Sudan claims but Egypt de facto administers security and economic development of Halaib region north of the 22nd parallel boundary; Egypt no longer shows its administration of the Bir Tawil trapezoid in Sudan on its maps; Gazan breaches in the security wall with Egypt in January 2008 highlight difficulties in monitoring the Sinai border; Saudi Arabia claims Egyptian-administered islands of Tiran and Sanafir
West Bank is Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation; in 2002, Israel began construction of a "seam line" separation barrier along parts of the Green Line and within the West Bank; as of mid-2020, plans were to continue barrier construction; Israel withdrew its settlers and military from the Gaza Strip and from four settlements in the West Bank in August 2005; Golan Heights is Israeli-controlled (Lebanon claims the Shab'a Farms area of Golan Heights); in March 2019, the US Government recognized Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights; since 1948, about 350 peacekeepers from the UN Truce Supervision Organization headquartered in Jerusalem monitor ceasefires, supervise armistice agreements, prevent isolated incidents from escalating, and assist other UN personnel in the region
Illicit drugs
transit point for cannabis, heroin, and opium moving to Europe, Israel, and North Africa; transit stop for Nigerian drug couriers; concern as money laundering site due to lax enforcement of financial regulations
increasingly concerned about ecstasy, cocaine, and heroin abuse; drugs arrive in country from Lebanon and, increasingly, from Jordan; money-laundering center
Refugees and internally displaced persons
refugees (country of origin): 70,010 (West Bank and Gaza Strip) (2019); 132,748 (Syria) (refugees), 49,249 (Sudan) (refugees and asylum seekers), 19,805 (South Sudan) (refugees and asylum seekers), 19,079 (Eritrea) (refugees and asylum seekers), 16,099 (Ethiopia) (refugees and asylum seekers), 9,267 (Yemen) (refugees and asylum seekers), 6,806 (Iraq) (refugees and asylum seekers), 6,730 (Somalia) (refugees and asylum seekers) (2021)
stateless persons: 10 (2020)
refugees (country of origin): 12,181 (Eritrea), 5,061 (Ukraine) (2019)
