You may be asking: Where is Palestine? What countries are neighbors to Palestine? Where is Palestine located in the Middle East? What and where are the West Bank and Gaza?
Palestine is an Arab country located in Asia on the eastern Mediterranean coast, which is known also as the Levant. It is bordered by Jordan to the east, Lebanon to the north, and the Red Sea and Sinai, Egypt to the south. In the west the Mediterranean Sea acts as a bridge connecting Africa, Asia, and Europe.
Palestine is located in the heart of the Middle East. This strategic position has made Palestine a path and crossroads to the West for many travelers and a commercial interface for traders where goods reached Palestine first and from there were passed on to Europe.
Palestine has occupied an important and strategic position for invaders throughout history. Its location has been ideal for the defense of invaders’ own areas in Egypt and Levant countries (Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan now) where it acted as a convenient locale for battles necessary for defending a states’ interests from possible threats.
Palestine is divided into two areas: the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip. Imagine the West Bank as an island with it bordering Jordan in the east. Gaza is a thin strip of land bordered by the Mediterranean on its west and Egypt in the south and west.
For nearly 20 years the West Bank, from 1948 until 1967, fell under the Jordanian administration and authority. During this same period of time Gaza fell under the authority and administration of Egypt. In 1967 the Jordanian and Egyptian administrations were ended by the Six Day War in 1967.
