List of states with limited recognition
The State of Palestine is a de jure sovereign state in Western Asia officially governed by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and claiming the West Bank and Gaza Strip with Jerusalem as the designated capital; in practice, however, only partial administrative control is held over the 167 "islands" in the West Bank, and Gaza is ruled by a rival government (Hamas). Israel regards the area claimed by Palestine as 'disputed' territory (that is, territory not legally belonging to any state). Israel gained control of the Palestinian territories as a result of the Six-Day War in 1967 but has never formally annexed them. The State of Palestine (commonly known as Palestine) was declared in 1988 by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which is recognized by a majority of UN member states and the UN itself as the sole representative of the Palestinian people. Since the end of the first Palestinian Intifada against Israel, the Israeli government has gradually moved its armed forces and settlers out of certain parts of Palestine's claimed territory, while still maintaining varying degrees of control over most of it. The Palestinian National Authority (PNA), which performs limited internal government functions over certain areas of Palestine, was established in 1994. In 2007, the split between the Fatah and Hamas political parties resulted in competing governments claiming to represent the PNA and Palestine, with Fatah exercising authority exclusively over the West Bank and enjoying majority recognition from UN member states, and a separate Hamas leadership exercising authority exclusively over the Gaza area (except for a short period from 2014 to 2016). Palestine is currently officially recognized as a state by 138 UN member states, the Holy See, and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. The remaining UN member states, including Israel, do not recognize the State of Palestine. The United Nations designates the claimed Palestinian territories as 'occupied' by Israel and accorded Palestine non-member observer state status in 2012. Palestine also has membership in the Arab League, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and UNESCO.