50 free Palestine trivia questions with answers — geography quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This Palestine trivia quiz covers the West Bank, Gaza and the wider region from the first written mention by Herodotus to the present day. It asks about the land itself: the lowest city on Earth, the Dead Sea, the Jordan River, the highest peak in the Hebron hills, the olive trees that cover nearly half of the country's farmland, and the desert valley near Jericho where a monastery clings to a cliff. A large part of the quiz is about culture and daily life: musakhan and maqluba, the Nablus dessert that spread across the Arab world, sage tea and Turkish coffee, the dabke danced at weddings, the Arab Idol winner from Gaza, the films Paradise Now and Omar, the national football stadium in Jerusalem, and the Samaritans of Mount Gerizim. The history questions stick to well-established facts: the meaning of the name, the British Mandate, the 1948 war, the founding of the PLO, the Oslo Accords, the 1988 declaration of independence and the 2012 UN General Assembly vote. Questions range from easy to expert. Every answer was checked against the Wikipedia articles on the State of Palestine, the Palestine region and Palestinian cuisine.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Which two separate territories make up the land claimed by the State of Palestine?
The West Bank and the Gaza Strip
The two enclaves have no border with each other and would together be the world's 163rd largest country by land area.
Q 02Which city serves as the de facto administrative centre of the Palestinian government?
Ramallah
It sits about 10 km from Jerusalem, the proclaimed capital, and its Muqata compound houses the state ministries.
Q 03What is the total land area claimed by the State of Palestine?
About 6,020 square kilometres
With a population above five million, that gives a density of roughly 827 people per square kilometre.
Q 04Which Greek historian gave the earliest surviving written use of 'Palestine' as a region, in the 5th century BCE?
Herodotus
He described a 'district of Syria, called Palaistínē'; the name is a cognate of the biblical Peleshet, or Philistia.
Q 05The name Palestine is generally accepted to be a cognate of which biblical name?
Peleshet
The Philistine pentapolis of five city-states, including Gaza, Ashdod and Ashkelon, is first hinted at in an Egyptian text of about 1100 BCE.
Q 06Which West Bank city is described as the lowest city in the world?
Jericho
It lies near the Dead Sea, the lowest point on Earth, and beside the Wadi Qelt desert valley with its cliff-side St. George Monastery.
Q 07Roughly what share of Palestine's land is given over to growing olive trees?
About 45%
Jerusalem is home to what is claimed as the world's largest olive tree, and olive oil is one of the country's notable exports.
Q 08What is the highest peak in the West Bank, rising 1,030 metres in the southern hills?
Mount Nabi Yunis
Until the 19th century Hebron was the highest city in the Middle East.
Q 09Besides Israel and Egypt, which island country does Palestine share a maritime border with?
Cyprus
The Gaza Strip is the only part of the territory with a coastline, on the Mediterranean.
Q 10Which West Bank desert valley, home to the cliff-side St. George Monastery, is a well-known nature reserve?
Wadi Qelt
Palestine has no officially recognised national parks, and the zoo in Qalqilya is the only one still operating in the country.
Q 11What is the average high temperature in Gaza during July and August?
33 C (91 F)
Gaza has a hot semi-arid climate with only about 116 mm of rain a year, almost all of it between November and March.
Q 12In which year did the League of Nations grant Britain the mandate to govern Palestine?
1920
British forces under General Allenby had captured Jerusalem in 1917, ending Ottoman rule in the city.
Q 13After the 1948 war, which country occupied and later annexed the West Bank?
Transjordan
Egypt took the Gaza Strip; the West Bank annexation was ratified in 1950 but rejected by the international community.
Q 21Which secular party, founded by Yasser Arafat, ran the Palestinian Authority from 1994?
Fatah
Fatah held the presidency and most PA posts from its creation; the Gaza Strip came under separate Hamas control after a 2007 takeover.
Q 22Who became president of the State of Palestine in 2005?
Mahmoud Abbas
The last legislative elections were held in 2006; Mohammad Mustafa became prime minister in 2024.
Q 23Which Palestinian city produces over 40% of the national economy and is famous for glass?
Hebron
It also has what is described as the most advanced printing press in the Middle East and is surrounded by stone quarries.
Q 14In which year was the Palestine Liberation Organization founded?
1964
It was set up in the West Bank while that territory was under Jordanian control, and moved to Jordan and then Lebanon after the 1967 war.
Q 15On what date did the PLO declare the establishment of the State of Palestine?
15 November 1988
Egypt and Jordan recognised it within a month, and the UN General Assembly began using the designation 'Palestine' instead of 'PLO'.
Q 16Which 1993 agreements between Israel and the PLO created the Palestinian Authority?
The Oslo Accords
Yasser Arafat was elected president of the new authority in 1994, and the first general elections followed in 1996.
Q 17Under the Oslo II Accord, the West Bank was divided into how many areas?
Three
Area A is under Palestinian administration, Area B under joint security control, and Area C, about 60% of the West Bank, is administered by the Israeli Civil Administration.
Q 18Which two people attended the inaugural ceremony of Gaza's airport, built in the Oslo years?
Bill Clinton and Nelson Mandela
It was the country's second airport after Jerusalem International; the Gaza airport was destroyed in an airstrike in 2001.
Q 19On 29 November 2012, the UN General Assembly upgraded Palestine to what status?
Non-member observer state
The vote was 138 to 9 with 41 abstentions, and the status is equivalent to that of the Holy See.
Q 20By September 2025, how many of the UN's 193 members had recognised the State of Palestine?
157
Sweden in 2013 became the first EU member outside the former communist bloc to recognise it; Spain, Norway and Armenia followed in 2024.
Q 24Which West Bank city is noted for its traditional olive-oil soap?
Nablus
The same city is the birthplace of a famous cheese-filled dessert.
Q 25What is Palestine's largest export category by value?
Stone (limestone and marble)
Stone makes up 13.3% of exports, ahead of furniture, plastics and iron and steel; Jerusalem stone quarried in the West Bank clads many of the city's buildings.
Q 26The town of Rawabi is home to the largest what in the Middle East and the Arab world?
Roman-style amphitheatre
Rawabi is a planned city in the West Bank; the Palestine Trade Tower in Ramallah is the country's tallest building.
Q 27Which small religious community of about 350 people is concentrated around Mount Gerizim?
Samaritans
Because of the similarities with Judaism they are sometimes called 'the Jews of Palestine'.
Q 28Which West Bank towns hold the largest concentrations of Palestinian Christians?
Bethlehem, Beit Sahour and Beit Jala
Most Palestinian Christians belong to Eastern or Oriental Orthodox churches, including Greek Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic.
Q 29Which city was named Arab Capital of Culture in 2009?
Jerusalem
Bethlehem took part in the Arab Capital of Culture programme in 2020, and Banksy's street art in Bethlehem is among the country's best-known modern artworks.
Q 30Which line dance, danced to the mijwiz and tablah, is a fixture of Palestinian weddings?
Dabke
Dancers add rhythmic handclapping, and the songs foster a sense of community at celebrations and cultural events.