The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Palestine:
State of Palestine – a country in the Middle East, politically under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian government and the Hamas Government in Gaza. Since the Palestinian Declaration of Independence in 1988 and the consequent admission into UN as an observer state in 2012, Palestine is today recognized by three-quarters of the world's countries. "Note that the term Palestine has historically referred to the region which today incorporates Israel as well as the Palestinian territories. The current position was expressed by Mahmoud Abbas in his September 2011 speech to the United Nations: 'When we adopted this program, we were taking a painful and very difficult step for all of us, especially those, including myself, who were forced to leave their homes and their towns and villages, carrying only some of our belongings and our grief and our memories and the keys of our homes to the camps of exile and the Diaspora in the 1948 Al-Nakba, one of the worst operations of uprooting, destruction and removal of a vibrant and cohesive society that had been contributing in a pioneering and leading way in the cultural, educational and economic renaissance of the Arab Middle East. Yet, because we believe in peace and because of our conviction in international legitimacy, and because we had the courage to make difficult decisions for our people, and in the absence of absolute justice, we decided to adopt the path of relative justice – justice that is possible and could correct part of the grave historical injustice committed against our people. Thus, we agreed to establish the State of Palestine on only 22% of the territory of historical Palestine – on all the Palestinian Territory occupied by Israel in 1967.'" Its proclaimed capital is East Jerusalem, and Ramallah is its administrative center. Although recently promoted to a non-member state status in the UN, Palestine does not exert full control of its territory and has historically turbulent relations with Israel and much of the west.
General reference Pronunciation: Common English country names: Palestine; State of Palestine; Palestinian territories Official English country name: U.S. State Department: Palestinian Territories ; E.U. ISO 3166-2: Palestine, State of ; UN-affiliated organizations: Palestine, State of Common endonym(s): Filasṭīn (, also transliterated Falasṭīn and Filisṭīn) Official endonym(s): Dawlat Filasṭīn () Adjectival(s): Palestinian Demonym(s): Palestinian people (aš-šaʿb al-filasṭīnīy), Palestinians (al-filasṭīnīyūn) or Palestinian Arabs (al-ʿarab al-Filasṭīnīyūn) Etymology: Timeline of the name Palestine, Place names in Palestine ISO country codes: PS, PSE, 275 ISO region codes: See ISO 3166-2:PS Internet country code top-level domain: .ps
Geography of Palestine
Palestine location: Northern Hemisphere and Eastern Hemisphere Eurasia Asia Southwest Asia Middle East Time zone: UTC+02, summer UTC+03 Extreme points of Palestine High: Mount Nabi Yunis Low: Dead Sea – lowest point on the surface of the Earth Land boundaries: Officially undefined, figures given are the de facto boundaries of the Green Line as they apply to the West Bank and Gaza Strip (See also Israeli West Bank barrier, Israeli Gaza Strip barrier and the Seam Zone) Total:
Coastline (Gaza Strip): Coastline (West Bank): Note: West Bank includes the northern portion of the Dead Sea with a shoreline. Population of Palestine: Palestinian population worldwide, including diaspora: est. 10,000,000 - 11,000,000 Population of Palestine: est. 3,800,000 Area of Palestine: Palestine (post-2013): claimed area (de facto control of ); The West Bank (including East Jerusalem) is ( and the Gaza Strip is Atlas of Palestine
Environment of Palestine
Climate of Palestine List of ecoregions in Palestine Eastern Mediterranean conifer-sclerophyllous-broadleaf forests Renewable energy in Palestine Solar cookers in Gaza Geology of Palestine Jerusalem stone Meleke Protected areas of Palestine Biosphere reserves in Palestine National parks of Palestine Wildlife of Palestine Flora of Palestine List of native plants of Palestine (A-D) List of native plants of Palestine (E-O) List of native plants of Palestine (P-Z) Opuntia Fauna of Palestine Banded newt Calopteryx syriaca Telescopus hoogstraali Birds of Palestine Mammals of Palestine Marbled polecat Striped hyena Palestinian Environmental NGOs Network
Natural geographic features of Palestine
Glaciers of Palestine: N/A Islands of Palestine: N/A Lakes of Palestine List of seas in Palestine Dead Sea Mediterranean Sea Mountains of Palestine Volcanoes in Palestine Rivers of Palestine Jordan River Water politics in the Jordan River basin Headwater Diversion Plan (Jordan River) Wadi Fa'rah Waterfalls of Palestine Wells of Palestine Jubb Yussef (Joseph's Well) Valleys of Palestine Jordan Rift Valley Jordan Valley Wadi Qelt Villages named for Wadis ("Valleys") Wadi al-Arayis Wadi Ara, Haifa (depopulated in 1948) Wadi al-Far'a Wadi Fukin
Regions of Palestine
Regions of Palestine
Ecoregions of Palestine
List of ecoregions in Palestine
Administrative divisions of Palestine West Bank Areas in the Oslo II Accord
Administrative divisions of Palestine Palestinian Governorates: 16 (11 in the West Bank, 5 in Gaza) Jerusalem Governorate: Jerusalem District Bethlehem Governorate: Bethlehem District Deir Al-Balah Governorate: Deir Al-Balah District Gaza Governorate: Gaza District Hebron Governorate: Hebron District Jenin Governorate: Jenin District Jericho Governorate: Jericho District Khan Yunis Governorate: Khan Younis District Nablus Governorate: Nablus District North Gaza Governorate: North Gaza District Qalqilya Governorate: Qalqilya District Rafah Governorate: Rafah District Ramallah and Al-Bireh Governorate: Ramallah and Al-Bireh District Salfit Governorate: Salfit District Tubas Governorate: Tubas District Tulkarm Governorate: Tulkarm District Cities under Palestinian administration List of cities in the Gaza Strip
Demography of Palestine Demographics of Palestine Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics
Government and politics of Palestine
Form of government: semi-presidential parliamentary democracy
Capital of Palestine: Proclaimed capital: East Jerusalem (also proclaimed by Israel) de facto capital: Ramallah Elections in Palestine Palestinian government Palestinian government of 2013 Palestinian unity government of 2014 List of political parties in Palestine Political parties of the PLO Taxation in Palestine
Branches of the government of Palestine
President of Palestine: Mahmoud Abbas Prime Minister of Palestine: Mohammad Mustafa As a result of the Fatah-Hamas conflict, there is a dispute over the Presidency and Prime Ministership of Palestine.
Ministries Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Minister of Justice Minister of Interior Minister of Finance Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation Minister of Local Government Minister of Health Minister of Education and Higher Education Minister of Labor Minister of Awqaf and Religious Affairs Minister of Industry Minister of National Economy Minister of Telecommunications and Digital Economy Minister of Public Works and Housing Minister of Social Development Minister of Agriculture Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Minister of Jerusalem Affairs Minister of Culture Minister of Transport and Communications Minister of Women's Affairs
Legislative branches of the government of Palestine Palestinian Legislative Council (Palestine, unicameral) Palestinian National Council (PLO, unicameral, parliament-in-exileSela and Ma'oz, 1997, p. 16.)
Judicial branch of the government of Palestine According to the Constitution of Palestine, all courts relating to the country shall be independent.
Local governance in Palestine Local governance in Palestine Mukataa
Foreign relations of Palestine Foreign relations of Palestine Holy See – Palestinian relations India-Palestine relations Iran-Palestine relations Palestine-Russia relations Pakistan-Palestine relations Romania-Palestine relations Diplomatic missions in Palestine List of diplomatic missions of Palestine
Palestine and the United Nations
United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine United Nations Palestine Commission United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) United Nations resolutions concerning Palestine United Nations Special Committee on Palestine (UNSCOP) Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People United Nations Division for Palestinian Rights (UNDPR) International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People Palestinian right of return Palestine and the United Nations
International organization membership
Palestine is a member in a number of international organizations. In others, it enjoys affiliation in a lesser capacity or under another designation (such as PLO or Palestinian National Authority). In the list below, if the membership is not full or not for Palestine, the type and name of affiliation is denoted in parentheses.
Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD) Arab League (AL) Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) Council of Arab Economic Unity (CAEU) FIFA (Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Group of 77 (G77) International Olympic Committee (IOC) International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) (affiliate member) International Telecommunication Union (ITU) (non-voting observer status) International Organization for Standardization (ISO) International Paralympic Committee (IPC) International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Islamic Development Bank (IDC) Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) United Nations (UN) (observer) Asian Group of the United Nations United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UNESCWA) UNESCO UNIDO Universal Postal Union (UPU) World Health Organization (WHO) (observer status) World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) OPCW ICC Interpol UNCTAD UNICEF IPU
International aid to Palestine International aid to Palestinians
International solidarity movements Palestinian solidarity organizations Comités Palestine Melbourne Palestine Solidarity Network Palestine Solidarity Campaign Palestine Solidarity Movement Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Law and order in Palestine
Palestinian Law Palestinian National Charter Crime in Palestine Human rights in Palestine Freedom of religion in Palestine LGBT rights in Palestine Polygamy in Palestine Human rights organizations in Palestine Al Mezan Center for Human Rights Palestinian Centre for Human Rights Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group Human rights record of Israel in Palestine International law and Israeli settlements Law enforcement in Palestine Prostitution in Palestine
Military of Palestine Palestinian Security Services Commander-in-chief: Mahmoud Abbas Interior Minister: Military history of Palestine Arab Liberation Army Army of the Holy War Military ranks of Palestine
Paramilitary forces of Palestine Palestinian National Security Forces Palestinian Civil Police Force Palestinian Preventive Security Palestinian Presidential Guard General Intelligence
Irregular Palestinian forces Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades (armed wing affiliated with Fatah) al-Quds Brigades (armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad) Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades (armed wing of Hamas) Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command (PFLP-GC) (armed wing of the PFLP) Popular Resistance Committees Palestinian domestic weapons production Qassam rocket al-Quds rocket