Palestinian Territories

The State of Palestine is composed of the West Bank and Gaza Strip areas. The West Bank is located to the east of Jerusalem, bordering Israel and Jordan. The Gaza Strip borders the Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and Egypt. The boundaries of the Palestinian territory, however, continue to be disputed.

Palestine has suffered a long history of conflict and dispute over its territory and Palestinian sovereignty continues to generate conflict with Israel. The creation of Israel in 1948 led to the displacement of the Arab population out of Israel and into the territories of Palestine - the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. With such an influx of people, the West Bank became a poor, densely-populated and destitute area. In 1964, the Palestine Liberation Organization, a representative for the Palestinian people, was formed. The goal of the organization was to create an independent state and liberate the Palestine people from Israeli oppression. In November 1988, the Palestine Liberation Organization self-declared independence. In 1993, Israel and Palestine signed the Oslo Accord, an accord in which Israel granted the Palestine Liberation Organization administrative control over some of the Palestinian territory. In 2012, Palestine was granted status as a nonmember observer state by the UN, and as of September 2015, 193 of the UN member states recognized the State of Palestine. Nevertheless, conflict and strife continues. Palestinian nationalists fear Israeli control and annexation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, while most Israelis feel as though these lands belong to Israel. These lands were, and continue to be, of strategic importance; the main roads connecting Egypt and Syria run through them as do roads connecting the Mediterranean to the Middle East beyond the Jordan River.

Palestine has a rich blend of cultures and religions. Jews, Christians and Muslims live in Palestine and all three religions recognize the area as the Holy Land. The geography of Palestine is equally diverse with the rocky plateau of Judea, the desert-like Negev region and the deep, dry Jordan Valley (the lowest land depth on Earth).

The president of Palestine is the head of state. Although the capital of Palestine is East Jerusalem, the administrative center is Ramallah. Palestine is very densely populated with a population of approximately 4,420,000 people (2013 estimate).