The Palestinian Authority

The Palestinian Territories consist of the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank that are officially under control of Palestinian governing bodies. The Palestinian Authority was created and assumed control of Gaza and designated areas of the West Bank following the 1993 Oslo Accords negotiations between the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel, and was intended as a five-year provisional body to be replaced by a sovereign Palestinian state after completed negotiations. No final settlement has been reached.

In 2006, militant-led Hamas defeated the governing Fatah party in Palestinian elections, but subsequent clashes between the parties led to the establishment of two separate administrations, with Hamas in control of the Gaza Strip and the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority leading West Bank areas. Ongoing territorial disputes with Israel have resulted in Palestinian leadership losing parts of its territory while solidifying its control over others. Palestinian territories are considered occupied by Israel by much of the international community.

The 2011 Arab Spring revolts convinced Palestinian Authority Pres Mahmoud Abbas to abandon negotiations with Israel and to focus on winning United Nations recognition of Palestinian statehood and reconciling with Hamas. Abbas’s bid for recognition failed, but the United Nations in 2012 granted the Palestinian Authority observer state status, leading to the authority’s name being changed to the State of Palestine.

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