In 1947, the United Nations (UN) adopted a Partition Plan for Palestine

recommending the creation of independent Arab and Jewish states and an

internationalized Jerusalem.[38] The plan was accepted by the Jewish Agency, and
rejected by Arab leaders.[39][40][41] The following year, the Jewish Agency
declared the independence of the State of Israel, and the subsequent 1948 Arab–
Israeli War saw Israel's establishment over most of the former Mandate territory,
while the West Bank and Gaza were held by neighboring Arab states.[42] Israel has
since fought several wars with Arab countries,[43] and since the Six-Day War in
1967 held occupied territories including the West Bank, Golan Heights and the Gaza
Strip (still considered occupied after the 2005 disengagement, although some legal
experts dispute this claim).[44][45][46][fn 5] It extended its laws to the Golan
Heights and East Jerusalem, but not the West Bank.[47][48][49][50] Israel's
occupation of the Palestinian territories is the world's longest military
occupation in modern times.[fn 5][52] Efforts to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian
conflict have not resulted in a final peace agreement. However, peace treaties
between Israel and both Egypt and Jordan have been signed.

In its Basic Laws, Israel defines itself as a Jewish and democratic state and the
nation state of the Jewish people.[53] The country has a liberal democracy (one of
only two in the Middle East and North Africa region, the other being Tunisia),[54]
[55] with a parliamentary system, proportional representation, and universal
suffrage.[56][57] The prime minister is head of government and the Knesset is the
legislature. With a population of around 9 million as of 2019,[58] Israel is a
developed country and an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
(OECD) member,[59] and has the 31st or 32nd-largest economy in the world by nominal
gross domestic product (GDP). Israel has the highest standard of living in the
Middle East,[17] and ranks among the world's top countries by percentage of
citizens with military training,[60] percentage of citizens holding a tertiary
education degree,[61] research and development spending by GDP percentage,[62]
women's safety,[63] life expectancy,[64] innovativeness,[65] and happiness.[66]