State of Israel
The State of Israel is the modern government of a geographic area of Biblical origins, established as a country in 1948 by a United Nations resolution that partitioned the British Mandate of Palestine, and obtained disputed territorial gains in several wars, especially the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It is a Western-oriented parliamentary democracy, identified as a Jewish state under the political philosophy of Zionism.
Its current government is headed by Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu; President of Israel Shimon Peres is head of state. Netanyahu's coalition is centered on his Likud party.
Government
Political parties
| Name | Alternate name | Leader |
|---|---|---|
| Balad Party | Azmi Bishara | |
| HADASH | Democratic Front for Peace and Equality | Muhammad Barakeh |
| Kadima | Tzipora Livni | |
| Labor Party (Israel) | Ehud Barak | |
| Likud | Benjamin Netanyahu | |
| National Union (Israel) | NU | Yaakov Katz |
| The Jewish Home | HaBayit HaYehudi | Daniel Herschkowitz |
| SHAS | Eliyahu Yishai | |
| The New Movement-Meretz | Haim Oron | |
| United Arab List | Ta'al | Ibrahim Sarsur |
| United Torah Judaism | UTJ | Yaakov Litzman |
| Yisrael Beiteinu | YB | Avigdor Lieberman |
Parliament
The unicameral legislature is the Knesset, with 120 members elected by public popular vote; the last general election was on 10 February 2009 and thenext scheduled one is in 2013.
| Party | Percent of vote | Seats |
|---|---|---|
| Kadima | 23.2% | 28 |
| Likud | 22.3% | 27 |
| Yisrael Beiteinu | 12.1% | 15 |
| Labor Party (Israel) | 10.2% | 13 |
| SHAS | 8.8% | 11 |
| United Torah Judaism | 4.5% | 5 |
| United Arab List | 3.5% | 4 |
| National Union (Israel) | 3.4% | 4 |
| HADASH | 3.4% | 4 |
| The Jewish Home | 3.0% | 3 |
| The New Movement-Meretz | 3.0% | 3 |
| Balad | 2.6% | 3 |
Security
Israel contends with terrorism inside the country and unstable violence in the Occupied Territories. It has engaged in several major conventional wars beginning with its war of independence in 1948, and the Israeli Defense Forces are rated as among the most potent militaries in the world. The national security apparatus also includes police and highly regarded intelligence and covert operations organizations.
Economics
While there are excellent agricultural products, the core of the economy is high technology.