Palestine

Palestine is a term with a number of distinct but related meanings:

• a historical region with imprecise boundaries, but including modern-day Israel, the West Bank and Gaza
• the British Mandate of Palestine, when Britain ruled the territory, formerly part of the Ottoman Empire, from 1922-1948
• a State of Palestine proclaimed by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1988. It is recognised by many governments around the world, but not by Israel, the United States, or major Western powers. It is currently applying for membership of the United Nations. However, despite its declaration of independence, the question of whether it effectively controls any territory is disputed — most of the West Bank is under effective control of the Israelis; while the Gaza Strip is controlled by Palestinians, albeit subject to an Israeli air and sea blockade, it is ruled by Hamas who reject the Fatah/PLO authorities who claim to constitute the government of the State of Palestine
• a future independent State of Palestine to be established as the outcome of peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. This usage is adopted by those powers, such as the United States, that do not recognise the current existence of a State of Palestine, but support its establishment in the future.