15 November: State of Palestine Independence day

The State of Palestine gained Independence on this date in 1988. Here are some things you may not know about this country:

1. There is some controversy over whether the State of Palestine exists as a country or not. In 1923 the region became the British Mandate of Palestine. This area included the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and the present day state of Israel. In 1948, Israel declared independence and during the ensuing war, the Palestinian people fled, in what they call the "Nakba" or "Catastrophe". The Palestinian national movement gradually regrouped in the West Bank and Gaza. Since then, efforts to create a Palestinian state on the West Bank of the River Jordan and Gaza on the Mediterranean coast have been frustrated by the continuing conflict with Israel.
2. That said, in 2012, the UN General Assembly voted to upgrade the status of the Palestinians to that of a "non-member observer state", suggesting the UN does recognise the Palestinian state as a country.
3. The principal river in the area is the River Jordan which is 251-kilometre (156 miles) long and flows into the Dead Sea. The name "West Bank" refers to the river, which also has great religious significance to Christians - Jesus was baptised in it, and crossing it is symbolic with reaching the Promised Land.
4. As for the Dead Sea, that is the largest body of water in Palestine, and is known for its extreme saltiness. It isn't the world's saltiest lake, but it's up there among the top few. It is 9.6 times saltier than the ocean and is the deepest Salt lake in the world.
5. The name Palestine comes from the word Plesheth, meaning "invaders". In English it is usually written "Philistine".
6. Dabka is a traditional circle dance which dates far back to pre-islamic times and is traditionally danced in Palestine and Lebanon. It is danced only at special occasions like weddings, births and other celebrations. Dancers follow a complicated pattern of steps around a circle, to the beating of a Drum.
7. The administrative centre is in Ramallah, although in an ideal world the Palestinian people would like Jerusalem to be their capital. However, Israel claims it, too, and maintains its primary governmental institutions there.
8. Gaza is the largest city. The name means fierce, or strong.
9. Gaza has a surfing scene.
10. The Flag is a tricolour of three equal horizontal stripes (Black, White, and Green from top to bottom) overlaid by a Red triangle at the hoist side. In 1967, the State of Israel banned the Palestinian flag in the occupied Gaza Strip and West Bank. It was even against the law in the 1980s to display artwork composed of those four colours.