State of Palestine

State of Palestine
دولة فلسطين (Arabic)
Dawlat Filasṭīn
Anthem: "فدائي"
"Fida'i"[1]
"Fedayeen Warrior"
Territory claimed by Palestine (green).[2] Claimed territory annexed by Israel (light green).
Territory claimed by Palestine (green).[2]
Claimed territory annexed by Israel (light green).
StatusUN observer state under Israeli occupation
Recognized by 139 UN member states
  • Proclaimed capital
  • Administrative
    center
Largest cityRafah[b][3]
Official languagesArabic
Demonym(s)Palestinian
GovernmentUnitary semi-presidential republic[4]
• President
Mahmoud Abbas[c]
Mohammad Mustafa
Aziz Dweik
LegislatureNational Council
Formation
15 November 1988
29 November 2012
• Sovereignty dispute with Israel
Ongoing[d][5][6]
Area
• Total
6,020[7] km2 (2,320 sq mi) (163rd)
• Water (%)
3.5[8]
5,655 km2
365 km2[9]
Population
• 2023 estimate
5,483,450[10] (121st)
• Density
731/km2 (1,893.3/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)2023 estimate
• Total
Increase $36.391 billion[11] (138th)
• Per capita
Increase $6,642[11] (140th)
GDP (nominal)2021 estimate
• Total
Increase $18.109 billion[11] (121st)
• Per capita
Increase $3,464[11] (131st)
Gini (2016)Positive decrease 33.7[12]
medium
HDI (2021)Increase 0.715[13]
high (106th)
Currency
Time zoneUTC+2 (Palestine Standard Time)
• Summer (DST)
UTC+3 (Palestine Summer Time)
Date formatdd/mm/yyyy
Driving sideright
Calling code+970
ISO 3166 codePS
Internet TLD.ps

Palestine (Arabic: فلسطين, romanizedFilasṭīn[e]), officially the State of Palestine (دولة فلسطين, Dawlat Filasṭīn),[f] is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Founded on 15 November 1988 and officially governed by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), it claims the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip as its territory, all of which have been Israeli-occupied territories since the 1967 Six-Day War.[6][18] The West Bank contains 165 Palestinian enclaves that are under partial Palestinian rule, but the remainder, including 200 Israeli settlements, is under full Israeli control. The Gaza Strip was governed by Egypt but conquered by Israel in 1967. Israel governed the region until it withdrew in 2005. The United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and various human-rights organizations still consider Gaza to be held under Israeli military occupation, due to what they regard as Israel's effective military control over the territory; Israel disputes this.[19][20][21] Hamas seized power after winning the 2006 Palestinian legislative election.[d] This has since been ensued by a blockade of the Gaza Strip by Israel and Egypt.

After World War II, in 1947, the United Nations (UN) adopted a Partition Plan for Mandatory Palestine, which recommended the creation of independent Arab and Jewish states and an internationalized Jerusalem.[30] Immediately after the United Nations General Assembly adopted the plan as Resolution 181, a civil war broke out in Palestine,[31] and the plan was not implemented.[32] The day after the establishment of the State of Israel on 14 May 1948,[33][34][35] neighboring Arab countries invaded the former British Mandate and engaged Israeli forces in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.[36][37] Later, the All-Palestine Government was established by the Arab League on 22 September 1948 to govern the All-Palestine Protectorate in the Egyptian-occupied Gaza Strip. It was soon recognized by all Arab League members except Transjordan, which had occupied and later annexed the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Palestine is currently recognized by 138 of the 193 United Nations (UN) member states. Though jurisdiction of the All-Palestine Government was declared to cover the whole of the former Mandatory Palestine, its effective jurisdiction was limited to the Gaza Strip.[38] During the Six-Day War in June 1967, Israel captured the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan, and the Golan Heights from Syria.

On 15 November 1988 in Algiers, Yasser Arafat, as Chairman of the PLO, issued the Palestinian Declaration of Independence, which established the State of Palestine. A year after the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993, the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) was formed to govern (in varying degrees) areas A and B in the West Bank, comprising 165 enclaves, and the Gaza Strip. After Hamas became the PNA parliament's leading party in the most recent elections (2006), a conflict broke out between it and the Fatah party, leading to the Gaza Strip being taken over by Hamas in 2007 (two years after the Israeli disengagement).

The State of Palestine's mid-year population in 2021 was 5,227,193. Although Palestine claims Jerusalem as its capital, the city is under the control of Israel; both Palestinian and Israeli claims to the city are mostly unrecognized by the international community. Palestine is a member of the Arab League, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the G77, the International Olympic Committee, as well as UNESCO, UNCTAD and the International Criminal Court.[39] Following a failed attempt in 2011 to secure full United Nations member state status, the United Nations General Assembly voted in 2012 to recognize Palestine as a non-member observer state.[40][41][42] On 26 February 2024, the Palestinian government collapsed, with the entire Palestinian government resigning, including the prime minister.[43][44][45]

  1. ^ "Palestine" (includes audio). nationalanthems.info. Archived from the original on 31 March 2014. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference only1967 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "ActionAid: Conditions in Rafah at breaking point, with over one million displaced people". wafa agency.
  4. ^ "Declaration of Independence (1988) (UN Doc)". State of Palestine Permanent Observer Mission to the United Nations. United Nations. 18 November 1988. Archived from the original on 8 June 2014. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  5. ^ Miskin, Maayana (5 December 2012). "PA Weighs 'State of Palestine' Passport". israelnationalnews.com. Arutz Sheva. Archived from the original on 7 December 2012. Retrieved 8 June 2014. A senior PA official revealed the plans in an interview with Al-Quds newspaper. The change to 'state' status is important because it shows that 'the state of Palestine is occupied,' he said.
  6. ^ a b "State of Palestine name change shows limitations". AP. 17 January 2013. Archived from the original on 10 January 2013. Israel remains in charge of territories the world says should one day make up that state.
  7. ^ "Table 3, Population by sex, annual rate of population increase, surface area and density" (PDF). Demographic Yearbook. United Nations Statistics Division. 2012. Archived from the original on 15 October 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  8. ^ "The World Factbook: Middle East: West Bank". cia.gov. Central Intelligence Agency. 7 April 2014. Archived from the original on 22 July 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  9. ^ "The World Factbook: Middle East: Gaza Strip". cia.gov. Central Intelligence Agency. 12 May 2014. Archived from the original on 12 January 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  10. ^ "Estimated Population in the Palestine Mid-Year by Governorate,1997-2026". Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. Archived from the original on 7 December 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  11. ^ a b c d "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2023 Edition. (Palestine)". IMF.org. International Monetary Fund. 10 October 2023. Archived from the original on 23 October 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  12. ^ "GINI index coefficient: West Bank & Gaza". CIA Factbook. Archived from the original on 30 June 2021. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  13. ^ Human Development Report 2020 The Next Frontier: Human Development and the Anthropocene (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 15 December 2020. pp. 343–346. ISBN 978-92-1-126442-5. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 December 2020. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  14. ^ According to Article 4 of the 1994 Paris Protocol, the State of Palestine has no official currency. The Protocol allows the Palestinian Authority to adopt multiple currencies. In the West Bank, the Israeli new sheqel and Jordanian dinar are widely accepted, while in the Gaza Strip the Israeli new sheqel and Egyptian pound are widely accepted.
  15. ^ Bissio, Robert Remo, ed. (1995). The World: A Third World Guide 1995–96. Montevideo: Instituto del Tercer Mundo. p. 443. ISBN 978-0-85598-291-1.
  16. ^ Baroud, Ramzy (2004). Kogan Page (ed.). Middle East Review (27th ed.). London: Kogan Page. p. 161. ISBN 978-0-7494-4066-4.
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference GA43177 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  18. ^ Tahhan, Zena. "The Naksa: How Israel occupied the whole of Palestine in 1967". www.aljazeera.com. Archived from the original on 28 December 2018. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
  19. ^ "Human rights in Israel and Occupied Palestinian Territories". Amnesty International. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  20. ^ "Gaza: Israel's 'Open-Air Prison' at 15 | Human Rights Watch". 14 June 2022. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  21. ^ "SPOKESPERSON's DAILY HIGHLIGHTS". United Nations. Archived from the original on 8 May 2012. Retrieved 29 April 2012.
  22. ^ a b Israel's control of the airspace and the territorial waters of the Gaza Strip Archived 5 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine.
  23. ^ Map of Gaza fishing limits, "security zones" Archived 26 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine.
  24. ^ Israel's Disengagement Plan: Renewing the Peace Process Archived 2 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine: "Israel will guard the perimeter of the Gaza Strip, continue to control Gaza air space, and continue to patrol the sea off the Gaza coast. ... Israel will continue to maintain its essential military presence to prevent arms smuggling along the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt (Philadelphi Route), until the security situation and cooperation with Egypt permit an alternative security arrangement."
  25. ^ "Israel: 'Disengagement' Will Not End Gaza Occupation". Human Rights Watch. 29 October 2004. Archived from the original on 1 November 2008. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
  26. ^ Gold, Dore (26 August 2005). "Legal Acrobatics: The Palestinian Claim that Gaza Is Still 'Occupied' Even After Israel Withdraws". Jerusalem Issue Brief. Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. 5 (3). Archived from the original on 21 June 2010. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
  27. ^ Bell, Abraham (28 January 2008). "International Law and Gaza: The Assault on Israel's Right to Self-Defense". Jerusalem Issue Brief. Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. 7 (29). Archived from the original on 21 June 2010. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
  28. ^ Transcript (22 January 2008). "Address by FM Livni to the 8th Herzliya Conference". Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Archived from the original on 26 October 2011. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
  29. ^ Salih, Zak M. (17 November 2005). "Panelists Disagree Over Gaza's Occupation Status". University of Virginia School of Law. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
  30. ^ "Resolution 181 (II). Future government of Palestine". United Nations. 29 November 1947. Archived from the original on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  31. ^ Article "History of Palestine", Encyclopædia Britannica (2002 edition), article section written by Walid Ahmed Khalidi and Ian J. Bickerton.
  32. ^ Itzhak Galnoor (1995). The Partition of Palestine: Decision Crossroads in the Zionist Movement. SUNY Press. pp. 289–. ISBN 978-0-7914-2193-2. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
  33. ^ "Declaration of Establishment of State of Israel". Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 14 May 1948. Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
  34. ^ Brenner, Michael; Frisch, Shelley (April 2003). Zionism: A Brief History. Markus Wiener Publishers. p. 184.
  35. ^ "Zionist Leaders: David Ben-Gurion 1886–1973". Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Archived from the original on 13 November 2011. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
  36. ^ The Arab-Israeli War of 1948 (US Department of State, Office of the Historian) Archived 16 June 2017 at the Wayback Machine"Arab forces joining the Palestinian Arabs in attacking territory in the former Palestinian mandate."
  37. ^ Yoav Gelber, Palestine 1948, 2006 – Chap. 8 "The Arab Regular Armies' Invasion of Palestine".
  38. ^ Gelber, Y. Palestine, 1948. pp. 177–78
  39. ^ "Membership of the State of Palestine in international organizations (as of 25 May 2018)". MOFAE. Archived from the original on 29 December 2021. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  40. ^ "Israel defies UN after vote on Palestine with plans for 3,000 new homes in the West Bank". The Independent. 1 December 2012. Archived from the original on 18 October 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
  41. ^ Charbonneau, Louis (29 November 2012). "Palestinians win implicit U.N. recognition of sovereign state". Reuters. Thomson Reuters. Archived from the original on 5 June 2014. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  42. ^ Lederer, Edith M (30 November 2012). "Live Stream: Palestine asks United Nations for a 'birth certificate' ahead of vote". www.3news.com. New Zealand: MediaWorks TV. Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  43. ^ Staff of the Associated Press (26 February 2024). "Palestinian prime minister submits government's resignation, a move that could open door to reforms" (News article). AP News. Jerusalem: Associated Press. Archived from the original on 26 February 2024. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  44. ^ Cho, Kelly Kasulis; Morris, Loveday; Sands, Leo; Balousha, Hazem; Chamaa, Mohamad El; Haidamous, Suzan; Masih, Niha; Alfaro, Mariana; Foster-Frau, Silvia (26 February 2024). "Palestinian prime minister, cabinet offer to resign in step toward post-Gaza war overhaul" (News article). The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 26 February 2024. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  45. ^ Thompson, Nick (26 February 2024). "Mohammed Shtayyeh, Palestinian Authority prime minister, and government to resign". CNN. Retrieved 26 February 2024.


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