Government Type: parliamentary democracy
Branches/Breakdown:
Executive Branch:
chief of state: President Shimon PERES (since 15 July 2007)
head of government: Prime Minister Binyamin NETANYAHU (since 31 March 2009)
cabinet: Cabinet selected by prime minister and approved by the Knesset
Legislative Branch:
unicameral Knesset (120 seats; political parties are elected by popular vote and assigned seats for members on a proportional basis; members serve four-year terms)
Judicial Branch:
Supreme Court (justices appointed by Judicial Selection Committee - made up of all three branches of the government; mandatory retirement age is 70)
Head of Gov.: Prime Minister of Israel- Benjamin Netanyahu
Suffrage: 18 years or older, universal
National Holiday: Independence Day, 14 May (1948)
Diplomatic Rep. to US: chief of mission- Ambassador Michael OREN
Diplomatic Rep. from US: chief of mission: Ambassador James B. CUNNINGHAM
International Affiliations: BIS, BSEC (observer), CERN (observer), CICA, EBRD, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW (signatory), OSCE (partner), Paris Club (associate), PCA, SECI (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Military Branches: Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Israel Naval Forces (IN), Israel Air Force (IAF) (2010)
Military Service Age & Obligation: 18 years of age for compulsory (Jews, Druzes) and 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) (2010)
% GDP spent on military: 7.3% of GDP (2006)
