Palestine

Ramallah (admin.) / Jerusalem (claimed) serves as the political, cultural and economic heart of Palestine, positioned in Western Asia. As the seat of government and often the most populous city, it concentrates the country's main institutions, universities and cultural landmarks. Beyond the capital, major cities include Gaza City, Hebron, Nablus — each a hub of regional culture, economy and history. Ramallah serves as the Palestinian Authority's administrative capital in the West Bank, while Jerusalem is the claimed capital of a future Palestinian state — the city of Ramallah has developed a cosmopolitan café culture and cultural infrastructure (including the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music and the Ramallah Cultural Palace) that asserts urban normality under occupation conditions.

With a population of approximately 5.3M, Palestine is a vibrant society with a rich mix of traditions and communities. The official language is Arabic, which reflects the country's cultural heritage and connects it with a wide international community. Internationally, Palestine is reached via the dialling code +970. Palestinians maintain cultural identity through the nakba (catastrophe) of 1948 — when 700,000 Palestinians fled or were expelled from their homes during Israel's founding — as a foundational collective memory transmitted through family stories, the preservation of house keys from abandoned villages, and a political claim to return that the second and third generations born in exile maintain as an identity anchor.

Palestine spans 6,220 km², in the Western Asia subregion of Asia. Geographically centred around 31.9°N, 35.2°E, the country offers a diverse range of landscapes shaped by its location, climate and geology. Road traffic follows the right-hand rule, in line with surrounding Asia convention.

The official currency is the Egyptian pound (E£), Israeli new shekel (₪), Jordanian dinar (JD), used for everyday transactions and commerce throughout the country. Palestine's economy is shaped by its geography, natural resources and trade relationships. Business and daily life operate under UTC+02:00, aligning the country with its regional neighbours.

Football holds a special place in the heart of Palestine's national identity. Football is Palestine's primary sport, with the national team competing in AFC qualification representing a state not recognised by all FIFA members — but the marathon through the West Bank (the Palestine Marathon held since 2013, the world's only marathon under military occupation, with a route deliberately not forming a closed loop because of checkpoint restrictions on movement) uses sport as a statement of territorial existence.

The highest point in Palestine is Tall Asur, rising to 1,022 metres above sea level. The Palestinian landscape of olive groves — some trees over 2,000 years old, identified by Palestinian families as ancestral property — is not only agricultural but existential: the olive harvest is both economic activity and territorial assertion in areas where settlers have uprooted trees and blocked access to land, making the olive a symbol of Palestinian rootedness more powerful than any explicitly political monument.