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Palestine

Middle East & North Africa

0%

of males circumcised

Among the highest in the world

Demographics

Circumcision rate, in context

Estimated share of males circumcised

Palestine99%
United States71%
Global average38%

Estimates derived from WHO/UNAIDS-based prevalence data. Global average ≈ 38%.

The picture in Palestine

An estimated 99% of males are circumcised in Palestine (Middle East & North Africa).

Middle East & North Africa 99% prevalence

By the Numbers

Circumcision prevalence with HIV, education & policy indicators as context. Tap any card to compare.

Circumcision rate

% of males

99.9%

Palestine99.9%
United States71%
Global average43.3%

Context indicators from public UNAIDS/WHO-based sources; some scores are editorial or pending. Figures describe each country and are not evidence of causation.

Sexually Transmitted Infections

HIV and related indicators — context, not proof that circumcision protects.

Circumcision is often sold as protection against HIV and other infections. That claim comes from a narrow set of trials and applies, at most, to one route of transmission — it is not general STI protection. The figures below describe Palestine; they reflect many factors (testing, behaviour, healthcare access, and reporting) and are not evidence that circumcision causes or prevents them.

How STIs actually spread — and what protects you
Adults living with HIV

1 in 1,000 adults

Research coverage

How complete and source-backed this country file is.

Deep-built

Sources

8

Legal status

Curated

Write-up

Available

Incidents

None verified

Derived from current data.

Open full research file

The law

Legal status of non-therapeutic circumcision of minors.

Unregulated

Palestine has no single unified legal framework governing male circumcision. The jurisdiction is fragmented: the Palestinian Authority (PA) governs parts of the West Bank under a hybrid of Jordanian law and PA legislation; Hamas governs Gaza under a different administrative framework; Area C (West Bank) remains under Israeli military jurisdiction. No PA law, Hamas decree, or Israeli military order specifically governing non-therapeutic male circumcision was identified. The practice is near-universal among Palestinian Muslims and is unregulated in the absence-of-prohibition sense. Female genital mutilation is a separate matter and must not be conflated with male circumcision.

Compare circumcision law across countries

Research about Palestine

Peer-reviewed findings specific to this country, from our reference library.

Morris 2016: Palestine 99.9% assumption-derived (not surveyed; ~98% Muslim population; no DHS/MICS measuring circumcision found).

Khitan: all major Islamic schools; preferred age ~7; cultural celebration occasion in Palestinian society.

Palestinian khitan: "an occasion for celebration" — documented as a significant cultural life-cycle event.

UNAIDS MENA 2024: Palestine HIV prevalence extremely low (<0.1%); concentrated epidemic; VMMC not applicable.

Benchmarks & context

International evidence for reading the figures above — not measured Palestine rates.

US claims cohort (Shah et al., 2015, n≈1.4M)<0.5%

~1,400,920 circumcisions, all ages (US insurance claims data)

Total adverse events under 0.5%; serious AEs ~0.0008%–0.07%. Crucially, AE rates 10–20× higher when done AFTER infancy (ages 1–9) than neonatally — directly relevant where boys are cut older (e.g. PH tuli at ~8–12).

[104]
WHO VMMC programmes (regulated)~1–3 / 100,000

Voluntary medical male circumcision, ages 10–14, trained providers

Severe adverse events on the order of 1–3 per 100,000 — but ONLY with trained providers, quality assurance and informed consent. The benchmark for what safe, supervised provision looks like; the opposite end from informal provision.

[105]
WHO complication briefs (VMMC)32 fistula · 8/12 tetanus deaths

Cases reported to WHO, 2014–2018

WHO logged 32 urethral-fistula cases (2014–2018) and, in one tetanus consultation, 8 deaths among 12 associated cases. Illustrative of rare-but-severe harms in unhygienic settings — not a national rate.

[66]
Provider setting — Turkey & Kenya series85% vs 2.6% · 35% vs 17%

Traditional vs physician providers

One Turkish series found 85% complications with traditional providers vs 2.6% with physicians; a Kenyan one 35% vs 17%. Provider setting dominates outcomes — the pattern behind warnings about informal practitioners everywhere.

[66]
AAP policy (2012)Benefits “not great enough”

American Academy of Pediatrics task force

Benefits said to outweigh risks but “not great enough” to recommend routine circumcision — leaving the decision to families. The reference point invoked on both sides of the consent/necessity debate.

[93]
US neonatal circumcision (correlational deaths)200 / 9.83M (10 yrs)

Inpatient neonatal circumcisions, 2001–2010

200 early deaths over ten years among 9.83 million inpatient neonatal circumcisions — explicitly correlational, NOT causal. A measured counterpoint to higher litigation-cited estimates.

[91]

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