It encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, collectively known as the occupied Palestinian territories, within the broader geographic and historical Palestine region.

Israel has constructed large settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem since 1967, which currently house more than 670,000 Israeli settlers, which are illegal under international law.

[23][2][24][25][excessive citations] The term "Palestine" (in Latin, Palæstina) comes via ancient Greek from a Semitic toponym for the general area dating back to the late second millennium BCE, a reflex of which is also to be found in the Biblical ethnonym Philistines.

In the 5th century BCE, in his work The Histories Herodotus used the term to describe a "district of Syria, called Palaistine" in which Phoenicians interacted with other maritime peoples.

The failure of Emir Faisal to establish a Greater Syria in the face of French and British colonial claims to the area, also shaped Palestinian elites' efforts to secure local autonomy.

[34] In the late 1930s and 1940s, several Zionist militant groups, including the Irgun, Hagana, and Lehi, carried out acts of violence against British military and civilian targets in their pursuit of an independent Jewish state.

[35] The Exodus 1947 incident unfolded when a ship carrying Jewish Holocaust survivors, who sought refuge in Palestine, was intercepted by the British navy, leading to clashes and the eventual deportation of the refugees back to Europe.

[37][better source needed] The October 1974 Arab League summit designated the PLO as the "sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people" and reaffirmed "their right to establish an independent state of urgency".

[41] The First Intifada broke out in 1987, characterized by widespread protests, strikes, and acts of civil disobedience by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank against Israeli occupation.

[42] 1990 witnessed the imposition of strict measures by the Israeli government, including curfews and closures, in an attempt to suppress the Intifada and maintain control over the occupied territories.

[44][45] In 1993, the Oslo Accords were signed between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), leading to the establishment of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and a potential path to peace.

[46] As a result, in 1994 the PLO established the Palestinian National Authority (PNA or PA) territorial administration, that exercises some governmental functions[d] in parts of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

[59][60] In September 2000, then opposition leader from the Likud Party, Ariel Sharon, made a proactive visit to the Temple Mount and delivered a controversial speech, which angered Palestinian Jerusalemites.

[69][70][71][72][excessive citations] In recent years, diplomatic initiatives have emerged, including the normalization agreements between Israel and several Arab states, known as the Abraham Accords.

In some cases, due to conflicting sources, it is difficult to determine if the participation is on behalf of the State of Palestine, the PLO as a non-state entity, or the Palestinian National Authority (PNA).

[158][159] In January 2015, the International Criminal Court affirmed Palestine's "State" status after its UN observer recognition,[160] a move condemned by Israeli leaders as a form of "diplomatic terrorism".

As of April, seven UNSC members recognize Palestine but the US has indicated that it opposes the request and in addition, US law stipulates that US funding for the UN would be cut off in the event of full recognition without an Israeli-Palestinian agreement.

[204] This policy forces shippers to unload and reload their goods from one truck to another, resulting in significant transportation costs and longer transit times for both finished products and raw materials.

[204] Under the 1995 Oslo II Accord, it was agreed that governance of Area C would be transferred to the Palestinian Authority within 18 months, except for matters to be determined in the final status agreement.

[204] The European Commission has highlighted the detrimental impact of the Israeli West Bank barrier, estimating that it has led to an annual economic impoverishment of Palestinians by 2–3% of GDP.

[204] According to a 2015 study, the economic impact of Israel's illegal use of Palestinian natural resources was conservatively estimated at US$1.83 billion, equivalent to 22% of Palestine's GDP that year.

[204] The same report, which adopted conservative estimates, suggests that access to Area 'C' in specific sectors like Dead Sea minerals, telecommunications, mining, tourism, and construction could contribute at least 22% to Palestinian GDP.

[204] The State of Palestine's overall gross-domestic-product (GDP) has declined by 35% in the first quarter of 2024, due to the ongoing war in Gaza, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) reports.

Barriers erected in the West Bank have made movement of goods difficult; the blockade of the Gaza Strip has severely affected the territory's economic conditions.

[230] Block-1 field, which spans an area of 432 square kilometres (167 sq mi) from northwest Ramallah to Qalqilya in Palestine, has significant potential for recoverable hydrocarbon resources.

[258] Most of them are seeking refuge in neighboring Arab countries like Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon and Egypt,[259] while others live as expats in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait.

[291] According to a 2022 news article by Al Monitor, many families of Turkish origin in Gaza have been migrating to Turkey due to the "deteriorating economic conditions in the besieged enclave".

[315] The report of WHO Director-General of 1 May 2019 describes health sector conditions in the oPt identifying strategic priorities and current obstacles to their achievement[316] pursuant to the country cooperation strategy for WHO and the Occupied Palestinian Territory 2017–2020.

[320] The Old City of Jerusalem, with its religious sites like the Western Wall, the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, holds immense cultural and historical significance.

[340][341] Artists such as DAM, Shadia Mansour, and Tamer Nafar have gained international recognition for their socially conscious lyrics, addressing topics such as occupation, identity, and resistance.