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Palestine Facts & Worksheets

Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a state in West Asia's Southern Levant area. Officially ruled by the Palestine Liberation Organization, it proclaims the West Bank and Gaza Strip as its territory, despite the fact that Israel has occupied the whole land since the 1967 Six-Day War.

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Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a state in West Asia’s Southern Levant area. Officially ruled by the Palestine Liberation Organization, it proclaims the West Bank and Gaza Strip as its territory, despite the fact that Israel has occupied the whole land since the 1967 Six-Day War. 

See the fact file below for more information about Palestine, or you can download our 29-page Palestine worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

  • In 1947, the United Nations (UN) adopted a partition plan for Mandatory Palestine, a two-state solution including other territories. 
  • The Jewish leadership accepted the project, but Arab leaders rejected it, and Britain refused to implement it. As the final British withdrawal approached, David Ben-Gurion’s Jewish Agency for Israel announced the creation of the State of Israel as suggested under the UN plan.
  • The Arab Higher Committee, along with Transjordan, Egypt, and other members of the Arab League, launched military action instead of declaring their state, leading to the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
  • Israel seized additional territories during the conflict slated to become an Arab state under the UN plan.
  • Egypt initially supported an All-Palestine Government, but it was disbanded in 1959.
  • Israel emerged victorious in its battles against Egypt, Jordan, and Syria in 1967 in the Six-Day War, and as a result, it now occupies the West Bank and Gaza Strip in addition to other lands.
  • The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was founded in the West Bank in 1964 to oppose Israel when Jordan was in charge.
  • According to the PLO’s Palestinian National Charter, Palestine’s borders include all of the Mandate’s remaining territory, including Israel. The PLO initially relocated to Jordan after the Six-Day War, but in 1971, they moved to Lebanon.
  • In November 1974, the UN General Assembly granted the PLO observer status as a “non-state entity” at the UN, recognizing them as competent on all matters relating to Palestine. 
  • Following the 1988 Declaration of Independence, the UN General Assembly officially acknowledged the PLO as the “sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.” It reaffirmed “their right to establish an independent state of urgency.
  • Israel has recognized the PLO negotiating team as the official representative of the Palestinian people. In the Oslo Accords 1993, the PLO acknowledged and accepted Israel’s right to exist peacefully, receiving resolutions 242 and 338 of the UN Security Council and rejecting “violence and terrorism.” 
  • As a result, the PLO established the territorial administration known as the Palestinian National Authority (PNA or PA) in 1994. The PNA performs governmental duties in some West Bank and Gaza Strip regions.

INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION OF PALESTINE

  • Out of the 193, 139 UN members have recognized the State of Palestine, and since 2012, it has been a non-member observer state in the UN.
  • The United Nations General Assembly upgraded Palestine has transitioned from an “observer entity” to a “non-member observer state” through Resolution 67/19.
  • Within the UN System, on November 29, 2012, with a vote of 138-9 (41 abstentions and five absences), the result was a recognition of the PLO’s sovereignty.
  • The UN has granted Palestine permission to refer to its representative office, the State of Palestine’s Permanent Observer Mission to the United Nations.” Its diplomats have been instructed to officially represent “The State of Palestine”—not the Palestinian National Authority.
  • Yeocheol Yoon, Chief of Protocol at the UN, issued a directive on December 17, 2012, stating the Secretariat shall use ‘State of Palestine’ in all UN official documents and recognizing the term as The official name for the state to be used for all purposes within the United Nations, is “State of Palestine.”
  • Many nations that do not recognize the State of Palestine still recognize the PLO as the “representative of the Palestinian people” as of the end of July 2019, making up 138 (71.5%) of the 193 United Nations member states. 
  • The Palestinian National Council has granted the PLO Executive Committee authority to carry out governmental duties for Palestine.

GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE

  • The territories claimed by the State of Palestine are in the Southern Levant. 
  • The Gaza Strip is bounded on the west by the Mediterranean Sea, on the south by Egypt, and the north and east by Israel. 
  • Jordan borders the West Bank to the east and Israel to the north, south, and west. As a result, the two enclaves comprising the areas claimed by the State of Palestine have no geographical border with one another, as Israel separates them. These areas would equal the world’s 163rd largest country in land area.
  • Temperatures in Palestine vary dramatically. The climate in the West Bank is predominantly Mediterranean, with elevated areas slightly more relaxed than the shoreline to the west. The West Bank encompasses a significant portion of the Judean Desert in the east, including the western shoreline of the Dead Sea, which has a dry and hot climate.
  • July and August are the hottest, with an average temperature—highs of 33°C. 
  • The coldest month is January, with average temperatures of 7°C (45°F).

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS OF PALESTINE

  • The president of the State of Palestine is the country’s head of state. 
  • In 1989, one year after the Palestinian Declaration of Independence, Yasser Arafat became the first titular president of the State of Palestine. 
  • The title was originally titular, running concurrently with the de facto title of president of the Palestinian National Authority. Both functions were held by Arafat beginning in 1994 and carried on until he passed away in November 2004, when they were taken over by his successor, Mahmoud Abbas. 

According to the Oslo II Accord, the West Bank governorates are divided into three areas:

  • Area A accounts for 18% of the West Bank by location and is administered by the Palestinian government.
  • Area B accounts for 22% of the West Bank and is under Palestinian civil and joint Israeli-Palestinian security control.
  • Area C, except for East Jerusalem, accounts for the Israeli Civil Administration, which administers 60% of the West Bank. 
  • Palestinians are barred from entering more than 99% of Area C. Area C is home to approximately 330,000 Israelis who, although the area is under martial law, have full civil rights. 

ECONOMY OF PALESTINE

  • Palestinian-claimed territory includes tourism in East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip.
  • In 2010, 4.6 million people visited the Palestinian territories, up from 2.6 million in 2009. Out of the total number of visitors, 2.2 million were tourists from other countries, and 2.7 million were country residents.
  • Over 150,000 visitors stayed in West Bank hotels in the final quarter of 2012; 40% were from Europe, and 9% were from the United States and Canada.
  • It was estimated that there were approximately 4.2 million cellular mobile subscribers in Palestine at the end of 2019, up from the end of 2010, when there were 2.6 million ADSL subscribers. 
  • This usage increased to around 363 thousand by the end of 2019 from 119 thousand during the same period.
  • At least 97% of Palestinian families have one cellular phone line, and 86% have at least one smartphone, 91% in the West Bank and 78% in Gaza). 
  • Approximately 80% of Palestinian families have internet connectivity, and over one-third own a computer.

Palestine Worksheets

This fantastic bundle includes everything you need to know about Palestine across 29 in-depth pages. These ready-to-use worksheets are perfect for teaching kids about Palestine. Officially ruled by the Palestine Liberation Organization, it proclaims the West Bank and Gaza Strip as its territory, despite the fact that Israel has occupied the whole land since the 1967 Six-Day War. 

Complete List of Included Worksheets

Below is a list of all the worksheets included in this document.

  1. Palestine Facts
  2. Written History
  3. Missing Letters
  4. Search the Box
  5. Thoughts, Thoughts 
  6. What You Learned
  7. Complete the Table
  8. State Leader
  9. Visiting Palestine
  10. Agree or Disagree?
  11. Video News Report

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Palestine located?

Palestine is a region located in Western Asia, primarily in the eastern Mediterranean. It shares borders with Israel, Jordan, and Egypt, and it has a coastline along the Mediterranean Sea. The exact boundaries of Palestine have been a subject of dispute and negotiation.

What is the status of Palestine in terms of statehood?

The question of Palestinian statehood is a complex and contentious issue. The State of Palestine was declared in 1988, and it has been recognized as a non-member observer state by the United Nations. However, its sovereignty and borders remain a subject of negotiation between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

What is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a long-standing political and territorial dispute between Israelis and Palestinians over issues like borders, settlements, refugees, and the status of Jerusalem. It is rooted in historical and religious factors and has led to numerous conflicts and negotiations.

What are the main Palestinian territories?

The main Palestinian territories are the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The West Bank is under the administration of the Palestinian Authority, while Gaza is controlled by the Hamas organization. Both territories are geographically separated and have distinct political and governance structures.

What is the status of Jerusalem in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict?

Jerusalem is a highly contentious issue in the conflict. Both Israelis and Palestinians claim Jerusalem as their capital. The international community generally does not recognize Israel’s sovereignty over East Jerusalem, which was captured in the 1967 Six-Day War, and supports a two-state solution with Jerusalem as the future capital of both Israel and a Palestinian state. Negotiations on the status of Jerusalem remain a key challenge in the peace process.

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Link will appear as Palestine Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, November 15, 2023

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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