The State of Palestine is located in the Levant region of Western Asia, comprising two geographically non-contiguous territories: the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. It occupies a vital land bridge between Africa and Eurasia, bordered by Israel, Jordan, Egypt, and the Mediterranean Sea. Since its 1988 Declaration of Independence, Palestine has been recognized by 147 UN member states. In 2012, it was upgraded to a non-member observer state at the United Nations, a status that allows it to participate in General Assembly debates and join international treaties and agencies, such as the International Criminal Court (ICC) and UNESCO.

The geography of Palestine is starkly divided. The West Bank is a landlocked, hilly territory characterized by the central Judean and Samarian mountains and the fertile Jordan Valley to the east. It contains the Dead Sea, the lowest point on Earth's land surface. The Gaza Strip, by contrast, is a narrow, flat coastal plain along the Mediterranean. This geographical separation, enforced by strict movement controls and a separation barrier, has created two distinct social and economic environments, though both remain unified by a shared national identity and the goal of establishing a sovereign state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The political system of Palestine is a semi-presidential republic under the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), established following the 1993 Oslo Accords. The President is the head of state, while the Prime Minister leads the cabinet. However, governance is complicated by internal divisions; following the 2006 elections, the Fatah party has primarily administered the West Bank from Ramallah, while the militant group Hamas took de facto control of Gaza in 2007. This "internal divide" has hindered unified policy-making, though various reconciliation attempts continue to seek a single national government to represent all Palestinians on the global stage.