Israel officially called the State of Israel is a parliamentary republic in the Middle East. Israel is located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. The country borders Syria in the northeast, Lebanon in the north, Jordan and the West Bank in the east, Egypt and Gaza on the southwest. Israel is a developed democratic country with a parliamentary governing system and universal suffrage. The economy, based on the nominal gross domestic product, was the 41st-largest in the world in 2008. Israel ranks highest among Middle Eastern countries on the UN Human Development Index, and it has one of the highest life expectancies in the world. Jerusalem is the  capital of Israel although it is not recognized internationally as such. Surgical Endoscopy at Beth Israel Medical Center and the other in Laparoscopic Surgery at Emory is witnessed by WLH.