The new Israeli shekel (Hebrew: שֶׁקֶל חָדָשׁ, romanized: sheqel ẖadash, pronounced [ˈʃekel χaˈdaʃ] ; Arabic: شيكل جديد, romanized: šēkal jadīd; sign: ₪; ISO code: ILS; unofficial abbreviation: NIS), also known as simply the Israeli shekel (Hebrew: שקל ישראלי, romanized: sheqel yisreʾeli; Arabic: شيكل إسرائيلي, romanized: šēkal ʾisrāʾīlī), is the currency of Israel and is also used as a de facto legal tender in the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The new shekel is divided into 100 agorot. The new shekel has been in use since 1 January 1986, when it replaced the hyperinflated old shekel at a ratio of 1000:1. The currency sign for the new shekel ⟨ ₪ ⟩ is a combination of the first Hebrew letters of the words shekel (ש‎) and ẖadash (ח‎) (new). When the shekel sign is unavailable the abbreviation NIS (ש״ח and ش.ج) is used.