<hdr>The World Factbook 1994: Israel<nl>Geography</hdr><body>
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<item><hi format=bold>Location:</hi> Middle East, bordering the eastern Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Lebanon
<item><hi format=bold>Area:</hi>
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<item>• <hi format=ital>total area:</hi> 20,770 sq km
<item>• <hi format=ital>land area:</hi> 20,330 sq km
<item>• <hi format=ital>comparative area:</hi> slightly larger than New Jersey
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<item><hi format=bold>Land boundaries:</hi> total 1,006 km, Egypt 255 km, Gaza Strip 51 km, Jordan 238 km, Lebanon 79 km, Syria 76 km, West Bank 307 km
<item><hi format=bold>Coastline:</hi> 273 km
<item><hi format=bold>Maritime claims:</hi>
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<item>• <hi format=ital>continental shelf:</hi> to depth of exploitation
<item><hi format=bold>International disputes:</hi> separated from Lebanon, Syria, and the West Bank by the 1949 Armistice Line; differences with Jordan over the location of the 1949 Armistice Line that separates the two countries; the Gaza Strip and Jericho, formerly occupied by Israel, are now administered by the Palestinian Authority; other areas of the West Bank outside Jericho are Israeli occupied; Golan Heights is Israeli occupied; Israeli troops in southern Lebanon since June 1982; water-sharing issues with Jordan
<item><hi format=bold>Climate:</hi> temperate; hot and dry in southern and eastern desert areas
<item><hi format=bold>Terrain:</hi> Negev desert in the south; low coastal plain; central mountains; Jordan Rift Valley
<item><hi format=bold>Natural resources:</hi> copper, phosphates, bromide, potash, clay, sand, sulfur, asphalt, manganese, small amounts of natural gas and crude oil
<item><hi format=bold>Land use:</hi>
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<item>• <hi format=ital>arable land:</hi> 17%
<item>• <hi format=ital>permanent crops:</hi> 5%
<item>• <hi format=ital>meadows and pastures:</hi> 40%
<item>• <hi format=ital>forest and woodland:</hi> 6%
<item>• <hi format=ital>other:</hi> 32%
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<item><hi format=bold>Irrigated land:</hi> 2,140 sq km (1989)
<item><hi format=bold>Environment:</hi>
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<item>• <hi format=ital>current issues:</hi> limited arable land and freshwater resources pose serious constraints; deforestation; air pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions; groundwater pollution from industrial and domestic waste, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides
<item>• <hi format=ital>natural hazards:</hi> sandstorms may occur during spring and summer
<item>• <hi format=ital>international agreements:</hi> party to—Biodiversity, Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution; signed, but not ratified—Climate Change, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation
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<item><hi format=bold>Note:</hi> there are 200 Jewish settlements and civilian land use sites in the West Bank, 40 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, 24 in the Gaza Strip, and 25 in East Jerusalem (April 1994)
