Palestine Liberation Organization

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 the Six-Day War (1967). 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 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 terror attacks in other countries to gain international attention for the cause. (Infamously, during the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, 11 Israeli team members were killed in an attack linked to Black September, an extremist group within Fatah.) The PLFP, led by George Habash, became notorious for airline hijackings. These attacks caused problems between King Hussein of Jordan and the PLO, as 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, known as “Black September” (from which the Black September Organization took its name), left Lebanon as the sole base from which the PLO could launch raids and attacks on Israel.

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 [Page 462]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.”

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