MAY 14 marks the 60th anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel . Many Israelis, however, are not in the mood to celebrate. Looking at the damage to her neighbor's home from a Palestinian  rocket, Batia Katar, a 17-year-old Israeli girl, was in tears. "We can't celebrate (Israel's) independence when things like this are happening," she said. What is clear is that Israel is not a normal country. The country has a dramatic   history and ancient culture but has only officially existed for 60 years. Within hours after it was _ in 1948, Israel was at war with its Arab neighbors for land. It won that time, and in 1956, 1967 and 1973, acquiring the West Bank, the Golan Heights, Gaza and east Jerusalem. For good or ill, Israelis can take pride in victories with so many countries. However, it occupied much more land than the United Nations agreed, which left local Palestinians homeless. Different from all its neighbors in religion, Israel is also far more successful economically than its neighbors. Though, it gets a great amount of support from America and other Western countries. The country is now a world leader in many industries, such as IT and modern agriculture. However, conflict exists, just like 60 years ago. And the signal of peace is as weak as ever. Palestinian militants   have fired more than 7,000 missiles  from Gaza, mainly at Sedro, killing 13 people. In the same period hundreds of Palestinian civilians  in Gaza have died in Israeli military action. In order to create peace, the world community hopes both sides accept and follow the Middle East peace plan. Optimists believe through Israeli-Palestinian negotiations there will finally be peace. Both Israelis and Palestinians want to live in peace without explosions that remind them that they are living in a special but dangerous place. Israel is not a normal country because  _  .
the country has a dramatic history and ancient culture but has only officially existed for 60 years within hours after its establishment, Israel was at war with its Arab neighbors for land it occupied much more land than the UN agreed, which left local Palestinians homeless all of the above