Israel

## Flag

**Israel** (/ˈɪzri.əl, -reɪ-/; Hebrew: יִשְׂרָאֵל *Yisrāʾēl* [jisʁaˈʔel]; Arabic: إِسْرَائِيل *ʾIsrāʾīl*), officially the **State of Israel** (מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל *Medīnat Yisrāʾēl* [mediˈnat jisʁaˈʔel]; دَوْلَة إِسْرَائِيل *Dawlat Isrāʾīl*), is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Lebanon to the north, Syria to the northeast, Jordan to the east, the Red Sea to the south, Egypt to the southwest, the Mediterranean Sea to the west, and the Palestinian territories – the West Bank along the east and the Gaza Strip along the southwest. Tel Aviv is the financial, economic, and technological center of the country, while its seat of government is in its proclaimed capital of Jerusalem, although Israeli sovereignty over East Jerusalem is unrecognized internationally.

Israel is located in the Southern Levant, a region known historically as Canaan, Palestine, or the Holy Land. In antiquity, it was home to several Israelite and Jewish kingdoms, including Israel and Judah and Hasmonean Judea, and is referred to as the Land of Israel in Jewish tradition. The region was ruled by powers such as the Assyrians, Babylonians, Achaemenids, Greeks, and Romans. During Roman rule, Jews became a minority in Palestine. The region later came under Byzantine and Arab rule. In the Middle Ages, it was part of the Islamic Caliphates, the Crusader Kingdom, and the Ottoman Empire. The late 19th century saw the rise of Zionism, a movement advocating for the establishment of a Jewish homeland, during which the Zionists began purchasing land in Palestine. Under the British Mandate placed by the League of Nations after World War I, Jewish immigration to the region increased considerably, leading to tensions between Jews and the Arab majority population. The UN-approved 1947 partition plan triggered a civil war between these two peoples. The British terminated the Mandate on 14 May 1948, and Israel declared independence on the same day.

## History

### Prehistory

* Mousterian culture
* Kebaran culture
* Natufian culture
* Neolithic cultures
* Canaan civilizations & cultures
* Twelve Tribes of Israel
* Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy)
* Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)
* Kingdom of Judah
* Samerina (Neo-Assyrian province)
* Yehud (Babylonian province)

### Antiquity

* Achaemenid Empire
* Yehud Medinata
* Macedonian Empire
* Ptolemaic Kingdom
* Seleucid Empire
* Hasmonean dynasty
* Roman Republic
* Herodian kingdom
* Roman Empire
* Herodian tetrarchy
* Judaea (Roman province)
* Syria Palaestina
* Aelia Capitolina
* Eastern Roman/Byzantine Empire
* Palaestina Prima
* Palaestina Secunda
* Diocese of the East
* Sasanian Empire (brief rule)

### Middle ages

* Rashidun Caliphate
* Umayyad Caliphate
* Abbasid Caliphate
* Bilad al-Sham
* Fatimid Caliphate
* Seljuk Empire
* Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem
* Ayyubid dynasty
* Mamluk Sultanate

### Early Modern Period

* Ottoman Empire
* Ottoman Syria
* Damascus Eyalet
* Jerusalem Sanjak
* Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem
* Occupied Enemy Territory Administration

### Modern Period

* Mandatory Palestine
	+ Palestine Partition plan
* State of Israel

## Separatism

### West Bank & Gaza Strip

* de jure: State of Palestine
* Re-unification with Israel or recognition of Palestine

## Subdivisions

* Jerusalem District
* Northern District
* Haifa District
* Central District
* Tel Aviv District
* Southern District
* Judea and Samaria Area