Fatah, formerly the Palestinian National Liberation Movement, is a Palestinian nationalist and social democratic political party. It is the largest faction of the confederated multi-party Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the second-largest party in the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC). Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the Palestinian Authority, is the chairman of Fatah.
The Gaza Strip, or simply Gaza, is a narrow piece of land on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, bordered by Israel to the east and north, and Egypt to the southwest. With a population of 2 million, on some 365 square kilometers, Gaza, if considered a top-level political unit, ranks as the third most densely populated in the world. It is one of the two Palestinian territories, together with the West Bank. Since 2007, the Gaza Strip has been under the rule of the political and militant Islamist group Hamas, governing it as an oppressive, de facto one-party state.
Hamas, officially the Islamic Resistance Movement, is a Sunni Islamist political and military organization governing the Gaza Strip of the Palestinian territories. While it is headquartered in Gaza City, it also has a presence in the West Bank, in which its secular rival Fatah exercises control. Hamas is widely considered to be the "dominant political force" within the Palestinian territories.
The Palestinian National Authority, commonly known as the Palestinian Authority and officially the State of Palestine, is the Fatah-controlled government body that exercises partial civil control over West Bank areas "A" and "B" as a consequence of the 1993–1995 Oslo Accords. The Palestinian Authority controlled the Gaza Strip prior to the Palestinian elections of 2006 and the subsequent Gaza conflict between the Fatah and Hamas parties, when it lost control to Hamas; the PA continues to claim the Gaza Strip, although Hamas exercises de facto control. Since January 2013, the Palestinian Authority has used the name "State of Palestine" on official documents, although the United Nations continues to recognize the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) as the "representative of the Palestinian people".
The Palestine Liberation Organization is a Palestinian nationalist coalition that is internationally recognized as the official representative of the Palestinian people. Founded in 1964, it initially sought to establish an Arab state over the entire territory of the former Mandatory Palestine, advocating the elimination of the State of Israel. However, in 1993, the PLO recognized Israeli sovereignty with the Oslo I Accord, and now only seeks Arab statehood in the Palestinian territories that have been militarily occupied by Israel since the 1967 Arab–Israeli War.
The Second Intifada, also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada, was a major Palestinian uprising in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories and Israel. The general triggers for the unrest are speculated to have been centred on the failure of the 2000 Camp David Summit, which was expected to reach a final agreement on the Israeli–Palestinian peace process in July 2000. Outbreaks of violence began in September 2000, after Ariel Sharon, then the Israeli opposition leader, made a provocative visit to the Al-Aqsa compound on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem; the visit itself was peaceful, but, as anticipated, sparked protests and riots that Israeli police put down with rubber bullets and tear gas.
Marwan Hasib Ibrahim Barghouti is a Palestinian political figure convicted and imprisoned for murder by an Israeli court. He is regarded as a leader of the First and Second Intifadas. Barghouti at one time supported the peace process, but later became disillusioned, and after 2000 went on to become a leader of the Second Intifada from the West Bank. Barghouti was a leader of Tanzim, a paramilitary offshoot of Fatah.
The Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU), also called the Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions or Palestinian Trade Union Federation, is a national trade union center in the Palestinian Territories. It has an estimated membership of 290,000, and is affiliated with the International Trade Union Confederation. The union in its current form is historically aligned with Fatah, but other parties have also worked within its organization.
Even before the outbreak of the Al-Aqsa Intifada, various militant Palestinian groups built domestically-produced weapons for attacks against Israel. Most of the effort has been in the production of unguided artillery rockets, though Hamas has built its own versions of anti-tank missiles and rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs). Though usually smuggled across the Egyptian border into the Gaza Strip and to a lesser extent Jordanian border into the West Bank, various small arms are believed to be produced in the Palestinian territories.
The Islamic Republic of Iran officially recognises Palestine as a state. Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, rejects a two-state solution and implies that Palestine is inseparable, while Iran's former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called for a free referendum for the entire Palestinian population, including Arab citizens of Israel, to determine the type of government in the future Palestinian State, while reiterating that establishment of a Palestinian State alongside Israel would "never mean an endorsement of the Israeli occupation".
The History of Hamas is an account of the Palestinian Islamist fundamentalist socio-political organization with an associated paramilitary force, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. Hamas (حماس) Ḥamās is an acronym of حركة المقاومة الاسلامية Ḥarakat al-Muqāwamat al-Islāmiyyah, meaning "Islamic Resistance Movement".
The next Palestinian legislative election was scheduled for 22 May 2021, according to a decree by President Mahmoud Abbas on 15 January 2021, but was indefinitely postponed on 29 April 2021.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the State of Palestine:
Shadia Mansour, also known as "the first lady of Arabic hip hop" is a British-Palestinian rapper who performs in Arabic and English. Much of her music revolves around Middle Eastern politics.
Shaul Mishal is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Tel Aviv University. Mishal is Head of the Middle Eastern studies Program at IDC Herzliya, researcher of Arab and Palestinian politics who founded and directed the Center for the Study of Arab Society in Israel. Mishal authored and co-authored several books and numerous articles in subjects related to Arab and Islamic political cultures and Palestinian politics.
The 25th anniversary of the founding of Hamas took place on Saturday, December 8, 2012. A rally involving hundreds of thousands of Palestinians was held in Gaza Strip and various celebrations were conducted all over the Palestinian Authority. Thousands of jubilant Hamas supporters openly raised green flags in the West Bank, to celebrate the Islamic organisation's 25th anniversary.
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine is a secular Palestinian Marxist–Leninist and revolutionary socialist organization founded in 1967 by George Habash. It has consistently been the second-largest of the groups forming the Palestine Liberation Organization, the largest being Fatah.
The Battle of Gaza, also referred to as Hamas's takeover of Gaza, was a military conflict between Fatah and Hamas that took place in the Gaza Strip from 10 to 15 June 2007. It was a prominent event in the Fatah–Hamas conflict, centered on the struggle for power after Fatah lost the 2006 Palestinian legislative election. The battle resulted in the dissolution of the unity government and the de facto division of the Palestinian territories into two entities: the West Bank governed by the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), and the Gaza Strip governed by Hamas. Hamas fighters took control of the Gaza Strip, while Fatah officials were either taken as prisoners, executed, or expelled. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights reported that at least 161 people were killed and more than 700 were wounded during the fighting.
Ismail Abdel Salam Ahmed Haniyeh is a senior political leader of Hamas and formerly one of two disputed Prime Ministers of the Palestinian National Authority.
Palestinian nationalism is the national movement of the Palestinian people that espouses self-determination and sovereignty over the region of Palestine. Originally formed in opposition to Zionism, Palestinian nationalism later internationalized and attached itself to other ideologies; it has thus rejected the occupation of the Palestinian territories by the government of Israel since the 1967 Six-Day War. Palestinian nationalists often drawn upon broader political traditions in their ideology, examples being Arab socialism and ethnic nationalism in the context of Muslim religious nationalism. Related beliefs have shaped the government of Palestine and continue to do so.
