Israel

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Israel has become a regional economic and military powerhouse, leveraging its prosperous high-tech sector, large defense industry, and concerns about Iran to foster partnerships around the world. The State of Israel was established in 1948. The UN General Assembly proposed in 1947 partitioning the British Mandate for Palestine into an Arab and Jewish state. The Jews accepted the proposal, but the local Arabs and the Arab states rejected the UN plan and launched a war. The Arabs were subsequently defeated in the 1947-1949 war that followed the UN proposal and the British withdrawal. Israel joined the UN in 1949 and saw rapid population growth, primarily due to Jewish refugee migration from Europe and the Middle East. Israel and its Arab neighbors fought wars in 1956, 1967, and 1973, and Israel signed peace treaties with Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994. Israel took control of the West Bank, the eastern part of Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, the Sinai Peninsula, and the Golan Heights in the course of the 1967 war. It ceded the Sinai back to Egypt in the 1979-1982 period but has continued to administer the other territories through military authorities. Israel and Palestinian officials signed interim agreements in the 1990s that created a period of Palestinian self-rule in parts of the West Bank and Gaza. Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005. The most recent formal efforts between Israel and the Palestinian Authority to negotiate final status issues occurred in 2013 and 2014, and the US continues its efforts to advance peace. Israel signed the US-brokered normalization agreements (the Abraham Accords) with Bahrain, the UAE, and Morocco in 2020 and reached an agreement with Sudan in 2021. Immigration to Israel continues, with more than 44,000 estimated new immigrants, mostly Jewish, in the first 11 months of 2023.<br><br>Former Prime Minister Benjamin NETANYAHU returned to office in 2022, continuing his dominance of Israel's political landscape at the head of Israel's most rightwing and religious government. NETANYAHU previously served as premier from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021, becoming Israel's longest serving prime minister.<br><br>On 7 October 2023, HAMAS militants launched a combined unguided rocket and ground terrorist attack from Gaza into southern Israel. The same day Israel’s Air Force launched air strikes inside Gaza and initiated a sustained air campaign against HAMAS targets across the Gaza Strip. The following day, NETANYAHU formally declared war on HAMAS, and on 28 October, the Israel Defense Forces launched a large-scale ground assault inside Gaza.<br><br>The Israeli economy has undergone a dramatic transformation in the last 30 years, led by cutting-edge high-tech sectors. Offshore gas discoveries in the Mediterranean place Israel at the center of a potential regional natural gas market. In 2022, a US-brokered agreement between Israel and Lebanon established their maritime boundary, allowing Israel to begin production on additional gas fields in the Mediterranean. However, Israel's economic development has been uneven. Structural issues such as low labor-force participation among religious and minority populations, low workforce productivity, high costs for housing and consumer staples, and high income inequality concern both economists and the general population. The current war with Hamas disrupted Israel’s solid economic fundamentals, but it is not likely to have long-term structural implications for the economy. <br>

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Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Lebanon

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31 30 N, 34 45 E

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Middle East

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slightly larger than New Jersey

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273 km

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temperate; hot and dry in southern and eastern desert areas

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Negev desert in the south; low coastal plain; central mountains; Jordan Rift Valley

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timber, potash, copper ore, natural gas, phosphate rock, magnesium bromide, clays, sand

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1,927 sq km (2022)

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population concentrated in and around Tel-Aviv, as well as around the Sea of Galilee; the south remains sparsely populated, with the exception of the shore of the Gulf of Aqaba

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sandstorms may occur during spring and summer; droughts; periodic earthquakes

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<strong>note 1:</strong> Lake Tiberias (Sea of Galilee) is an important freshwater source; the Dead Sea is the second saltiest body of water in the world (after Lake Assal in Djibouti)<br><br><strong>note 2: </strong>the Malham Cave in Mount Sodom is the world's longest salt cave at 10 km (6 mi); Mount Sodom is a hill about 220 m (722 ft) high that is 80% salt, with multiple salt layers covered by a veneer of rock

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<strong>note:</strong> approximately 236,600 Israeli settlers live in East Jerusalem (2021); following the March 2019 US recognition of the Golan Heights as being part of Israel, <em>The World Factbook</em> no longer includes Israeli settler population of the Golan Heights (estimated at 23,400 in 2019) in its overall Israeli settler total

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Jewish 73.5% (of which Israel-born 79.7%, Europe/America/Oceania-born 14.3%, Africa-born 3.9%, Asia-born 2.1%), Arab 21.1%, other 5.4% (2022 est.)

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Jewish 73.5%, Muslim 18.1%, Christian 1.9%, Druze 1.6%, other 4.9% (2022 est.)

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1.59% (2025 est.)

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18.89 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

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4.89 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

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1.88 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

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population concentrated in and around Tel-Aviv, as well as around the Sea of Galilee; the south remains sparsely populated, with the exception of the shore of the Gulf of Aqaba

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4.421 million Tel Aviv-Yafo, 1.174 million Haifa, 970,000 JERUSALEM (capital) (2023)

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27.7 years (2019 est.)

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2 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)

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2.89 children born/woman (2025 est.)

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1.41 (2025 est.)

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3.8 physicians/1,000 population (2023)

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3.1 beds/1,000 population (2021 est.)

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26.1% (2016)

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50.4% (2021 est.)

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limited arable land and restricted natural freshwater resources; desertification; air pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions; groundwater pollution from industrial and domestic waste, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides

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temperate; hot and dry in southern and eastern desert areas

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20.4 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

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1.78 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

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parliamentary democracy

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<strong>note: </strong>the US recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in 2017, without taking a position on the specific boundaries of Israeli sovereignty

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6 districts (<em>mehozot</em>, singular - <em>mehoz</em>); Central, Haifa, Jerusalem, Northern, Southern, Tel Aviv

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mixed system of English common law, British Mandate regulations, and Jewish, Christian, and Muslim religious laws

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has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; withdrew acceptance of ICCt jurisdiction in 2002

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<strong>note:</strong> Israeli law (Law of Return, 5 July 1950) provides for the granting of citizenship to any Jew - defined as a person being born to a Jewish mother or having converted to Judaism while renouncing any other religion - who immigrates to and expresses a desire to settle in Israel on the basis of the Right of aliyah; the 1970 amendment of this act extended the right to family members including the spouse of a Jew, any child or grandchild, and the spouses of children and grandchildren

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18 years of age; universal; 17 years of age for municipal elections

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<strong>note 1:</strong> a 3.25% vote threshold is required to gain representation<br><br><strong>note 2:</strong> following the 1 November 2022 election, the Religious Zionism Alliance split into its three constituent parties in the Knesset:  Religious Zionism 7 seats, Jewish Power (Otzma Yehudit) 6, and Noam 1

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Balad<br>Blue and White<br>Hadash<br>Labor Party or HaAvoda<br>Likud<br>Meretz<br>National Unity (alliance includes Blue and White and New Hope)<br>New Hope<br>Noam<br>Otzma Yehudit<br>Religious Zionist Party<br>Shas<br>Ta'al<br>United Arab List<br>United Torah Judaism or UTJ (alliance includes Agudat Israel and Degel HaTorah)<br>Yesh Atid<br>Yisrael Beiteinu

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<strong>note:</strong> on 14 May 2018, the US Embassy relocated to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv; on 4 March 2019, Consulate General Jerusalem merged into US Embassy Jerusalem to form a single diplomatic mission

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BIS, BSEC (observer), CE (observer), CERN, CICA, EBRD, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW (signatory), OSCE (partner), Pacific Alliance (observer), Paris Club, PCA, SELEC (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNOOSA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

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14 May 1948 (following League of Nations mandate under British administration)

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Independence Day, 14 May (1948)

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<strong>note:</strong> Israel declared independence on 14 May 1948, but the Jewish calendar is lunar, so the holiday can occur in April or May

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<strong>description:</strong> white with a blue hexagram (six-pointed linear star) known as the Magen David (Star of David or Shield of David) centered between two equal horizontal blue bands near the top and bottom edges of the flag<br><br><strong>history:</strong> the design resembles a traditional Jewish prayer shawl (<em>tallit</em>), which is white with blue stripes; the hexagram as a Jewish symbol dates back to medieval times

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<strong>note:</strong> the Israeli flag proclamation states that the flag colors are sky blue and white, but the exact shade of blue has never been set and can vary

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Star of David (Magen David), menorah (seven-branched lampstand)

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blue, white

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high-income, technology- and industrial-based economy; economic contraction and fiscal deficits resulting from war in Gaza; labor force stabilizing following military reservist mobilization; high-tech industry remains resilient while construction and tourism among hardest-hit sectors

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<b>note:</b> data in 2021 dollars

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<b>note:</b> annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

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<b>note:</b> data in 2021 dollars

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$540.38 billion (2024 est.)

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<b>note:</b> data in current dollars at official exchange rate

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<b>note:</b> annual % change based on consumer prices

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<b>note:</b> figures may not total 100% due to non-allocated consumption not captured in sector-reported data

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<b>note:</b> figures may not total 100% due to rounding or gaps in data collection

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milk, chicken, potatoes, tomatoes, tangerines/mandarins, bananas, eggs, avocados, beef, carrots/turnips (2023)

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<b>note:</b> top ten agricultural products based on tonnage

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high-technology products (including aviation, communications, computer-aided design and manufactures, medical electronics, fiber optics), wood and paper products, potash and phosphates, food, beverages, and tobacco, caustic soda, cement, pharmaceuticals, construction, metal products, chemical products, plastics, cut diamonds, textiles, footwear

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-4.2% (2024 est.)

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<b>note:</b> annual % change in industrial value added based on constant local currency

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4.71 million (2024 est.)

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<b>note:</b> number of people ages 15 or older who are employed or seeking work

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<b>note:</b> % of labor force seeking employment

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<b>note:</b> % of labor force ages 15-24 seeking employment

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<b>note:</b> index (0-100) of income distribution; higher values represent greater inequality

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<b>note:</b> % share of income accruing to lowest and highest 10% of population

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<b>note:</b> personal transfers and compensation between resident and non-resident individuals/households/entities

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<b>note:</b> central government revenues (excluding grants) and expenditures converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated

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22.1% (of GDP) (2023 est.)

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<b>note:</b> central government tax revenue as a % of GDP

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<b>note:</b> balance of payments - net trade and primary/secondary income in current dollars

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<b>note:</b> balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars

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USA 29%, China 10%, Ireland 6%, Germany 4%, Hong Kong 4% (2023)

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<b>note:</b> top five export partners based on percentage share of exports

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integrated circuits, diamonds, broadcasting equipment, medical instruments, refined petroleum (2023)

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<b>note:</b> top five export commodities based on value in dollars

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<b>note:</b> balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars

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China 17%, USA 12%, Germany 7%, Turkey 6%, Italy 4% (2023)

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<b>note:</b> top five import partners based on percentage share of imports

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cars, diamonds, crude petroleum, broadcasting equipment, garments (2023)

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<b>note:</b> top five import commodities based on value in dollars

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<b>note:</b> holdings of gold (year-end prices)/foreign exchange/special drawing rights in current dollars

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the Israel Broadcasting Corporation (IBC) has 3 channels, two in Hebrew and one in Arabic; multi-channel satellite and cable TV packages provide access to foreign channels; IBC broadcasts on 8 radio networks with multiple repeaters, and Israel Defense Forces Radio broadcasts over multiple stations; about 15 privately owned radio stations (2019)

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.il

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4X

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40 (2025)

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13 (2025)

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Israel Defense Forces (IDF): Ground Forces, Israel Naval Force (IN, includes commandos), Israel Air Force (IAF, includes air defense)<br><br>Ministry of National Security: Israeli Police (2025)

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approximately 170,000 active-duty Defense Forces (130,000 Ground Forces; 10,000 Naval; 30,000 Air Force); more than 400,000 reserves (2025)

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the majority of the IDF's inventory is comprised of weapons that are domestically produced or imported from Europe and the US; the US has been the leading supplier of arms in recent years; Israel's defense industry can develop, produce, support, and sustain a wide variety of weapons systems for both domestic use and export, particularly armored vehicles, unmanned aerial systems, air defense, and guided missiles (2025)

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18-28 years of age for voluntary military service; 18 months service for men, 12 months for women; 18-21 years of age for compulsory military service for men and women; Jews and Druze can be conscripted; Christians, Circassians, and Muslims may volunteer; conscript service obligation is up to 36 months for enlisted personnel (depending on sex, marital status, and military occupation); officers serve 48 months; Air Force pilots commit to 9 years of service (2024)

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the IDF is responsible for external defense but also has some domestic security responsibilities; its primary operational focuses include the threat posed by Iran, instability in Syria, and terrorist organizations, including HAMAS, Hizballah, and Palestine Islamic Jihad; since its creation from armed Jewish militias during the First Arab-Israeli War in 1948-49, the IDF, particularly the Ground Force, has been guided by a requirement to rapidly mobilize and defend the country’s territory from numerically superior neighboring countries; the active-duty military is backed up by a large force of trained reserves--approximately 300-400,000 personnel--that can be mobilized rapidly <br><br>Israel’s primary security partner is the US; consistent with a 10-year (2019-2028) Memorandum of Understanding, the US annually provides over $3 billion in military financing and cooperative military programs, such as missile defense; the US also provides Israel access to US-produced military weapons systems including advanced fighter aircraft; Israel has Major Non-NATO Ally status with the US, a designation under US law that provides foreign partners with certain benefits in the areas of defense trade and security cooperation<br><br>the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) has operated in the Golan between Israel and Syria since 1974 to monitor the ceasefire following the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and supervise the areas of separation between the two countries; UNDOF consists of about 1,300 total personnel (2025)

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Israel Space Agency (ISA; established 1983 under the Ministry of Science and Technology; origins go back to the creation of a National Committee for Space Research, established 1960); Ministry of Defense Space Department (2025)

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Palmachim Airbase (Central district) (2025)

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has an ambitious space program that is one of the most advanced in the region; designs, builds, operates, and launches communications, remote sensing (RS), and scientific satellites; designs, builds, and operates orbital satellite/space launch vehicles (SLVs); researches and develops a range of other space-related capabilities, with a focus on lightweight and miniaturized technologies; has relations with a variety of foreign space agencies and industries, including those of Canada, the ESA, individual ESA member states (such as France, Germany, and Italy), India, Japan, Mexico, and the US; has a substantial commercial space sector, as well as state-owned enterprises (2025)

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1961 - first sounding rocket launched<br><br>1988 - first operational launch of small-lift satellite launch vehicle (SLV) (Shavit) placed first domestically produced technology-demonstrator satellite (Ofeq-1) in orbit <br><br>1995 - launched first fully operational remote sensing satellite (Ofeq-3) on Shavit SLV<br><br>2007 - unveiled Shavit-2 small-lift 3-stage SLV<br><br>2014 - joined ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) project; domestically built lunar probe (Beresheet) launched by US (crashed on Moon’s surface)<br><br>2022 - joined US Artemis Moon exploration project

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Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS); Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP); Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ); HAMAS

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<strong>note:</strong> details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in the Terrorism reference guide