Israel

The World in Focus series provides an up-to-date view of individual countries around the world.

Including discussion of the major challenges facing each country now and in the future.

These books give a real insight into life in every part of the globe.

Israel is located in a place where three continents -- Africa, Asia and Europe -- meet, and its landscape is a diverse mixture of these three continents, with sandy coastlines, fertile valleys, mountains, lakes and deserts.

Israel's culture also reflects this fusion of different continents.

Israel was founded in 1948 as a Jewish state -- a place where Jews from all parts of the world were encouraged to settle.

The country's various communities have carried their customs and traditions from many places.

Today, four-fifths of Israel's population are Jewish.

Almost all non-Jewish Israelis are Palestinian Arabs, and most of them are Muslims.

The current conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs is essentially a dispute about land and who controls it.

But mixed in with this is a religious clash between Jews and Muslims.

A final settlement between Israel and the Palestinians remains elusive.>