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 Palestinian territories are the two regions of the former British Mandate for Palestine that have been occupied by Israel since the Six-Day War of 1967, namely the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has referred to the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, as "the Occupied Palestinian Territory", and this term was used as the legal definition by the ICJ in its advisory opinion of July 2004. The term occupied Palestinian territory was used by the United Nations and other international organizations between October 1999 and December 2012 to refer to areas controlled by the Palestinian National Authority, but from 2012, when Palestine was admitted as one of its non-member observer states, the United Nations started using exclusively the name State of Palestine. The European Union (EU) also uses the term "occupied Palestinian territory". The government of Israel and its supporters use the label "disputed territories" instead.
Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Founded on 15 November 1988 and officially governed by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), it claims the West Bank and the Gaza Strip as its territory, all of which have been Israeli-occupied territories since the 1967 Six-Day War. The West Bank contains 165 Palestinian enclaves that are under partial Palestinian rule, but the remainder, including 200 Israeli settlements, is under full Israeli control. The Gaza Strip was governed by Egypt but conquered by Israel in 1967. Israel governed the region until it withdrew in 2005. The United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and various human-rights organizations still consider Gaza to be held under Israeli military occupation, due to what they regard as Israel's effective military control over the territory; Israel disputes this. Hamas seized power after winning the 2006 Palestinian legislative election. This has since been ensued by a blockade of the Gaza Strip by Israel and Egypt.
The economy of the State of Palestine refers to the economic activity of the State of Palestine. Palestine receives substantial financial aid from international donors, including governments and international organizations. This aid is crucial for supporting the Palestinian Authority and funding public services and development projects. Palestinians working abroad send money back to their families in Palestine. These remittances provide a significant source of income for many households.
Education in the State of Palestine refers to the educational system in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, which is administered by the Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education. Enrollment rates amongst Palestinians are relatively high by regional and global standards. According to a youth survey in 2003, 60% between the ages 10–24 indicated that education was their first priority. Youth literacy rate was 98.2%, while the national literacy rate was 91.1% in 2006. The literacy rate ages 15-24 was 99.4% in 2016. Enrollment ratios for higher education were 45% in 2022. In 2016 Hanan Al Hroub was awarded the Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize for her work in teaching children how to cope with violence.
The Palestinian National Security Forces are the paramilitary security forces of the Palestinian National Authority. The name may either refer to all National Security Forces, including some special services but not including the Interior Security Forces, the Presidential Guard and General Intelligence, or refer to the main force within the National Security Forces. Since the signing of the Oslo Accords, these forces operate in areas controlled by the PNA. In 2003, the organizations were merged into the Palestinian Security Services.
The Ministry of Interior and National Security is the branch of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) cabinet in charge of the security and the statistics of the population of the State of Palestine. The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) is a sub-branch of the Interior Ministry that has the responsibility for the population and economic statistics of the Palestinian territories. Since Hamas' takeover of Gaza, the position of the Interior Ministry within the Palestinian Security Services is unclear.
A municipality is an administrative unit of local government similar to a city. They were established and decided after the creation of the Local Government Ministry of the Palestinian National Authority in 1994. All municipalities are assigned by the Local Government Ministry. Municipal council members and mayors are elected by the residents of the particular locality. Municipalities are divided into four sectors depending on their population and importance to their particular governorate.
Ali Jarbawi is the former Minister of Planning and Administrative Development and the former Minister of Higher Education of the Government of the Palestinian National Authority.
The United States has provided security assistance to the Palestinian Authority (PA) since the mid-1990s. After the Oslo Accords formed the PA, the U.S. gave aid on an ad hoc basis, often covertly at the outset. Since 2005, however, the U.S. State Department has provided direct financial and personnel assistance to Palestinian security organizations when it established the office of the United States Security Coordinator (USSC) for Israel and the Palestinian territories through the Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL). In 2007 the USSC team began training certain Palestinian Authority Security Forces (PASF) including the Palestinian National Security Forces (NSF) and the Presidential Guard with the intent to train, equip, and garrison 10 NSF battalions by the end of 2010. Over the year, U.S. security assistance to the Palestinian Authority has expanded and received praise as well as criticism from American, Palestinian, and Israeli groups.
The Oslo Accords are a pair of interim agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO): the Oslo I Accord, signed in Washington, D.C., in 1993; and the Oslo II Accord, signed in Taba, Egypt, in 1995. They marked the start of the Oslo process, a peace process aimed at achieving a peace treaty based on Resolution 242 and Resolution 338 of the United Nations Security Council. The Oslo process began after secret negotiations in Oslo, Norway, resulting in both the recognition of Israel by the PLO and the recognition by Israel of the PLO as the representative of the Palestinian people and as a partner in bilateral negotiations.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health manages healthcare in the West Bank.
Healthcare in the State of Palestine refers to the governmental and private healthcare providers to which residents in the claimed territory have access. Since 1967, there have been improvements in the access to healthcare and the overall general health conditions for residents. Advances in training, increased access to state-of-the-art medical technology, and various governmental provisions have allowed per-capita funding to increase, and therefore the overall health of residents in the region to increase. Additionally, the enhanced access to and funding from international organizations like the World Health Organization, the United Nations, the Palestinian Ministry of Health, and the World Bank Education and Health Rehabilitation Project have contributed to the current state of affairs within the healthcare segment of the Palestinian territories.
The Valley of Peace initiative is an effort to promote economic cooperation between Israel, Jordan, and Palestine based around efforts and joint projects in the Arava/Arabah Valley, along which runs the southern portion of the Israel - Jordan border. It received the personal attention and support of Shimon Peres, President of Israel. The initiative involved ongoing joint efforts by regional leaders to launch joint new industrial and economic projects, which will create new local businesses and job growth, and promote ongoing cooperation.
Mohammad Ibrahim Shtayyeh is a Palestinian politician, academic, and economist who served as Prime Minister of the State of Palestine and the Palestinian National Authority from 2019 to 2024. On 26 February 2024, he and his government announced their resignation, remaining in office in a demissionary capacity until a new government was formed on March 31, 2024.
The Environment Quality Authority is the central authoritative body for all environmental issues in the Palestinian territories. It is the umbrella under which all environmental regulations, projects and strategies are created and implemented. MEnA's primary concern is the conservation and sound use of the natural environment. It seeks to maintain and safeguard the environment with plans to protect human health, curb and reduce the depletion of natural resources, combat desertification, prevent the aggravation of air and water pollution, promote environmental awareness and ensure achievement of sustainable urban development.
Israel–Palestine relations refers to the political, security, economical and other relations between the State of Israel and the State of Palestine. Israel and the PLO began to engage in the late 1980s and early 1990s in what became the Israeli–Palestinian peace process, culminated with the Oslo Accords in 1993. Shortly after, the Palestinian National Authority was established and during the next 6 years formed a network of economic and security connections with Israel, being referred to as a fully autonomous region with self-administration. In the year 2000, the relations severely deteriorated with the eruption of the Al-Aqsa Intifada – a rapid escalation of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The events calmed down in 2005, with reconciliation and cease fire. The situation became more complicated with the split of the Palestinian Authority in 2007, the violent split of Fatah and Hamas factions, and Hamas' takeover of the Gaza Strip. The Hamas takeover resulted in a complete rift between Israel and the Palestinian faction in the Gaza Strip, cancelling all relations except limited humanitarian supply.
The Palestinian Security Services (PSS) are the armed forces and intelligence agencies of the State of Palestine. They comprise several institutions, notably the Security Forces and the Police. The President of the Palestinian National Authority is Commander-in-Chief of the Palestinian Forces.
Majdi Khaldi is a Palestinian diplomat and ambassador. He is the senior diplomatic advisor to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, holding the rank of minister. Khaldi has previously served in the Palestinian National Authority from 1994 through 2006 in multiple roles, including deputy minister of foreign affairs, acting deputy minister of the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, and director general of the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation. Khaldi was also a member of the Palestinian negotiations support team for the implementation of the Oslo Accords with Israel. He is a current member of the Palestinian National Council.
The Ministry of Local Government (MoLG) is a governmental body in Palestine that is responsible for overseeing the local government system and ensuring that it functions effectively. The ministry is responsible for providing support and guidance to local government institutions, including municipalities, village councils, and other local authorities.
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