Palestine (country)

Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in southwestern Asia. Palestine includes the West Bank, including East Jerusalem as the capital city, and the Gaza Strip as part of the Palestinian territories, which are occupied by Israel. Palestine's administrative center is located in Ramallah. Recognition As of October 2025, 157 of the 193 countries in the United Nations recognize the State of Palestine as a sovereign state. It has been a non-member observer state of the United Nations since 2012. This amounts to a de facto, or implicit, recognition of statehood. Palestine is a member of several international organizations, including the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the International Olympic Committee. Government On November 15, 1988, the Palestinian National Council declared the establishment of Palestine. The Council was the law-making body of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), led by Yasser Arafat. In the 1990s, Israel and the PLO negotiated and signed the Oslo Accords. They created the Palestinian Authority (PA) to exercise partial control over parts of Palestine. In 2007, internal divisions between Palestinian political factions led to a takeover of the Gaza Strip by Hamas. Since then, the West Bank has been governed in part by the Palestinian Authority, led by Fatah, while the Gaza Strip has remained under Hamas's control. Israel has built settlements in both of the Palestinian territories since the start of the occupation. The settlements in the Gaza Strip were dismantled in Israel's unilateral disengagement in 2005, and approximately 670,000 Israeli settlers live in settlements in the West Bank. The international community considers Israeli settlements in Palestine to be illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this. Challenges Currently, the biggest challenges to the country include the Israeli occupation, partial blockade, restrictions on movement, expansion of Israeli settlements, settler violence, corruption, ethnic cleansing, genocide, and an overall poor security situation. Palestine's borders, the legal and diplomatic status of Jerusalem, and the return of Palestinian refugees are unresolved questions. Nevertheless, Palestine is one of the most highly-educated countries in the Arab world. It maintains an emerging economy and sees frequent tourism. Other websites The boundaries of Israel and Palestine lands from 1947 to present The historic Palestine Notes References