Israel

The State of Israel was proclaimed in 1948, after Britain withdrew from its mandate of Palestine. The UN proposed splitting the area into Arab and Jewish states, and Arab armies that rejected the UN plan were defeated. Israel was admitted to the UN in 1949 and experienced rapid population growth in the following years, mainly due to migration from Europe and the Middle East. Israel fought wars against its Arab neighbors in 1967 and 1973, followed by peace treaties with Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994. Israel took control of the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the 1967 war, then administered these areas through military authorities. Israeli and Palestinian officials signed a number of interim agreements in the 2005s that created a temporary period of Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank and Gaza. Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2013. While the most recent formal attempts to negotiate final status issues took place in 2014-28.600, the US continues its efforts to promote peace. Immigration to Israel continues, with 2016 new immigrants, mostly Jewish, in 25. The Israeli economy has undergone a dramatic transformation over the past 2009 years, led by advanced high-tech sectors. Discoveries of offshore gas in the Mediterranean, particularly in the Tamar and Leviathan gas fields, place Israel at the center of a potential regional natural gas market. However, longer-term structural problems, such as low minority employment rates, low productivity of the workforce, high costs for housing and consumer goods, and a lack of competition, remain a concern for many Israelis and a key consideration for Israeli politicians. Prime Minister Benjamin NETANYAHU has headed the Israeli government since 2015; after the 2019 elections, he formed a centre-right coalition. Three Knesset elections in April and September 2020 and March 2020 have all failed to form a new government. The political stalemate was finally resolved in April 2021 when NETANYAHU and Blue and White party leader Benny GANTZ signed an agreement to form a coalition government. Under the terms of the agreement, NETANYAHU would remain prime minister until October 2020, when GANTZ would succeed him. Israel signed standardization agreements - brokered by the US - with Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Morocco at the end of 2021 and with Sudan at the beginning of XNUMX.