Israel Turns 60

David Ben Gurion proclaimed Israel a state on May 14, 1948 in Tel Aviv. He is pictured here reading the state's founding document, which guarantees equal rights for Israeli citizens regardless of their religion, gender or nationality.

Former German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer (left) and former Israeli Prime Minister Ben Gurion met in the Negev Desert on May 9, 1966. Fourteen years earlier, the two statesmen had signed a reparations treaty.

Ariel Sharon (second from right) and other officials arrived at an Israeli base in the Negev Desert on June 1, 1967. Four days later, the Six Days War began, which resulted in the defeat of Egypt, Jordan and Syria. Israel claimed the Gaza Strip, Golan Heights and the West Bank. Sharon became prime minister in 2001.

On June 7, 1967, Israeli paratroopers captured Jerusalem's eastern sections and advanced to the Wailing Wall. This famous picture by Israeli photographer David Rubinger shows soldiers Zion Carasanti, Yitzchak Yfat and Haim Osheri (left to right).

Willy Brandt's visit to Israel from June 7-11, 1973, was the first ever by a sitting German head-of-state. He is pictured here, along with Israeli Prime Minister Golda Mei, giving an address upon his arrival at the airport in Tel Aviv.

Egyptian President Anwar el Sadat came to Jerusalem for a historic visit in 1977, issuing in the peace process between Israel and Egypt. Here, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin (right) whispers to his Egyptian guest during a dinner at Jerusalem's King David Hotel.

The Dead Sea's shores, situated 417 meters (1,368 feet) below sea level, are the lowest dry land point on the Earth. It water and mud are considered to have healing qualities. Each year, the water level drops by more than one meter and experts warn that the sea could dry up altogether.

In 1909, the first Jewish city in modern Palestine was founded north of Jaffa -- Tel Aviv, which means the hill of spring. Today, it is Israel's second largest city and its economic and cultural center. Tel Aviv is famous for its wild nightlife and attracts visitors with the motto: "Tel Aviv -- the city that doesn't stop."

In 1949, Israeli Prime Minister David Ben Gurion declared Jerusalem an inseparable part of Israel and its eternal capital city. During the Six Day War in 1967, the Jordanian-run eastern part of Jerusalem was occupied by Israeli troops. The Knesset, Israel's parliament, passed a law in 1980 declaring the entire city as its capital. Some 200,000 Jews are estimated to be living in eastern Jerusalem -- that's about 42 percent of the area's total population.

Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by a right-wing Jew at a peace demonstration in Tel Aviv on Nov. 4, 1995. His widow Lea (center) is pictured here with their son Juval (left), grandson Noah Ben Artzi (second from right) and daughter Dalia (right). Political leaders from all over the world bid farewell to Rabin, who won the Nobel Peace Prize with Shimon Peres and Yasser Arafat, with urgent appeals to continue the peace process in the Middle East.

Israel is building a 12-meter (39-foot) wall to protect it from damage caused by Palestinian suicide bombers. The wall, parts of which were constructed as a fence, doesn't run along the 1949 Green Line between Israel and the occupied West Bank. It extends well into Palestinian territory. The European Court of Justice ruled that Israel's controversial wall encroaches on the Palestinians' right of self-determination.

Israel pressed US President Bill Clinton to invite Israeli and Palestinian delegates to a summit at Camp David in the summer of 2000. Twenty-two years earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar el Sadat had negotiated a historic peace treaty between their two countries under the aegis of Jimmy Carter. The second Camp David Summit was not quite as successful. Shortly thereafter, the second intifada broke out.