Israel
Largest cities
Wikivoyage
Israel (Hebrew: מדינת ישראל Medinat Yisra'el; Arabic: دولة إسرائيل) is a small yet diverse Middle Eastern country. The modern State of Israel was established in 1948 as a homeland for the Jewish people, but the region contains thousands of years of history for many peoples and religions in addition to the Jews. Israel is considered part of the Holy Land (together with areas of Jordan, Egypt and the Palestinian territories), and of the Levant and in ancient history of the Fertile Crescent. The three major Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, as well as the Baha'i Faith, have strong ties to this land, and their holy and historic sites are major destinations for pilgrims and tourists from around the world. The Israeli population is about 74% Jews, 21% Arabs, and 5% non-Arab Christians and others. Most of the Jews are descended from Olim ("returnees" from the Jewish Diaspora), and their diverse origins (Russian, German, Moroccan, Yemeni, and Ethiopian, to name a few of the prominent ones) can be seen in various aspects of modern Israeli culture.
In contrast to its long ancient history, Israel is a highly urbanized, economically developed, first-world society. It remains in conflict with the Palestinians and some of its other Arab neighbors.
Since 1967, Israel has controlled most of the West Bank (often called "Judea and Samaria" in Israel) as well as the Golan Heights. Israel has annexed East Jerusalem and the Golan, but most other countries, except the United States, reject the annexation, and consider these areas and the West Bank (which Israel did not annex, and Israeli law does not apply to the area) to be occupied Arab territories. Wikivoyage takes no stance on these political issues, but notes that in practice, current visitors to these areas will need Israeli visas and permits.
Wikipedia
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. It's bordered by Lebanon to the north, Syria to the northeast, Jordan to the east, and Egypt to the southwest. Israel occupies the Palestinian territories of the West Bank in the east and the Gaza Strip in the southwest, as well as the Syrian Golan Heights in the northeast. Israel's western coast lies on the Mediterranean Sea, its southern tip reaching the Red Sea, and the east includes the Earth's lowest point near the Dead Sea. Jerusalem is the government seat and proclaimed capital, while Tel Aviv is Israel's largest urban area and economic centre.
The Land of Israel, also called Palestine or the Holy Land, was home to the ancient Canaanites and later the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Located near continental crossroads, its demographics shifted under various empires. 19th-century European antisemitism fuelled the Zionist movement for a Jewish homeland, supported by Britain in the 1917 Balfour Declaration. British rule and Jewish immigration intensified Arab-Jewish tensions, and the 1947 United Nations (UN) Partition Plan led to a civil war.
Israel declared independence as the British Mandate ended on 14 May 1948, followed by an invasion by Arab states. The 1949 armistice expanded Israel beyond the UN plan; no Arab state was created, leaving Gaza under Egypt and the West Bank under Jordan. Most Palestinian Arabs fled or were expelled during the Nakba, while Israeli independence increased Jewish persecution in the Muslim world. These developments ultimately culminated with the Jewish exodus, mainly to Israel. After the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel occupied the West Bank, Gaza, and the Egyptian Sinai, and annexed East Jerusalem and the Syrian Golan Heights. Peace was signed with Egypt (1979; Sinai returned in 1982) and Jordan (1994). The 1993 Oslo Accords introduced limited Palestinian self-rule, and the 2020 Abraham Accords normalised ties with more Arab states, but the Israeli–Palestinian conflict persists. Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories has drawn international criticism, with experts calling its actions war crimes and crimes against humanity. After the Hamas-led attacks on 7 October 2023, Israel began committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Israel and several other countries, including the United States, reject that Israel's actions constitute genocide.
The Basic Laws of Israel establish the Knesset as a proportionally elected parliament. It shapes the government, led by the prime minister, and elects the largely ceremonial president. Israel has one of the Middle East's largest economies, one of Asia's highest living standards, and globally ranks 26th in nominal GDP and 14th in nominal GDP per capita. One of the world's most technologically advanced countries, Israel allocates a larger share of its economy to research and development than any other state and is believed to possess nuclear weapons. The culture of Israel combines Jewish traditions with Arab influences.