Palestine is divided into the Palestinian territories (or the Occupied Palestinian Territories). It is divided into the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and Gaza Strip. Israel has occupied the territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip since the Six-Day War in 1967, and has maintained control since then.
The political party in power in the Gaza Strip is Hamas; and Fatah in the West Bank.
• Presidents:
o Mahmoud Abbas: 2008 – Incumbent (Fatah: Palestine Liberation Organisation)
o Rawhi Fattouh: November 2004 – January 2005 (Fatah: Palestine Liberation Organisation – Interim President after Arafat’s death)
o Yasser Arafat: July 1994 – November 2004 (Fatah: Palestine Liberation Organisation)
• Hamas (political party) has ruled over the Gaza Strip since 2007, following a split from the Palestine National Authority and has had Ismail Haniyeh as its Prime Minister since then. Hamas had also won elections in 2012 in the Gaza Strip.
• West Bank Population: 2.3 million
• Gaza Strip Population: 1.8 million (2.91% population growth (2014))
• Palestinian Refugee Population: 5 million (according to the UNRWA in 2012) – regions with significant Palestinian refugees: Gaza Strip, West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Israel
• HDI for the Occupied Palestinian Territories: 0.645 (2010)