Palestinian Arab Front - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Palestinian Arab Front (PAF) is a minor Palestinian

Palestinian nationalism

Palestinian nationalism is the national movement of the Palestinian people. It has roots in Pan-Arabism and other movements rejecting colonialism and calling for national independence. More recently, Palestinian Nationalism is expressed through the Israeli–Palestinian conflict...

Arab Nationalist

Arab nationalism

Arab nationalism is a nationalist ideology celebrating the glories of Arab civilization, the language and literature of the Arabs, calling for rejuvenation and political union in the Arab world...

faction. PAF is a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization

Palestine Liberation Organization

The Palestine Liberation Organization is a political and paramilitary organization which was created in 1964. It is recognized as the "sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people" by the United Nations and over 100 states with which it holds diplomatic relations, and has enjoyed...

History

The PAF has its roots in the Arab Liberation Front

Arab Liberation Front

Arab Liberation Front is a minor Palestinian political faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization , politically tied to the Iraqi Ba'ath Party formerly headed by Saddam Hussein.- Historical background :...

(ALF). This group had been created in 1968 by the Iraq

Iraq

Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

i-based Baath Party

Baath Party

The Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party was a political party mixing Arab nationalist and Arab socialist interests, opposed to Western imperialism, and calling for the renaissance or resurrection and unification of the Arab world into a single state. Ba'ath is also spelled Ba'th or Baath and means...

as its wing inside the Palestinian

Palestinian nationalism

Fedayeen

Fedayeen is a term used to describe several distinct militant groups and individuals in West Asia at different times in history. It is sometimes used colloquially to refer to suicide squads, especially those who are not bombers.-Overview:...

movement, and to serve as a counter-weight to the rivalling Syria

Syria

Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....

n-based Baathist faction, al-Sa'iqa, within the PLO and Palestinian politics. The PAF itself was founded in 1993, after a split in the ALF. The split had been provoked by the decision of the ALF to freeze its PLO membership in protest of the Oslo Accords

Oslo Accords

The Oslo Accords, officially called the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements or Declaration of Principles , was an attempt to resolve the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict...

, as per Iraqi policy. The organization held its first conference inside Palestine on May 15-May 17, 1997, and eventually drifted closer to Fatah

Fatah

Fataḥ is a major Palestinian political party and the largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization , a multi-party confederation. In Palestinian politics it is on the left-wing of the spectrum; it is mainly nationalist, although not predominantly socialist. Its official goals are found...

and the Palestinian National Authority

Palestinian National Authority

The Palestinian Authority is the administrative organization established to govern parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip...

, while the ALF remained staunchly loyal to Baghdad

Baghdad

Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...

. The PAF, a very minor faction within PNA politics, has verbally supported the al-Aqsa Intifada

Al-Aqsa Intifada

The Second Intifada, also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada and the Oslo War, was the second Palestinian uprising, a period of intensified Palestinian-Israeli violence, which began in late September 2000...

, but it is unclear whether it performed any actual military activity.

The group supported the candidature of Mahmoud Abbas

Mahmoud Abbas

Mahmoud Abbas , also known by the kunya Abu Mazen , has been the Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organisation since 11 November 2004 and became President of the Palestinian National Authority on 15 January 2005 on the Fatah ticket.Elected to serve until 9 January 2009, he unilaterally...

in the 2005 presidential elections

Palestinian presidential election, 2005

The 2005 Palestinian presidential election — the first to be held since 1996 — took place on January 9, 2005 in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Voters elected PLO chairman Mahmoud Abbas as the new President of the Palestinian Authority to replace Yasser Arafat, who died on November 11,...

.

PAF also took part in the 2006 legislative election

Palestinian legislative election, 2006

On January 25, 2006, elections were held for the Palestinian Legislative Council , the legislature of the Palestinian National Authority . Notwithstanding the 2005 municipal elections and the January 9, 2005 presidential election, this was the first election to the PLC since 1996; subsequent...

with the list 'Freedom and Independence' (الحرية والاستقلال) in the national constituency. The list had 10 candidatures, 8 from the West Bank

West Bank

The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...

and 2 from the Gaza strip

Gaza Strip

thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...

. Two candidates were women. The list was headed by Salim al-Bardeni. In total the list got 4,398 votes (0.44%), which was far below the 2%-barrier to gain parliamentary representation. The group had one candidate in one of the provincial constituencies, Ishak Mahmoud Ishak Bahis in the Hebron Governorate

Hebron Governorate

The Hebron Governorate is an administrative district of the Palestinian National Authority in the southern West Bank. It extends south to, and includes most of, the Dead Sea....

. He got 3,446 votes.

Policies

According to its own proclamations, PAF supports the right of Palestinian refugees "wishing to return to their homes [to] live at peace with their neighbours," in accordance with UN General Assembly Resolution 194

UN General Assembly Resolution 194

United Nations General Assembly Resolution 194 was passed on December 11, 1948, near the end of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. The resolution expresses appreciation for the efforts of UN Envoy Folke Bernadotte after his assassination by members of the Zionist ultra-nationalist Lehi , headed by Yitzhak...

; formation of an independent Palestinian state

Proposals for a Palestinian state

Proposals for a Palestinian state currently refers to the proposed establishment of an independent state for the Palestinian people in Palestine on land that was occupied by Israel since the Six-Day War of 1967 and before by Egypt and by Jordan since 1949...

within the borders of 1967 with Jerusalem as its capital, releasing Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails, destruction of the Israeli West Bank barrier

Israeli West Bank barrier

The Israeli West Bank barrier is a separation barrier being constructed by the State of Israel along and within the West Bank. Upon completion, the barrier’s total length will be approximately...

; and evacuation of Israeli settlement

Israeli settlement

An Israeli settlement is a Jewish civilian community built on land that was captured by Israel from Jordan, Egypt, and Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War and is considered occupied territory by the international community. Such settlements currently exist in the West Bank...

s from the West Bank

West Bank

.

Its long-term goals include Arab unity

Pan-Arabism

Pan-Arabism is an ideology espousing the unification--or, sometimes, close cooperation and solidarity against perceived enemies of the Arabs--of the countries of the Arab world, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Arabian Sea. It is closely connected to Arab nationalism, which asserts that the Arabs...

, political integration of the Arab nation of all current Arab states. It promotes strengthening of the Arab League

Arab League

The Arab League , officially called the League of Arab States , is a regional organisation of Arab states in North and Northeast Africa, and Southwest Asia . It was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945 with six members: Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan , Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. Yemen joined as a...

and increased Arab economic cooperation. The front promotes increased cooperation amongst Islamic countries.

The front vows to fight against all forms of financial and administrative corruption and the elimination of favoritism. It claims to strive to increase participation of women in Palestinian society.

Organization

The organization is led by a Central Committee and a Politburo

Politburo

Politburo , literally "Political Bureau [of the Central Committee]," is the executive committee for a number of communist political parties.-Marxist-Leninist states:...

. The General Secretary of the Front is Jameel Shihadeh ('Abu Khaled') and the Secretary of the Central Committee of Salim al-Bardeni, formerly the director of the Palestinian police. The group is a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization

Palestine Liberation Organization

(PLO), and of the Palestinian National and Islamic Forces

Palestinian National and Islamic Forces

The Palestinian National and Islamic Forces is a coalition formed shortly after the outbreak of the second Intifada with the authorization of Yasser Arafat and led by Marwan Barghouti. The coalition coordinates the agenda of its members and helps plan and execute joint attacks against Israel...

, which includes both PLO and non-PLO factions. It publishes the magazine Al-Jamahir (الجماهير, 'The Masses') and the bulletin At-Tajdid (التجديد, 'Renewal').

Mass organizations

PAF has a network of front organizations, including

Palestinian Union of Students Struggle Committees (اتحاد لجان كفاح الطلبة الفلسطيني)
Union of Teachers Struggle Committees (اتحاد لجان كفاح المعلمين)
Society for the Promotion of the Family (جمعية النهوض بالاسرة)
Settlement Committee (لجنة الاستيطان)
Palestinian Union of Women's Struggle Committees (اتحاد لجان كفاح المرأة الفلسطيني)
Palestinian Union of Workers Struggle Committees (اتحاد لجان كفاح العمال الفلسطيني)
Al-Quds Charitable Society (جمعية القدس الخيرية)
Land and Charity Society (جمعية البر والاحسان)

External links

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