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Global Peace Index

Bombingin Jerusalem - potential forterrorism high in Israel Photo:AP

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STARTIsrael 3rd from bottom on Global Peace Index

British Economist ranks 121 countries according toGlobal Peace Index. Israel rated 119, beating out onlySudan, Iraq. US ranked 96, just ahead of Iran. Complierssay study does not pass judgment on foreign policy orvaluesYnet and AP

Israel is among the least peaceful nations in the world, along with

Sudan and Iraq. This according to a study by The Economistintelligence unit. The most peaceful nations in the world are Norway,New Zealand and Denmark.

Some two dozen indicators were factored into the calculations. Amongthem were wars fought in the last five years, arms sales, politicalstability, relations with neighboring countries, human rights, overallpercentage of state budget devoted to military causes, number ofwomen in parliament, freedom of the press, immigration figures, male-to-female ratio, prison populations and incidence of crime.

Global Rankings

Israel ranks 37th freesteconomy in world / Ynet and AP

2007 Index of Economic Freedompublished by Wall StreetJournal/Heritage Foundation placesIsrael as freest economy amongcountries in Middle East and NorthAfrica

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Israel received 3,033 negative points. The index awarded 1-5 pointsfor each parameter (1 being the most peaceful).

Israel received 4-5 points on the following number of citizens servingin the military, relations with neighboring counties, military spenditureand potential terror attacks within the country. The index awardedIsrael 1 point only for the number of refugees it plays host to and non-UN deployments this past year.

Israel's neighbors fared much better: Jordan ranked 63, Egypt 73, Syria 77 and Lebanon ranked 114.Norway was rated as the country most at peace, followed by NewZealand, Denmark, Ireland, Japan, Finland, Sweden, Canada,Portugal and Austria. Iraq was in last place, followed by Sudan, Israel,Russia, Nigeria, Colombia, Pakistan, Lebanon, Cote d' Ivoire and

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The United States outranked Iran by only one spot, coming in at 96and 97, respectively.

''The United States suffers because it is the world's policeman, withhigh levels of militarization,'' said Andrew Williamson, director for

economic research, in an interview.

The data were drawn from the United Nations, the World Bank, peacegroups and the intelligence unit's own assessments, Williamson said.

''We are just mechanics and technicians behind the index,'' he said,''we are not making judgments about foreign policy."

''The United States arguably has kept the peace since 1945, but with ahigh level of defense spending,''Leo Abruzzese, an editorial director for the intelligence unit, said at anews conference at which the report was released. ''It is not a valueudgment,'' he said of the global rankings.

The study was financed by Steve Killelea, an Australian entrepreneurand philanthropist.

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