Palestine meaning cradle of civilisation is located in the Middle East to the west of Jordan and south of Lebanon.
It includes territory in areas known as the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Almost half of the land in Palestine is desert which makes agriculture hard in the West Bank hard.
The capital city is East Jerusalem. Due to restrictions enforced on the area by Israel the economy in the territory is not very strong.
Limited trade opportunities have limited growth in all markets. The main exports from the country are olives, fruit, vegetables and limestone. However recent discoveries of natural gas in the Gaza Strip could help boost the economy.
Palestine
About Palestine
National Olympic Committee
Recognition Date
1995
Creation Date
Creation Date
Sports
Palestine has been represented at the Summer Olympics with a small team since 1996 competing in athletics and swimming.
They have competed in the Asian Games since 1994 with only one entrant and won their first medal in 2002 with a bronze in boxing at the games in Busan.
Football is also an extremely popular sport in the region with the Palestinian Football Association created in 1928, joined FIFA the year after and attempted to qualify for their first world cup in Italy 1934.
Due to political unrest the territory lost its FIFA membership but restored it in 1994 to attempt qualification for the 2002 World Cup.
Climate
The country has a temperate climate with dry, hot summers often cause droughts in the summer months with temperatures reaching 34°C and mild winters with temperatures dipping to around 8°C.
Almost 70% of the 7 inches of annual precipitation falls between the months from November to February.
Religion
Gaza Strip has a 99% Muslim population, predominantly Sunni and the West Bank has a 75% Muslim population with a 17% Jewish contingent
Culture
Palestinian culture is heavily influenced by its own traditions. Art is often used as a means to express nationalistic feelings towards the current political climate in the area.
Traditional music like the ataaba can still be heard in these modern times.
Even though the attaba has also recently been used to express dismay it is also sung at weddings and festivals and is usually performed by one vocalist with no instruments.