Israel: Background and Relations with the United States


 

Publication Date: April 2009

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Government

Type:

Coverage: Israel

Abstract:

On May 14, 1948, the State of Israel declared its independence and was immediately engaged in a war with all of its neighbors. Armed conflict has marked every decade of Israel's existence. Despite its unstable regional environment, Israel has developed a vibrant parliamentary democracy, albeit with relatively fragile governments. The Kadima Party placed first in the March 28, 2006, Knesset (parliament) election; Prime Minister Ehud Olmert formed a four-party coalition government, which another party has since joined. Israel has an advanced industrial, market economy in which the government plays a substantial role.

Israel's foreign policy is focused largely on its region, Europe, and the United States. The government views Iran as an existential threat due to its nuclear ambitions and support for anti-Israel terrorists. Israel concluded peace treaties with Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994 but never achieved accords with Syria and Lebanon. It negotiated a series of agreements with the Palestinians in the 1990s, but the Oslo peace process ended in 2000, with the intifadah or uprising against Israeli occupation. Israeli and Palestinian officials have accepted but have not implemented the "Roadmap," the international framework for achieving a two-state solution to their conflict. Israel unilaterally disengaged from Gaza in summer 2005 and is constructing a security barrier in the West Bank to separate from the Palestinians. The victory of Hamas in the January 2006 Palestinian parliamentary elections has complicated Israeli-Palestinian relations as Israel will not deal with a government led by or including ministers from a terrorist group. On June 25, the Hamas military wing kidnaped an Israeli soldier, provoking an Israeli military offensive to force his release. Israel unilaterally withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000; Hezbollah then occupied the area and continued to fire rockets from it into northern Israel. Hezbollah sparked a war when it kidnaped two Israel soldiers on July 12, 2006; a cease-fire took effect on August 14. European countries collectively are Israel's second largest trading partner, and the EU participates in the peace process.
Since 1948, the United States and Israel have developed a close friendship based on common democratic values, religious affinities, and security interests. U.S.-Israeli bilateral relations are multidimensional. The United States is the principal proponent of the Arab-Israeli peace process, but U.S. and Israeli views have differed on various issues, such as the fate of the Golan Heights, Jerusalem, and Israeli settlements. The Bush Administration and Congress supported Israel's 2006 military campaigns as acts of self-defense. The United States and Israel concluded a free-trade agreement in 1985, and the United States is Israel's largest trading partner. Israel is a prominent recipient of U.S. foreign aid. The two countries also have close security relations. Other issues in U.S.-Israeli relations include Israel's military sales to China, inadequate Israeli protection of U.S. intellectual property, and espionage-related cases. This report will be updated as developments warrant. See also CRS Report RL33530, Israeli-Arab Negotiations: Background, Conflicts, and U.S. Policy, CRS Report RL33566, Lebanon: The Israel-Hamas-Hezbollah Conflict, and CRS Report RL33222, U.S. Foreign Aid to Israel.