At the time, the PLO did not have control over any part of "[[Palestine]]" (or any other territory), and therefore the "State of Palestine" failed to meet one of the main defining aspects of a real [[state]] - namely, occupying a territory. Today the state only controls parts of the [[West Bank]] not run by Israel since the [[Oslo Accords]] from the 90s. The Gaza Strip was taken over in a [[coup d'état]] by the terrorist organization [[Hamas]] in 2006 against the political organization [[Fatah]] which is the moderate wing of the Palestinian Politics and runs the National Authority Government.
Currently 136 143 [[United Nations]] member states have formally recognized "Palestine" as a state (see also: [[List of States which recognize Palestine as an independent state.]]), stretching from Africa to Asia, Europe to Latin America.. Around 150 countries maintain diplomatic relations with the "Palestinians" in one form or another...
In October, 2011, "Palestine" was granted full membership at the U.N. cultural organization, [[UNESCO]], in a diplomatic victory won despite stiff resistance from the United States and Israel.<ref>[http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/12/15/182782.html More than 100 countries recognize Palestine as a state.]</ref>