s 290 km; natural
gas 89 km

Ports and harbors: Ashdod, Ashqelon, Elat (Eilat), Hadera, Haifa,
Tel Aviv-Yafo

Merchant marine:
total: 23 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 736,419 GRT/855,497 DWT
ships by type: cargo 1, container 21, roll-on/roll-off cargo 1 (1998
est.)

Airports: 54 (1998 est.)

Airports--with paved runways:
total: 31
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 5
1,524 to 2,437 m: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 10
under 914 m: 7 (1998 est.)

Airports--with unpaved runways:
total: 23
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 3
under 914 m: 18 (1998 est.)

Heliports: 2 (1998 est.)

Military

Military branches: Israel Defense Forces (includes ground, naval,
and air components), Pioneer Fighting Youth (Nahal), Frontier Guard,
Chen (women); note--historically there have been no separate Israeli
military services

Military manpower--military age: 18 years of age

Military manpower--availability:
males age 15-49: 1,474,046
females age 15-49: 1,439,569 (1999 est.)

Military manpower--fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 1,206,320
females age 15-49: 1,173,818 (1999 est.)

Military manpower--reaching military age annually:
males: 50,737
females: 48,546 (1999 est.)

Military expenditures--dollar figure: $8.7 billion (1999)

Military expenditures--percent of GDP: 9.5% (1999)

Transnational Issues

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; Golan Heights is
Israeli-occupied; Israeli troops in southern Lebanon since June 1982

Illicit drugs: increasingly concerned about cocaine and heroin
abuse; drugs primarily arrive in country from Lebanon

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@Italy
-----

Introduction

Background: Italy failed to secure political unification until
the 1860s, thus lacking the military and imperial power of Spain,
Britain, and France. The fascist dictatorship of MUSSOLINI after
World War I, led to the disastrous alliance with HITLER's Germany
and defeat in World War II. Italy was a founding member of the
European Economic Community (EEC) and joined in the growing
political and economic unification of Western Europe, including the
introduction of the eu