Palestine Liberation Organization

The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) (Arabic: {{Audio|ArPLO.ogg|Munazzamat al-Tahrir al-Filastiniyyah}} منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية ) is a political and paramilitary organization of Palestinians dedicated to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state in the region historically known as Palestine. In 1969, Yasser Arafat became the Chairman of the PLO Executive Committee and remained so until his death in 2004. He was succeeded by Mahmoud Abbas (also known as Abu Mazen.)

History

The PLO was established by Arab states in the early 1960s as a client body with its own army - the Palestine Liberation Army.

Related Topics:
1960s - Palestine Liberation Army

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In spite of the 1949 Armistice Agreements, the Arab states remained unreconciled with Israel's creation and the proposed partition of Palestine in 1948.

Related Topics:
1949 Armistice Agreements - Israel - Partition of Palestine - 1948

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At the time there were no significant organisations claiming to represent the whole Palestinian people and the official ideology of the PLO was 'Arab nationalism' - the belief that the Arabs as a whole consisted of one nation and should be in one state.

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The Palestine National Charter of 1964 http://www.palestine-un.org/plo/pna_two.html stated: "The claims of historic and spiritual ties between Jews and Palestine are not in agreement with the facts of history or with the true basis of sound statehood. ... he Jews are not one people with an independent personality because they are citizens to their states." (Article 18), and "This Organization does not exercise any territorial sovereignty over the West Bank in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, on the Gaza Strip or in the Himmah Area." (Article 24)

Related Topics:
Palestine National Charter - 1964 - West Bank - Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan - Gaza Strip

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The catastrophic defeat of the Arab states in the Six Day War of 1967 destroyed the credibility of the states that sought to be patrons of the Palestinian people and the way was opened for the radicals, led by Yasser Arafat, who advocated guerilla warfare and who successfully sought to make the PLO a fully independent organisation under the control of the fedayeen organisations. At the Palestinian National Congress meeting of 1969, the radicals gained control of the executive bodies of the PLO, and Arafat was elected Chairman of the organisation. From then on, the Executive Committee was composed essentially of representatives of the various member organisations.

Related Topics:
Six Day War - 1967 - Yasser Arafat - Guerilla warfare - Fedayeen - 1969

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The PLO suffered a major reversal with the Jordanian assault on its armed groups in the events known as Black September in 1970. The Palestinian groups were expelled from Jordan, and during the 1970s the PLO was effectively an umbrella group of eight organizations headquartered in Damascus and Beirut, all devoted to what they called armed resistance to either Zionism or Israeli occupation, using methods which included attacks on civilians and guerrilla warfare against Israel. The PLO includes Fatah, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), the Palestinian People's Party, the Palestine Liberation Front (PLF), the Arab Liberation Front (ALF), the Popular Struggle Front (PSF) and As-Sa'iqa as well as other minor groups. It has at times contained other groups which have since left the organization for various reasons, such as:

Related Topics:
Black September - 1970 - 1970s - Damascus - Beirut - Zionism - Guerrilla warfare - Fatah - Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine - Palestinian People's Party - Palestine Liberation Front - Arab Liberation Front - Popular Struggle Front - As-Sa'iqa

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• The radical group Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command (PFLP-GC) splinter group within the PFLP, left in 1974 in protest of the Ten Point Program.

The PLO, led by Yasser Arafat until his death in 2004, has since become the generally accepted representative organization of the Palestinian people and its desire to have a nation of its own.

Related Topics:
Yasser Arafat - 2004

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