Which of the following groups of countries share the border with Israel?

The correct answer is A. Israel's land neighbours are Lebanon (north), Syria (north-east, along the Golan Heights), Jordan (east) and Egypt (south-west, along the Sinai). Israel has no land border with Turkey, Iraq or Yemen, and Cyprus is an island across the Mediterranean, so it cannot be a land neighbour either.

• Option B is wrong: Turkey and Cyprus do not border Israel. Egypt and Jordan do.
• Option C is wrong: Turkey is not a neighbour of Israel, though Lebanon, Syria and Jordan are.
• Option D is wrong: Iraq and Yemen are not Israel's neighbours. Only Syria is correct here.

The core concept is the geography of West Asia and the boundary arrangements that followed the 1948 and 1967 wars. The Egypt-Israel peace treaty (1979) and the Israel-Jordan peace treaty (1994) matter for Mains answers on West Asian diplomacy. The Golan Heights, occupied from Syria in 1967 and annexed by Israel in 1981, remain disputed and are not internationally recognised as Israeli territory by most countries.

Trap: Aspirants often pick C because Turkey is a major regional power with strong ties to Israel. Geopolitical importance does not make a country a land neighbour, so always check the actual map.