Israel
Military: Israel
Military branches:
Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Israel Naval Force (IN), Israel Air Force (IAF) (2010)
Military service age and obligation:
18 years of age for compulsory (Jews, Druzes) military service; 17 years of age for voluntary (Christians, Muslims, Circassians) military service; both sexes are obligated to military service; conscript service obligation - 36 months for enlisted men, 21 months for enlisted women, 48 months for officers; pilots commit to 9 years service; reserve obligation to age 41-51 (men), 24 (women) (2013)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 1,797,960
females age 16-49: 1,713,230 (2010 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 1,517,510
females age 16-49: 1,446,132 (2010 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 62,304
female: 59,418 (2010 est.)
Military expenditures:
country comparison to the world: 7
Transnational Issues: Israel
Disputes - international:
West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation; Israel continues construction of a "seam line" separation barrier along parts of the Green Line and within the West Bank; Israel withdrew its settlers and military from the Gaza Strip and from four settlements in the West Bank in August 2005; Golan Heights is Israeli-occupied (Lebanon claims the Shab'a Farms area of Golan Heights); since 1948, about 350 peacekeepers from the UN Truce Supervision Organization headquartered in Jerusalem monitor ceasefires, supervise armistice agreements, prevent isolated incidents from escalating, and assist other UN personnel in the region
Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 37,347 (Eritrea); 10,743 (Sudan) (2012)
stateless persons: 14 (2012)
Illicit drugs:
increasingly concerned about ecstasy, cocaine, and heroin abuse; drugs arrive in country from Lebanon and, increasingly, from Jordan; money-laundering center