Palestine

Overview

The State of Palestine is a partially recognized state in Western Asia, comprising the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, with Ramallah serving as its administrative capital. With a population of roughly 5.1 million people and a land area of around 6,020 square kilometres, Palestine occupies a geopolitically contested position at the heart of one of the world's most closely watched conflicts. This page provides a factual reference for travelers, researchers, and anyone seeking grounded information about Palestinian geography, society, and governance.

Geography

Palestine consists of two geographically separate territories. The West Bank lies west of the Jordan River and east of Israel's pre-1967 boundary, while the Gaza Strip is a narrow coastal enclave bordering the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Egypt to the south, and Israel to the north and east. The West Bank's terrain ranges from the hills and valleys of the Judean highlands to the semi-arid Jordan Valley. The Gaza Strip is largely flat, low-lying coastal plain. The Dead Sea, the lowest point on Earth's surface, borders the eastern edge of the West Bank. Climate in the West Bank is Mediterranean in the hill regions, transitioning to arid conditions further east toward the Jordan Rift Valley. Gaza experiences a hot semi-arid Mediterranean climate with mild winters and dry, warm summers.

Demographics

The population of Palestine is estimated at around 5.1 million, distributed unevenly between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The Gaza Strip is one of the most densely populated territories in the world. The population is predominantly Arab Palestinian, with Arabic as the mother tongue of virtually all residents. Palestinian society is majority Muslim, with a small and historically significant Christian minority concentrated primarily in Bethlehem, Ramallah, and other West Bank towns. A significant Palestinian diaspora also exists across Jordan, Lebanon, and other countries.

Culture & Language

Arabic is the official language of Palestine, with the Levantine Arabic dialect spoken in daily life alongside Modern Standard Arabic used in media and formal settings. Palestinian cuisine reflects broader Levantine traditions and includes dishes such as musakhan, maqluba, and knafeh, a sweet cheese pastry associated with the city of Nablus. Embroidery, known as tatreez, is a distinctive Palestinian folk art with regional patterns that carry cultural and geographic meaning. Football is the most widely followed sport, and dabke, a Levantine line dance, remains a living tradition at weddings and community celebrations.

Government & Politics

The Palestinian Authority (PA) administers parts of the West Bank under the framework established by the Oslo Accords of the 1990s. The Palestinian National Authority was established in 1994 following those accords, and the State of Palestine has received recognition from a majority of United Nations member states. The political system provides for a president as head of state and a prime minister as head of government. The Palestinian Legislative Council is the legislative body. The Gaza Strip has been governed separately since 2007 by Hamas, creating a significant and ongoing political division. Ramallah functions as the de facto administrative capital, though Jerusalem is designated as the intended capital in Palestinian law.

Economy

The Palestinian economy operates under severe structural constraints linked to movement restrictions, access limitations, and recurring conflict. The West Bank economy relies significantly on services, public administration, and construction, while Gaza's economy has been heavily constrained by a prolonged blockade. The currency in use is the Israeli new shekel (ILS), though the Jordanian dinar and the US dollar also circulate widely. GDP per capita is estimated at a few thousand US dollars, with considerable variation between the West Bank and Gaza. Agriculture, small-scale manufacturing, and remittances from the diaspora contribute to household income. International donor funding plays a substantial role in financing public services and infrastructure.

Quick Facts

• Capital: Ramallah
• Currency: Israeli new shekel (ILS) ₪
• Time zone: UTC+02:00 (Asia/Hebron)
• Calling code: +970
• Internet TLD: .ps

Infrastructure & Development

Internet penetration in the Palestinian territories has grown steadily, with a substantial share of the population accessing the internet via mobile devices. Infrastructure development in the West Bank has proceeded under PA oversight, though movement restrictions limit connectivity between towns and cities. The Gaza Strip's infrastructure, including electricity, water, and communications networks, has sustained repeated damage from conflict and faces ongoing repair deficits. Education is administered through both the PA system and UNRWA, the United Nations agency serving Palestinian refugees, which operates schools across the territories. Healthcare is provided through a combination of public hospitals, UNRWA clinics, and NGO facilities, with referrals to Israeli or Jordanian hospitals for specialist care in some cases.

Tourism & Highlights

The Palestinian territories contain sites of profound historical and religious significance. Bethlehem, in the West Bank, is recognized as the birthplace of Jesus and draws Christian pilgrims to the Church of the Nativity, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Hebron contains the Ibrahimi Mosque and Cave of Machpelah, sacred to both Muslim and Jewish traditions, and the old city of Hebron is also inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Jericho is considered one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The city of Nablus is known for its old souk and soap-making tradition. The West Bank also offers hiking routes through the hills around Ramallah and Birzeit.

History

The land that comprises modern Palestine has been continuously inhabited for thousands of years and has passed through the control of numerous empires, including the Assyrian, Persian, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Umayyad, Crusader, Mamluk, and Ottoman. Following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire after World War One, the territory came under British Mandatory administration. The 1947 United Nations partition plan proposed dividing the territory into Arab and Jewish states; the subsequent 1948 Arab-Israeli war resulted in the establishment of Israel and the displacement of a large portion of the Arab Palestinian population, an event known to Palestinians as the Nakba. Jordan administered the West Bank and Egypt administered Gaza until Israel occupied both territories in the 1967 Six-Day War. The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) became the internationally recognized representative of the Palestinian people, and the Oslo Accords of 1993 and 1994 created the Palestinian Authority. Negotiations toward a final-status agreement have remained unresolved.

Practical Information

If you are planning to visit the Palestinian territories, entry is typically made through Israeli-controlled border crossings, including the Allenby Bridge from Jordan into the West Bank. Your passport will generally receive an Israeli entry stamp. The political and security situation varies significantly by area and can change rapidly; checking current travel advisories from your government before travel is strongly recommended. Driving is on the right-hand side of the road. Emergency numbers in the West Bank include 101 for ambulance and 100 for police. Arabic is the working language, though English is understood in Ramallah, Bethlehem, and other towns with tourism or NGO presence. The local time is UTC+02:00, with daylight saving time observed in summer under the Asia/Hebron zone.