l capital: Jerusalem
note: Israel proclaimed Jerusalem as its capital in 1950, but the US,
like nearly all other countries, maintains its Embassy in Tel Aviv

Administrative divisions: 6 districts (mehozot, singular-mehoz);
Central, Haifa, Jerusalem, Northern, Southern, Tel Aviv

Independence: 14 May 1948 (from League of Nations mandate under
British administration)

National holiday: Independence Day, 14 May 1948 (Israel declared
independence on 14 May 1948, but the Jewish calendar is lunar and the
holiday may occur in April or May)

Constitution: no formal constitution; some of the functions of a
constitution are filled by the Declaration of Establishment (1948),
the basic laws of the parliament (Knesset), and the Israeli
citizenship law

Legal system: mixture of English common law, British Mandate
regulations, and, in personal matters, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim
legal systems; in December 1985, Israel informed the UN Secretariat
that it would no longer accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Ezer WEIZMAN (since 13 May 1993)
head of government: Prime Minister Binyamin NETANYAHU (since 18 June
1996)
cabinet: Cabinet selected from and approved by the Knesset
elections: president elected by the Knesset for a five-year term;
election last held 4 March 1998 (next to be held NA March 2003); prime
minister elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last
held 29 May 1996 (next to be held NA 2000); note-in March 1992, the
Knesset approved legislation, effective in 1996, which allowed for the
direct election of the prime minister; under the new law, each voter
casts two ballots-one for the direct election of the prime minister
and one for the party in the Knesset; the candidate that receives the
largest percentage of the popular vote then works to form a coalition
with other parties to achieve a parliamentary majority of 61 seats;
finally, the candidate must submit his or her cabinet to the Knesset
for approval and this must be done within 45 days of the election; in
contrast to the old system, under the new law, the prime minister's
party need not be the single-largest party in the Knesset
election results: Ezer WEIZMAN elected president by the Knesset with a
total of 63 votes, other candidate, Shaul AMOR, received 49 votes
(there were seven abstentions and one absence); Binyamin NETANYAHU
elected prime minister; percent of