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Palestine Liberation Organization

The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) is basically an umbrella organization that coordinates various Palestinian terrorist groups, professional unions and syndicates, and civilian groups. During the past half-century, the PLO has built a network of embassies across the world and claims to be the sole representative of the Palestinian people. When PLO chairman Yasir Arafat signed the Oslo Peace Accords in 1993, the organization returned from exile in Tunisia to the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Throughout PLO history, cohesion has been fragile, and many of its various terrorist groups have quarreled with and split from the organization, some later returning and some remaining outside.

Early Years

When the PLO was formed under the chairmanship of Ahmad Shuqairi at an Arab summit meeting in Cairo in 1964, it was said to be largely a token organization controlled by Egypt. The dynamics of the organization changed after the resounding Arab defeat in 1967 Six-Day War. Shuqairi came under attack for opposing the commando raids that groups such as Arafat's Fatah were carrying out against Israel. Shuqairi was forced to resign in December 1967, amid the growing popularity and power of these guerrilla factions. Yahya Hamuda replaced him as the PLO's acting chairman until the July 1968 Palestine National Council session brought large political gains to Al Fatah and the group Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). Arafat was elected to replace Hamuda less than a year later, during the fifth meeting of the Palestine National Congress, the group's parliamentary body.

The PLO made Jordan its base during its early years, setting up outposts in the Palestinian refugee camps and crossing the border to raid Israeli settlements. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, many of the Palestinian groups also engaged in terrorist attacks in other countries to gain international attention for the cause. The PFLP, led by George Habash, became notorious for airline hijackings. These attacks caused problems between King Hussein of Jordan and the PLO—the king felt the groups were undermining his authority. In September 1970, the PFLP hijacked four planes in a single day, forcing them to land outside of Amman, the capital of Jordan. After all the hostages were released, the king ordered his army to attack Palestinian guerrillas and camps in Jordan. After 10 days of fighting, the Palestinians were defeated. This setback, which came to be known as Black September, left Lebanon as the sole base from which the PLO could launch raids and attacks on Israel.

Infamously, Black September, an extremist splinter group of Al Fatah named after this event, killed 11 Israeli team members during the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Germany.

Gaining Ground

Even after being expelled from Jordan, the PLO continued to grow, establishing social and charity networks and creating the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, a health program. Many Arab states supplied the PLO with funds and diplomatic backing, and at an Arab League summit in Rabat, Morocco, in October 1974, the 20 Arab League heads of state unanimously recognized the PLO as the “sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.”

A month later, the PLO and its chairman made history: Yasir Arafat addressed the United Nations General Assembly in New York City on November 13, 1974, saying, “Today I have come bearing an olive branch and a freedom fighter's gun. Do not let the olive branch fall from my hand. Do not let the olive branch fall from my hand. Do not let the olive branch fall from my hand.” The General Assembly later voted, 105-to-4, with 20 abstentions, to grant the PLO observer status at the United Nations. The four “no” votes were cast by Israel, the United States, Bolivia, and the Dominican Republic. In 1976, the Arab League made the PLO the 21st full member of the league. Despite greater international recognition, the PLO was not invited to the 1979 Camp David negotiations between Egypt and Israel mediated by U.S. president Jimmy Carter. The resulting Camp David Accords called for talks on Palestinian self-rule in the occupied territories. The United States had maintained its policy of refusing to negotiate with the PLO until the organization recognized Israel's right to exist and accepted the U.N. Security Council Resolutions that renounced terrorism.

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