30 years of distrust and hostility, normalization of relations between
Israel and Egypt is a long and arduous process. Yet, embassies and consulates were
established by both countries, and meetings between government ministers and highranking officials take place regularly.
The peace treaty between Jordan and Israel, signed at the Akaba-Eilat border crossing
(October 1994), was preceded by a meeting of King Hussein and Prime Minister Yitzhak
Rabin in Washington three months earlier, when the two leaders proclaimed an end to
the state of war between their countries.
The 1991 Madrid Conference led to public bilateral talks, culminating in a formal treaty
(1994) in which both countries have undertaken to refrain from acts of belligerency, to
ensure that no threats of violence to the other will originate within their territory, to
endeavor to prevent terrorism and act together to achieve security and cooperation in
the Middle East by replacing military preparedness with confidence-building measures.
Other provisions include agreed allocations from existing water resources, freedom of
passage for nationals of both countries, efforts to alleviate the refugee problem and
cooperation in the development of the Jordan Rift Valley.
The international boundary delineated in the treaty has replaced the 1949 cease-fire
lines and is delimited with reference to the British Mandate boundary (1922-48). With
the ratification of the peace treaty, full diplomatic relations were established and, since
then, the relationship between Israel and Jordan has been moving forward steadily.
The basis for implementation of the Israel-Jordan peace treaty was established with the
signing and ratification of 12 bilateral agreements in economic, scientific, and cultural
spheres. These treaties are to serve as the foundation of peaceful relations between
Israel and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The most significant expression of the
peaceful relations is the establishment of Qualifying Industrial Zones (QIZs), which
enables Jordan, via cooperation with Israel, to export to the US quota-free and tariff-free

commodities worth more than one billion dollars. Israel is also cooperating with Jordan
in two agricultural projects and in public health.

PM Netanyahu comments on Syrian ceasefire

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made the following remarks at the start of the
weekly Cabinet meeting (Sunday, 28 February 2016):
"We welcome the efforts to achieve a stable, long-term and genuine ceasefire in Syria.
Anything that stops the terrible killing there is important especially from a humanitarian
standpoint.
But it must be clear at the same time that any agreement in Syria must include a halt to
Iran's aggression toward Israel from Syrian territory. We will not agree to the supply of
advanced weaponry to Hezbollah from Syria and Lebanon. We will not agree to the
creation of a second terror front on the Golan Heights. These are the red lines that we
have set and they remain the red lines of the State of Israel."