Israel (/??zre??l/; Hebrew: ??????????? Yisrā'el; Arabic: ????????????? Isrā?īl), officially the State of Israel (Hebrew: ???????? ??????????? About this sound Medīnat Yisrā'el [medi?nat jis?a??el]; Arabic: ??????? ????????????? Dawlat Isrā?īl [dawlat ?isra???i?l]), is a country in the Middle East, on the southeastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea and the northern shore of the Red Sea. It has land borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the northeast, Jordan on the east, the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip[8] to the east and west, respectively, and Egypt to the southwest. The country contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area.[2][9] Israel's economy and technology center is Tel Aviv,[10] while its seat of government and proclaimed capital is Jerusalem, although the state's sovereignty over Jerusalem is internationally unrecognized.[note 1][11][12]