🇵🇸Facts about Palestine

Tell es-Sultan near Jericho preserves evidence of early settled life, including a Neolithic tower and walls. Later periods brought Canaanite cities, Israelite and Judean kingdoms, and successive empires. Jewish, Christian and Muslim histories overlap across the region. Roman and Byzantine remains, early Islamic buildings, Crusader churches, Mamluk institutions and Ottoman towns survive in different forms. Ancient cultural connections and religious traditions should be understood in their own contexts rather than treated as ready-made modern borders.

British rule followed the Ottoman period, within a Mandate that lasted until 1948. The UN recommended partition in 1947. Israel’s establishment and the 1948 war brought mass Palestinian displacement, remembered as the Nakba. Jordan subsequently controlled the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, while Egypt administered Gaza. Israel occupied both territories in 1967. The Oslo agreements of the 1990s established limited Palestinian self-government without resolving statehood. Hamas-led attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023 included the killing of civilians and hostage-taking; the ensuing war in Gaza caused devastating destruction and mass displacement. These events belong alongside the longer histories of ordinary communities.

Tatreez embroidery uses stitched patterns on garments such as the thobe and on other textiles. Motifs, colours and garment forms have local histories, while makers also adapt them for contemporary work. UNESCO recognises the art of embroidery in Palestine as intangible cultural heritage. A garment can preserve a connection to a village or family, including places outside this guide’s territorial scope; cultural memory does not define a proposed state’s borders.

Dabke brings dancers together in lines or circles at celebrations and has related forms across the Levant. Palestinian poetry, storytelling, theatre, cinema and visual art draw on daily life, love, place, exile and political experience. The poet Mahmoud Darwish and the writer Ghassan Kanafani are influential figures, alongside many different contemporary voices. Olive harvests, religious festivals and family gatherings connect cultural life with seasons and community ties. Practices differ across Muslim, Christian, secular and other households.

The State of Palestine was proclaimed by the Palestine National Council in 1988 and has held UN non-member observer State status since 2012. This differs from full UN membership. The Palestine Liberation Organization represents Palestinians internationally; the Palestinian Authority was established through the Oslo process to exercise limited self-government. They are related but distinct institutions. Political life has also been shaped by the Fatah–Hamas division since 2007, interrupted democratic processes and the effects of occupation and war.

A two-state solution envisages Palestine and Israel living side by side in peace and security. UN Security Council resolution 2334 refers to the 4 June 1967 lines and changes agreed by the parties, and states that Israeli settlements in the territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, have no legal validity. Final borders, security, refugees and Jerusalem require a negotiated resolution. Palestinians seek East Jerusalem as their capital; Israel designates Jerusalem as its capital, and the UN does not recognise its annexation of East Jerusalem. Recognition, effective control and a final peace agreement are different matters. This guide does not present the two-state outcome as already achieved.

Musakhan combines chicken, onions, sumac and olive oil, traditionally served on taboon bread. Maqluba layers rice with vegetables and often meat in a pot that is turned over for serving. Freekeh is young wheat that is roasted and used in soups and other dishes. Olive oil, seasonal vegetables, pulses and preserved foods link household cooking with farming. Recipes vary by family and locality rather than following one official national version.

Nablus is closely associated with knafeh made with cheese and syrup, while Gaza has distinctive traditions using chilli, dill, seafood and other local ingredients. Sumagiyya is a sumac-based stew associated with Gaza. Hummus, falafel, za’atar and flatbreads connect Palestinian kitchens with wider Levantine food cultures; popularity in several countries does not give any one an exclusive origin claim. Food heritage also continues in diaspora communities. Describing that heritage does not imply that ingredients or meals remain readily available amid destruction, displacement and hunger.

Palestinians include Muslim and Christian communities, secular people and other traditions, with varied urban, village and Bedouin family histories. The small Samaritan community around Mount Gerizim has its own ancient religious tradition and distinct identity. Palestinian citizens of Israel and Palestinians abroad also belong to the wider account of Palestinian life, while their places of residence fall outside this guide’s map of the West Bank and Gaza. National identity, faith, citizenship and residency are different things.

Displacement in 1948, in 1967 and during later conflicts has shaped family histories across several generations. Refugee camps are also long-established communities, and being a registered refugee does not describe every Palestinian’s circumstances. The diaspora includes communities across the Middle East, the Americas, Europe and elsewhere. Education, literature, craft, sport and professional work connect people across borders. Population estimates must distinguish residents of the territories, refugees registered with UNRWA and Palestinians worldwide; those are different populations.