Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
Encyclopedia
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) (Arabic
: الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير فلسطين, al-Jabhah al-Sha`biyyah li-Taḥrīr Filasṭīn) is a Palestinian Marxist-Leninist
organisation founded in 1967. It has consistently been the second-largest of the groups forming the Palestine Liberation Organization
(PLO), the largest being Fatah
. Currently the PFLP is boycotting participation in the Executive Committee of the PLO. It considers both the Fatah-led government in the West Bank
and the Hamas
government in the Gaza Strip
as illegal due to the lack of new elections to the Palestinian National Authority
since 2006.
The PFLP has generally taken a hard line on Palestinian national aspirations, opposing the more moderate stance of Fatah. It opposes negotiations with the Israeli government, and favours a one-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict
. The military wing of the PFLP is called the Abu Ali Mustapha Brigades
. The PFLP is well-known for pioneering armed aircraft hijacking
s in the late '60s and early '70s.
(ANM), founded in 1953 by Dr. George Habash
, a Palestinian Christian, from Lydda
.
In 1948, 19 year old Habash, a medical student, went to his home town of Lydda
during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
to help his family. While he was there, the Israel Defence Forces attacked the city and as a result most of its civilian population was forced to leave, and marched for three days without food or water until they reached the Arab
front lines.
Habash finished his medical education in Lebanon
at the American University in Beirut, graduating in 1951.
In an interview with US journalist John Cooley
, Habash identified the Arab defeat by Israel as "the scientific society of Israel as against our own backwardness in the Arab world. This called for the total rebuilding of Arab society into a twentieth-century society," (Cooley 1973:135).
The ANM was founded in this nationalist spirit. "[We] held the 'Guevara
view' of the 'revolution
ary human being'," Habash told Cooley. "A new breed of man had to emerge, among the Arabs as everywhere else. This meant applying everything in human power to the realization of a cause." (ibid.)
, Saudi Arabia
and Kuwait
, then still under British rule. It adopted secularism
and socialist economic ideas, and pushed for armed struggle. In collaboration with the Palestinian Liberation Army
, the ANM established Abtal al-Audah, Heroes of the Return, as a commando
group in 1966. After the Six Day War of June 1967, this group merged in August with two other groups, Youth for Revenge and Ahmed Jibril
's Syrian-backed Palestine Liberation Front
, to form the PFLP, with Habash as leader.
By early 1968, the PFLP had trained between one and three thousand guerrillas
. It had the financial backing of Syria
, and was headquartered there, and one of its training camps was based in as-Salt, Jordan
. In 1969, the PFLP declared itself a Marxist-Leninist organization, but it has remained faithful to Pan Arabism, seeing the Palestinian struggle as part of a wider uprising against Western imperialism
, which also aims to unite the Arab world
by overthrowing "reactionary
" regimes. It published a newspaper, al-Hadaf
(The Target, or Goal), which was edited by Ghassan Kanafani
.
In 1967, Palestinian Popular Struggle Front
(PPSF) broke away from the PFLP.
In 1968, Ahmed Jibril
broke away from the PFLP to form the Syrian-backed Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command (PFLP-GC).
In 1969, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine
(DFLP) formed as a separate, ostensibly Maoist, organization under Nayef Hawatmeh
and Yasser Abd Rabbo
, initially as the PDFLP.
In 1972, the Popular Revolutionary Front for the Liberation of Palestine
was formed following a split in PFLP.
The PFLP had a troubled relationship with George Habash's one-time deputy, Wadie Haddad
, who was eventually expelled because he refused orders to stop attacks and kidnapping operations abroad. Haddad has been identified in released Soviet archival documents as having been a KGB intelligence agent in place, who in 1975 received arms for the movement directly from Soviet sources in a nighttime transfer in the Sea of Aden.http://www.bukovsky-archives.net/pdfs/terr-wd/0912_plo75d-Eng-Stroilov.pdf
(PLO), the umbrella organization
of the Palestinian national movement, in 1968, becoming the second-largest faction after Yassir Arafat's Fatah
. In 1974, it withdrew from the organization's executive committee (but not from the PLO) to join the Rejectionist Front
, accusing the PLO of abandoning the goal of destroying Israel outright in favor of a binational solution
, which was opposed by the PFLP leadership. It rejoined the executive committee in 1981.
and the subsequent Oslo Accords
the PFLP had difficulty establishing itself in the West Bank
and Gaza Strip
. The boycott of the 1996 elections
gave many the impression that the PFLP was irrelevant to developments in Palestine. At that time (1993–96) Hamas
enjoyed rapidly rising popularity in the wake of their successful strategy of suicide bombings devised by Yahya Ayyash
("the Engineer"). Also, the fall of the Soviet Union together with the rise of Islamism
— and particularly the increased popularity of the Islamist groups Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad — disoriented many left activists who looked towards the Soviet Union, and has marginalised the PFLP's role in Palestinian politics and armed resistance. However, the organization retains considerable political influence within the PLO, since no new elections have been held for the organisation's legislative body, the PNC
.
As a result of its post-Oslo weakness, the PFLP has been forced to adapt slowly and find partners among politically active, preferably young, Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, in order to compensate for their dependence on their aging commanders returning from or remaining in exile. The PFLP has therefore formed alliances with other leftist groups formed within the Palestinian Authority, including the Palestinian People's Party
, the Popular Resistance Committees
of Gaza.
In 1990, the PFLP transformed its Jordan
branch into a separate political party
, the Jordanian Popular Democratic Unity Party
.
Following the death of Yasser Arafat
in November 2004, the PFLP entered discussions with the DFLP and the Palestinian People's Party aimed at nominating a joint left-wing candidate for the presidential elections. These discussions were unsuccessful, and the PFLP then decided to support the independent Palestinian National Initiative
's candidate Mustafa Barghouti
, who gained 19.48% of the vote. In the municipal elections of December 2005 it had more success, e.g. in al-Bireh
and Ramallah
, and winning the mayorship of Bir Zeit
. http://alternatives-international.net/article85.html There are conflicting reports about the political allegiance of Janet Mikhail
and Victor Batarseh
, the mayors of Ramallah and Bethlehem
, they may be close to the PFLP without being members.
The PFLP is powerful politically in the Ramallah area, the eastern districts and suburbs of Jerusalem and Bethlehem, the primarily Christian
Refidyeh district of Nablus
, but has far less strength in the rest of the West Bank, and is of little or no threat to the established Hamas and Fatah movements in Gaza.
The PFLP participated in the Palestinian legislative elections of 2006
as the "Martyr Abu Ali Mustafa List". It won 4.2% of the popular vote and took three of the 132 seats in the Palestinian Legislative Council
. Its deputies are Ahmad Sa'adat
, Jamil Majdalawi
, and Khalida Jarrar
. In the lists, its best vote was 9.4% in Bethlehem
, followed by 6.6% in Ramallah and al-Bireh
, and 6.5% in North Gaza
.
was elected to replace him, but was assassinated on 27 August 2001 when an Israeli helicopter
fired rockets at his office in the West Bank town of Ramallah. The PFLP murdered the right-wing Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeevi
in 17 November 2001 in retaliation.
After Mustafa's death, Ahmad Sa'adat
was elected general secretary on 3 October 2001. In January 2002, he was arrest
ed by the Palestinian Authority under pressure from the United States
and the United Kingdom
and imprisoned in Jericho prison along with several other PFLP members accused by Israel of involvement in the Zeevi assassination. The Palestinian High Court ordered his release, stating that there were no legal grounds for the imprisonment, but the Palestinian National Authority
refused to implement the court's decision. On 14 March 2006, the Israel Defense Forces
attacked the prison and, after a 10-hour siege resulting in the death of two people and the wounding of 35, removed Sa'adat and five other inmates, arrested them, and took them to Israel for trial.
When it was formed in the late 1960s the PFLP supported the established line of most Palestinian guerrilla
fronts and ruled out any negotiated settlement with Israel that would result in two states
between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea
. Instead, George Habash in particular, and various other leaders in general advocated one state with an Arab
identity in which Jews were entitled to live with the same rights as any minority. Although, the PFLP had dramatically different attitudes between "ethnic Palestinian" Jews and other Jews, believing that especially the Jews from European ethnicity are alien to Palestine and must be expelled.
The PFLP platform never wavered on key points such as the overthrow of conservative or monarchist
Arab states like Morocco
and Jordan, the Right of Return
of all Palestinian refugee
s to their homes in pre-1948 Palestine
, or the use of the liberation of Palestine as a launching board for achieving Arab unity – reflecting its beginnings in the Pan-Arab ANM. It opposed the Oslo Accords
and was for a long time opposed to the idea of a two-state solution
to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
, but in 1999 came to an agreement with the PLO leadership regarding negotiations with the Israeli government. However, in May 2010, PFLP general secretary Ahmad Sa'adat
called for an end to the PLO's negotiations with Israel, saying that only a one-state solution was possible.
The PFLP opposed the 2007 conflict
between Hamas and Fatah and believes that the Salam Fayad government is not helpful in solving the conflict.
In January 2011, the PFLP declared that the Camp David Accords
stood for "subservience, submission, dictatorship and silence", and called for social
and political revolution
in Egypt
.
, draws much of its support from student organizations in universities like Al-Quds University
(eastern Jerusalem), Bir Zeit University (Ramallah
area), An-Najah National University
(Nablus
), and the Arab American University - Jenin. The movement has thousands of active or passive activists in the West Bank, and a few hundred behind bars in Israeli prisons. In December 2009, around 70,000 supporters demonstrated in Gaza to celebrate the PFLP's 42nd anniversary. http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2010/989/re62.htm The PFLP's leader in Gaza is Dr. Rabah Muhanna. http://www.pflp.ps/english/?q=unity-and-steadfastness-over-70000-rally-gaza-pflp
The PFLP gained notoriety in the late 1960s and early 1970s for a series of armed attacks and aircraft hijacking
s, including on non-Israeli targets:
has carried out attacks on both civilians and military targets during the Al-Aqsa Intifada
. Some of these attacks are:
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
: الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير فلسطين, al-Jabhah al-Sha`biyyah li-Taḥrīr Filasṭīn) is a Palestinian Marxist-Leninist
Marxism-Leninism
Marxism–Leninism is a communist ideology, officially based upon the theories of Marxism and Vladimir Lenin, that promotes the development and creation of a international communist society through the leadership of a vanguard party over a revolutionary socialist state that represents a dictatorship...
organisation founded in 1967. It has consistently been the second-largest of the groups forming 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...
(PLO), the largest being 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...
. Currently the PFLP is boycotting participation in the Executive Committee of the PLO. It considers both the Fatah-led government in 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 the Hamas
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
government in 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...
as illegal due to the lack of new elections to 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...
since 2006.
The PFLP has generally taken a hard line on Palestinian national aspirations, opposing the more moderate stance of Fatah. It opposes negotiations with the Israeli government, and favours a one-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. The conflict is wide-ranging, and the term is also used in reference to the earlier phases of the same conflict, between Jewish and Zionist yishuv and the Arab population living in Palestine under Ottoman or...
. The military wing of the PFLP is called the Abu Ali Mustapha Brigades
Abu Ali Mustapha Brigades
The Abu Ali Mustapha Brigades is the armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine in the Palestinian territories ....
. The PFLP is well-known for pioneering armed aircraft hijacking
Aircraft hijacking
Aircraft hijacking is the unlawful seizure of an aircraft by an individual or a group. In most cases, the pilot is forced to fly according to the orders of the hijackers. Occasionally, however, the hijackers have flown the aircraft themselves, such as the September 11 attacks of 2001...
s in the late '60s and early '70s.
Origins of the Palistine army
The PFLP grew out of the Harakat al-Qawmiyyin al-Arab, or Arab Nationalist MovementArab Nationalist Movement
The Arab Nationalist Movement , also known as the Movement of Arab Nationalists and the Harakiyyin, was a pan-Arab nationalist organization influential in much of the Arab world, most famously so within the Palestinian movement.-Origins & Ideology:The Arab Nationalist Movement had its origins in a...
(ANM), founded in 1953 by Dr. George Habash
George Habash
George Habash also known by his laqab "al-Hakim" was a Palestinian nationalist. Habash, a Palestinian Christian, founded the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which pioneered the hijacking of airplanes as a Middle East militant tactic...
, a Palestinian Christian, from Lydda
Lod
Lod is a city located on the Sharon Plain southeast of Tel Aviv in the Center District of Israel. At the end of 2010, it had a population of 70,000, roughly 75 percent Jewish and 25 percent Arab.The name is derived from the Biblical city of Lod...
.
In 1948, 19 year old Habash, a medical student, went to his home town of Lydda
Lod
Lod is a city located on the Sharon Plain southeast of Tel Aviv in the Center District of Israel. At the end of 2010, it had a population of 70,000, roughly 75 percent Jewish and 25 percent Arab.The name is derived from the Biblical city of Lod...
during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
1948 Arab-Israeli War
The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, known to Israelis as the War of Independence or War of Liberation The war commenced after the termination of the British Mandate for Palestine and the creation of an independent Israel at midnight on 14 May 1948 when, following a period of civil war, Arab armies invaded...
to help his family. While he was there, the Israel Defence Forces attacked the city and as a result most of its civilian population was forced to leave, and marched for three days without food or water until they reached the Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
front lines.
Habash finished his medical education in Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
at the American University in Beirut, graduating in 1951.
In an interview with US journalist John Cooley
John Cooley
John Thomas Cooley is an American actor. Cooley made his screen debut in 2009 at the age of 24 when he appeared in and has worked consistently in towards his film career since. He is also known to have been a part of many on stage performances...
, Habash identified the Arab defeat by Israel as "the scientific society of Israel as against our own backwardness in the Arab world. This called for the total rebuilding of Arab society into a twentieth-century society," (Cooley 1973:135).
The ANM was founded in this nationalist spirit. "[We] held the 'Guevara
Che Guevara
Ernesto "Che" Guevara , commonly known as el Che or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, diplomat and military theorist...
view' of the 'revolution
Revolution
A revolution is a fundamental change in power or organizational structures that takes place in a relatively short period of time.Aristotle described two types of political revolution:...
ary human being'," Habash told Cooley. "A new breed of man had to emerge, among the Arabs as everywhere else. This meant applying everything in human power to the realization of a cause." (ibid.)
Formation of the PFLP
The ANM formed underground branches in several Arab countries, including LibyaLibya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
, Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
and Kuwait
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
, then still under British rule. It adopted secularism
Secularism
Secularism is the principle of separation between government institutions and the persons mandated to represent the State from religious institutions and religious dignitaries...
and socialist economic ideas, and pushed for armed struggle. In collaboration with the Palestinian Liberation Army
Palestinian Liberation Army
The Palestine Liberation Army was ostensibly set up as the military wing of the Palestine Liberation Organization at the 1964 Arab League summit , with the mission of fighting Israel...
, the ANM established Abtal al-Audah, Heroes of the Return, as a commando
Commando
In English, the term commando means a specific kind of individual soldier or military unit. In contemporary usage, commando usually means elite light infantry and/or special operations forces units, specializing in amphibious landings, parachuting, rappelling and similar techniques, to conduct and...
group in 1966. After the Six Day War of June 1967, this group merged in August with two other groups, Youth for Revenge and Ahmed Jibril
Ahmed Jibril
Ahmed Jibril is the founder and leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command , part of the left-wing, Palestinian national liberation movement....
's Syrian-backed Palestine Liberation Front
Palestine Liberation Front
The Palestine Liberation Front is a Palestinian militant group, which is designated as a terrorist organization by Canada, the European Union and the USA. It is presently led by Dr. Wasel Abu Yousef.-Origins:...
, to form the PFLP, with Habash as leader.
By early 1968, the PFLP had trained between one and three thousand guerrillas
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
. It had the financial backing of 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....
, and was headquartered there, and one of its training camps was based in as-Salt, Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
. In 1969, the PFLP declared itself a Marxist-Leninist organization, but it has remained faithful to Pan Arabism, seeing the Palestinian struggle as part of a wider uprising against Western imperialism
Imperialism
Imperialism, as defined by Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationships, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." The imperialism of the last 500 years,...
, which also aims to unite the Arab world
Arab world
The Arab world refers to Arabic-speaking states, territories and populations in North Africa, Western Asia and elsewhere.The standard definition of the Arab world comprises the 22 states and territories of the Arab League stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the...
by overthrowing "reactionary
Reactionary
The term reactionary refers to viewpoints that seek to return to a previous state in a society. The term is meant to describe one end of a political spectrum whose opposite pole is "radical". While it has not been generally considered a term of praise it has been adopted as a self-description by...
" regimes. It published a newspaper, al-Hadaf
Al-Hadaf
Al-Hadaf , is a Palestinian weekly political newspaper.It was founded in Beirut in 1969 by Ghassan Kanafani as the political mouthpiece of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine , espousing a Marxist-Leninist version of pan-Arab Palestinian nationalism. In 1972, Kanafani was killed by a...
(The Target, or Goal), which was edited by Ghassan Kanafani
Ghassan Kanafani
Ghassan Kanafani was a Palestinian writer and a leading member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. He was assassinated by car bomb in Beirut, allegedly by the Mossad.- Early years :Ghassan Fayiz Kanafani was born in 1936 in the then Acre , British Mandate of Palestine...
.
Breakaway organizations
Palestinian Popular Struggle Front
The Palestinian Popular Struggle Front , , is a militant Palestinian organization. The group was led by Dr. Samir Ghawshah until his death in 2009...
(PPSF) broke away from the PFLP.
In 1968, Ahmed Jibril
Ahmed Jibril
Ahmed Jibril is the founder and leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command , part of the left-wing, Palestinian national liberation movement....
broke away from the PFLP to form the Syrian-backed Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command (PFLP-GC).
In 1969, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine
Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine
The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine is a Palestinian Marxist-Leninist, secular political and military organization. It is also frequently referred to as the Democratic Front, or al-Jabha al-Dimuqratiyah...
(DFLP) formed as a separate, ostensibly Maoist, organization under Nayef Hawatmeh
Nayef Hawatmeh
Nayef Hawatmeh , Jordanian-Palestinian Christian politician. His name can be transliterated from the Arabic in many ways; variants include Naif Hawatma, Niaf Hawathme, etc....
and Yasser Abd Rabbo
Yasser Abd Rabbo
Yasser Abd Rabbo is a Palestinian politician and a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization's Executive Committee. He holds an M.A...
, initially as the PDFLP.
In 1972, the Popular Revolutionary Front for the Liberation of Palestine
Popular Revolutionary Front for the Liberation of Palestine
Popular Revolutionary Front for the Liberation of Palestine was a Palestinian militant group. PRFLP surged in February 1972, following a split from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine....
was formed following a split in PFLP.
The PFLP had a troubled relationship with George Habash's one-time deputy, Wadie Haddad
Wadie Haddad
Wadie Haddad , also known as Abu Hani, was a Palestinian doctor of medicine and the leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine's armed wing...
, who was eventually expelled because he refused orders to stop attacks and kidnapping operations abroad. Haddad has been identified in released Soviet archival documents as having been a KGB intelligence agent in place, who in 1975 received arms for the movement directly from Soviet sources in a nighttime transfer in the Sea of Aden.http://www.bukovsky-archives.net/pdfs/terr-wd/0912_plo75d-Eng-Stroilov.pdf
PLO membership
The PFLP joined the Palestine Liberation OrganizationPalestine 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...
(PLO), the umbrella organization
Umbrella organization
An umbrella organization is an association of institutions, who work together formally to coordinate activities or pool resources. In business, political, or other environments, one group, the umbrella organization, provides resources and often an identity to the smaller organizations...
of the Palestinian national movement, in 1968, becoming the second-largest faction after Yassir Arafat's 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...
. In 1974, it withdrew from the organization's executive committee (but not from the PLO) to join the Rejectionist Front
Rejectionist Front
The Rejectionist Front or Front of the Palestinian Forces Rejecting Solutions of Surrender was a political coalition formed in 1974 by radical Palestinian factions who rejected the Ten Point Program adopted by the Palestine Liberation Organization in its 12th Palestinian National Congress ...
, accusing the PLO of abandoning the goal of destroying Israel outright in favor of a binational solution
Binational solution
The one-state solution and the similar binational solution are proposed approaches to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Proponents of a binational solution to the conflict advocate either a single state in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza Strip, or a single state in Israel and the West...
, which was opposed by the PFLP leadership. It rejoined the executive committee in 1981.
After the Oslo Accords
After the eruption of the First IntifadaFirst Intifada
The First Intifada was a Palestinian uprising against the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territories. The uprising began in the Jabalia refugee camp and quickly spread throughout Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem....
and the subsequent 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...
the PFLP had difficulty establishing itself in 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 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...
. The boycott of the 1996 elections
Palestinian legislative and presidential election, 1996
On January 20, 1996, elections took place in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem for President of the Palestinian National Authority , and for members of the Palestinian Legislative Council , the legislative arm of the PNA....
gave many the impression that the PFLP was irrelevant to developments in Palestine. At that time (1993–96) Hamas
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
enjoyed rapidly rising popularity in the wake of their successful strategy of suicide bombings devised by Yahya Ayyash
Yahya Ayyash
Yahya Abd-al-Latif Ayyash was the chief bombmaker of Hamas and the leader of the West Bank battalion of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
("the Engineer"). Also, the fall of the Soviet Union together with the rise of Islamism
Islamism
Islamism also , lit., "Political Islam" is set of ideologies holding that Islam is not only a religion but also a political system. Islamism is a controversial term, and definitions of it sometimes vary...
— and particularly the increased popularity of the Islamist groups Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad — disoriented many left activists who looked towards the Soviet Union, and has marginalised the PFLP's role in Palestinian politics and armed resistance. However, the organization retains considerable political influence within the PLO, since no new elections have been held for the organisation's legislative body, the PNC
Palestinian National Council
The Palestinian National Council is the legislative body of the Palestine Liberation Organization and elects its Executive Committee, which assumes leadership of the organization between its sessions. The Council normally meets every two years. Resolutions are passed by a simple majority with a...
.
As a result of its post-Oslo weakness, the PFLP has been forced to adapt slowly and find partners among politically active, preferably young, Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, in order to compensate for their dependence on their aging commanders returning from or remaining in exile. The PFLP has therefore formed alliances with other leftist groups formed within the Palestinian Authority, including the Palestinian People's Party
Palestinian People's Party
The Palestinian People's Party , founded in 1982 as the Palestinian Communist Party, is a socialist political party in the Palestinian territories and among the Palestinian diaspora....
, the Popular Resistance Committees
Popular Resistance Committees
The Popular Resistance Committees are a coalition of various armed Palestinian factions that oppose the conciliatory approach adopted by the Palestinian Authority and Fatah towards Israel...
of Gaza.
In 1990, the PFLP transformed its Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
branch into a separate political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
, the Jordanian Popular Democratic Unity Party
Jordanian Popular Democratic Unity Party
Jordanian Democratic Popular Unity Party , is a political party in Jordan . The party was formed in 1990, when the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine separated their branch in Jordan to become a separate party.The party publishes Nida'a al-Watan....
.
Elections in the PNA
Yasser Arafat
Mohammed Yasser Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini , popularly known as Yasser Arafat or by his kunya Abu Ammar , was a Palestinian leader and a Laureate of the Nobel Prize. He was Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization , President of the Palestinian National Authority...
in November 2004, the PFLP entered discussions with the DFLP and the Palestinian People's Party aimed at nominating a joint left-wing candidate for the presidential elections. These discussions were unsuccessful, and the PFLP then decided to support the independent Palestinian National Initiative
Palestinian National Initiative
Palestinian National Initiative is a Palestinian political movement or party led by Dr. Mustafa Barghouti.Its formation was formally announced on June 17, 2002 in Ramallah on the West Bank, part of the Palestinian Territories, by Dr. Haidar Abdel-Shafi, Dr...
's candidate Mustafa Barghouti
Mustafa Barghouti
Mustafa Barghouti is a Palestinian democracy activist. He was a candidate for the presidency of the Palestinian National Authority in 2005, finishing second to Mahmoud Abbas, with 19% of the vote.Barghouti was born in Jerusalem...
, who gained 19.48% of the vote. In the municipal elections of December 2005 it had more success, e.g. in al-Bireh
Al-Bireh
al-Bireh or el-Bira is a Palestinian city adjacent to Ramallah in the central West Bank, north of Jerusalem. It is situated on the central ridge running through the West Bank and is above sea level, covering an area of...
and Ramallah
Ramallah
Ramallah is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank located 10 kilometers north of Jerusalem, adjacent to al-Bireh. It currently serves as the de facto administrative capital of the Palestinian National Authority...
, and winning the mayorship of Bir Zeit
Bir Zeit
Birzeit is a Palestinian town near Ramallah in the central West Bank. Its population in the 2007 census was 4529...
. http://alternatives-international.net/article85.html There are conflicting reports about the political allegiance of Janet Mikhail
Janet Mikhail
Janet Mikhail or Janet Michael, sometimes known as Janet Khouri is the mayor of Ramallah in the West Bank.She is the first woman to hold this post. She was head teacher of the girls' school in Ramallah for 20 years, now retired...
and Victor Batarseh
Victor Batarseh
Victor Batarseh is the mayor of Bethlehem in the West Bank in the occupied Palestinian territories, elected in 2005. He was elected as the candidate of the Bethlehem Brotherhood and Development bloc...
, the mayors of Ramallah and Bethlehem
Bethlehem
Bethlehem is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank of the Jordan River, near Israel and approximately south of Jerusalem, with a population of about 30,000 people. It is the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate of the Palestinian National Authority and a hub of Palestinian culture and tourism...
, they may be close to the PFLP without being members.
The PFLP is powerful politically in the Ramallah area, the eastern districts and suburbs of Jerusalem and Bethlehem, the primarily Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
Refidyeh district of Nablus
Nablus
Nablus is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank, approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 126,132. Located in a strategic position between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a Palestinian commercial and cultural center.Founded by the...
, but has far less strength in the rest of the West Bank, and is of little or no threat to the established Hamas and Fatah movements in Gaza.
The PFLP participated in the Palestinian legislative elections of 2006
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...
as the "Martyr Abu Ali Mustafa List". It won 4.2% of the popular vote and took three of the 132 seats in the Palestinian Legislative Council
Palestinian Legislative Council
The Palestinian Legislative Council, the legislature of the Palestinian Authority, is a unicameral body with 132 members, elected from 16 electoral districts in the West Bank and Gaza...
. Its deputies are Ahmad Sa'adat
Ahmad Sa'adat
Ahmad Sa'adat is a Palestinian militant and Secretary-General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine , a militant Palestinian group....
, Jamil Majdalawi
Jamil Majdalawi
Jamil Muhammad Ismail al-Majdalawi is a leading member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council....
, and Khalida Jarrar
Khalida Jarrar
Khalida Kan'an Muhammad Jarrar is a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Palestinian Legislative Council.She was active for a number of years in support of Palestinian prisoners, and she is the director of the Adameer Prisoners' Support and Human Rights Association in...
. In the lists, its best vote was 9.4% in Bethlehem
Bethlehem Governorate
The Bethlehem Governorate is one of 16 Governorates of the West Bank and Gaza Strip within the Palestinian Territories. It covers an area of the West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Its principal city and district capital is Bethlehem...
, followed by 6.6% in Ramallah and al-Bireh
Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate
The Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate is one of 16 Governorates of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. It covers a large part of the central West Bank, on the northern border of the Jerusalem Governorate. Its district capital or muhfaza is the city of al-Bireh.According to the Palestinian Central...
, and 6.5% in North Gaza
North Gaza Governorate
The North Gaza Governorate is one of 16 Governorates of the Palestinian National Authority in the Gaza Strip which is administered by the Palestinian National Authority aside from its border with Israel, airspace and maritime territory...
.
Successors to George Habash
At the PFLP's Sixth National Conference in 2000, Habash stepped down as general secretary. Abu Ali MustafaAbu Ali Mustafa
Abu Ali Mustafa , , the kunya of Mustafa Alhaj a.k.a. Mustafa Ali Zibri, was the Secretary General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine from July 2000 until he was killed by Israel forces.-Biography:...
was elected to replace him, but was assassinated on 27 August 2001 when an Israeli helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
fired rockets at his office in the West Bank town of Ramallah. The PFLP murdered the right-wing Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeevi
Rehavam Zeevi
' 20 June 1926 - 17 October 2001) was an Israeli general, politician, and historian who founded the right-wing nationalist Moledet party, mainly advocating population transfer....
in 17 November 2001 in retaliation.
After Mustafa's death, Ahmad Sa'adat
Ahmad Sa'adat
Ahmad Sa'adat is a Palestinian militant and Secretary-General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine , a militant Palestinian group....
was elected general secretary on 3 October 2001. In January 2002, he was arrest
Arrest
An arrest is the act of depriving a person of his or her liberty usually in relation to the purported investigation and prevention of crime and presenting into the criminal justice system or harm to oneself or others...
ed by the Palestinian Authority under pressure from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and imprisoned in Jericho prison along with several other PFLP members accused by Israel of involvement in the Zeevi assassination. The Palestinian High Court ordered his release, stating that there were no legal grounds for the imprisonment, but 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...
refused to implement the court's decision. On 14 March 2006, the Israel Defense Forces
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
attacked the prison and, after a 10-hour siege resulting in the death of two people and the wounding of 35, removed Sa'adat and five other inmates, arrested them, and took them to Israel for trial.
Attitude to the peace process
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
fronts and ruled out any negotiated settlement with Israel that would result in two states
Two-state solution
The two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the consensus solution that is currently under discussion by the key parties to the conflict, most recently at the Annapolis Conference in November 2007...
between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
. Instead, George Habash in particular, and various other leaders in general advocated one state with an Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
identity in which Jews were entitled to live with the same rights as any minority. Although, the PFLP had dramatically different attitudes between "ethnic Palestinian" Jews and other Jews, believing that especially the Jews from European ethnicity are alien to Palestine and must be expelled.
The PFLP platform never wavered on key points such as the overthrow of conservative or monarchist
Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...
Arab states like Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
and Jordan, the Right of Return
Right of return
The term right of return refers to a principle of international law, codified in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, giving any person the right to return to, and re-enter, his or her country of origin...
of all Palestinian refugee
Palestinian refugee
Palestinian refugees or Palestine refugees are the people and their descendants, predominantly Palestinian Arabic-speakers, who fled or were expelled from their homes during and after the 1948 Palestine War, within that part of the British Mandate of Palestine, that after that war became the...
s to their homes in pre-1948 Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
, or the use of the liberation of Palestine as a launching board for achieving Arab unity – reflecting its beginnings in the Pan-Arab ANM. It opposed 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...
and was for a long time opposed to the idea of a two-state solution
Two-state solution
The two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the consensus solution that is currently under discussion by the key parties to the conflict, most recently at the Annapolis Conference in November 2007...
to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Israeli-Palestinian conflict
The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. The conflict is wide-ranging, and the term is also used in reference to the earlier phases of the same conflict, between Jewish and Zionist yishuv and the Arab population living in Palestine under Ottoman or...
, but in 1999 came to an agreement with the PLO leadership regarding negotiations with the Israeli government. However, in May 2010, PFLP general secretary Ahmad Sa'adat
Ahmad Sa'adat
Ahmad Sa'adat is a Palestinian militant and Secretary-General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine , a militant Palestinian group....
called for an end to the PLO's negotiations with Israel, saying that only a one-state solution was possible.
The PFLP opposed the 2007 conflict
Fatah-Hamas conflict
The Fatah–Hamas conflict , also referred to as the Palestinian Civil War , and the Conflict of Brothers , i.e...
between Hamas and Fatah and believes that the Salam Fayad government is not helpful in solving the conflict.
In January 2011, the PFLP declared that the Camp David Accords
Camp David Accords
The Camp David Accords were signed by Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin on September 17, 1978, following thirteen days of secret negotiations at Camp David. The two framework agreements were signed at the White House, and were witnessed by United States...
stood for "subservience, submission, dictatorship and silence", and called for social
Social revolution
The term social revolution may have different connotations depending on the speaker.In the Trotskyist movement, the term "social revolution" refers to an upheaval in which existing property relations are smashed...
and political revolution
Political revolution
A political revolution, in the Trotskyist theory, is an upheaval in which the government is replaced, or the form of government altered, but in which property relations are predominantly left intact...
in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
.
Membership profile
The PFLP's armed wing, in the West Bank and Gaza, the Abu Ali Mustapha BrigadesAbu Ali Mustapha Brigades
The Abu Ali Mustapha Brigades is the armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine in the Palestinian territories ....
, draws much of its support from student organizations in universities like Al-Quds University
Al-Quds University
Al-Quds University is a Palestinian university with campuses in Jerusalem, Abu Dis, and al-Bireh. It was founded in 1984, but its official constitution was written in 1993 when Mohammed Nusseibeh, its first Chancellor and Chancellor of the College of Science and Technology, announced its...
(eastern Jerusalem), Bir Zeit University (Ramallah
Ramallah
Ramallah is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank located 10 kilometers north of Jerusalem, adjacent to al-Bireh. It currently serves as the de facto administrative capital of the Palestinian National Authority...
area), An-Najah National University
An-Najah National University
An-Najah National University is a Palestinian non-governmental public university governed by a board of Trustees. It is located in Nablus, in the northern West Bank. The university has over 16,500 students and 300 professors in 19 faculties...
(Nablus
Nablus
Nablus is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank, approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 126,132. Located in a strategic position between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a Palestinian commercial and cultural center.Founded by the...
), and the Arab American University - Jenin. The movement has thousands of active or passive activists in the West Bank, and a few hundred behind bars in Israeli prisons. In December 2009, around 70,000 supporters demonstrated in Gaza to celebrate the PFLP's 42nd anniversary. http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2010/989/re62.htm The PFLP's leader in Gaza is Dr. Rabah Muhanna. http://www.pflp.ps/english/?q=unity-and-steadfastness-over-70000-rally-gaza-pflp
Armed attacks of the PFLP
This is a list of armed attacks attributed to the PFLP. It is not complete.Armed attacks before 2000
Aircraft hijacking
Aircraft hijacking is the unlawful seizure of an aircraft by an individual or a group. In most cases, the pilot is forced to fly according to the orders of the hijackers. Occasionally, however, the hijackers have flown the aircraft themselves, such as the September 11 attacks of 2001...
s, including on non-Israeli targets:
- The hijacking of an El AlEl AlEl Al Israel Airlines Ltd , trading as El Al , is the flag carrier of Israel. It operates scheduled domestic and international services and cargo flights to Europe, North America, Africa and the Far East from its main base in Ben Gurion International Airport...
flight from RomeRomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
to Lod airport in IsraelIsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
on 23 July 1968. The Western media reported that the flight was targeted because the PFLP believed Israeli general Yitzhak RabinYitzhak Rabin' was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77 and 1992 until his assassination in 1995....
, who was Israeli ambassador to the USA, was on board. Several individuals involved with the hijacking, including Leila KhaledLeila KhaledLeila Khaled is a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine . She is currently a member of the Palestinian National Council...
deny this. The plane was diverted to AlgiersAlgiers' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
, where 21 passengers and 11 crew members were held for 39 days, until August 31; - Gunmen opened fire on an El AlEl AlEl Al Israel Airlines Ltd , trading as El Al , is the flag carrier of Israel. It operates scheduled domestic and international services and cargo flights to Europe, North America, Africa and the Far East from its main base in Ben Gurion International Airport...
passenger jet in AthensAthensAthens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
about to take off for New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
on 26 December 1968, killing one Israeli mechanic; - An attack on El AlEl AlEl Al Israel Airlines Ltd , trading as El Al , is the flag carrier of Israel. It operates scheduled domestic and international services and cargo flights to Europe, North America, Africa and the Far East from its main base in Ben Gurion International Airport...
passengers jet at ZürichZürichZurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
airport on 18 February 1969, killing the co-pilot and wounding the pilot; - The bombing of a Jerusalem supermarket on 20 February 1969, killing two Israelis and wounding twenty others;
- The hijacking of a TWATwaThe Twa are any of several hunting peoples of Africa who live interdependently with agricultural Bantu populations, and generally hold a socially subordinate position: They provide the farming population with game in exchange for agricultural products....
flight from Los AngelesLos ÁngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
to DamascusDamascusDamascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
on 29 August 1969 by a PFLP cell led by Leila KhaledLeila KhaledLeila Khaled is a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine . She is currently a member of the Palestinian National Council...
, who became the PFLP's most famous recruit. Two Israeli passengers were held for 44 days; - Three adult Palestinians and three boys aged 14 and 15 years old threw grenadeGrenadeA grenade is a small explosive device that is projected a safe distance away by its user. Soldiers called grenadiers specialize in the use of grenades. The term hand grenade refers any grenade designed to be hand thrown. Grenade Launchers are firearms designed to fire explosive projectile grenades...
s at the Israeli embassies in The HagueThe HagueThe Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
, BonnBonnBonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
and the El Al office in BrusselsBrusselsBrussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
on the same day, 9 September 1969 with no casualties; - Attack on a bus containing El Al passengers at MunichMunichMunich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
airport, killing one passenger and wounding 11 on 10 February 1970; - On 6 September 1970, the PFLP (including Leila KhaledLeila KhaledLeila Khaled is a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine . She is currently a member of the Palestinian National Council...
) hijacked four passenger aircraft from Pan AmPan American World AirwaysPan American World Airways, commonly known as Pan Am, was the principal and largest international air carrier in the United States from 1927 until its collapse on December 4, 1991...
, TWATwaThe Twa are any of several hunting peoples of Africa who live interdependently with agricultural Bantu populations, and generally hold a socially subordinate position: They provide the farming population with game in exchange for agricultural products....
and SwissairSwissairSwissair AG was the former national airline of Switzerland.It was formed from a merger between Balair and Ad Astra Aero , in 1931...
on flights to New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
from BrusselsBrusselsBrussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, FrankfurtFrankfurtFrankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
and ZürichZürichZurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
, and failed in an attempt to hijack an El Al aircraft which landed safely in London after one hijacker was killed and the other overpowered; and on 9 September 1970, hijacked a BOACBoacBoac may refer to:* Boac, Marinduque, a municipality in the Southern Philippines* Boac , an American rapper* British Overseas Airways Corporation, a former British state-owned airline...
flight from BahrainBahrain' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
to LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
via BeirutBeirutBeirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
. The Pan Am flight was diverted to CairoCairoCairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
; the TWA, Swissair and BOAC flights were diverted to Dawson's FieldDawson's Field hijackingsIn the Dawson's Field hijackings five jet aircraft bound for New York City were hijacked by members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine...
in ZarqaZarqaAz-Zarqāʔ is a city in Jordan located to the northeast of Amman. With a population of more than one million 1000,000. It is the country's second largest city after Amman. Zarqa is the capital of Zarqa Governorate . Its name means "the blue one".- Overview :Zarqa is Jordan's industrial centre, home...
, JordanJordanJordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
. The TWA, Swissair and BOAC aircraft were subsequently blown up by the PFLP on September 12, in front of the world media, after all passengers had been taken off the planes. The event is significant, as it was cited as a reason for the Black SeptemberBlack September in JordanSeptember 1970 is known as the Black September in Arab history and sometimes is referred to as the "era of regrettable events." It was a month when Hashemite King Hussein of Jordan moved to quash the militancy of Palestinian organizations and restore his monarchy's rule over the country. The...
clashes between Palestinian and Jordanian forces. - On May 30, 1972, 28 passengers were gunned down at Ben Gurion International AirportBen Gurion International AirportBen Gurion International Airport , also referred to by its Hebrew acronym Natbag , is the largest and busiest international airport in Israel, handling 12,160,339 passengers in 2010...
by members of the Japanese Red ArmyJapanese Red ArmyThe was a Communist terrorist group founded by Fusako Shigenobu early in 1971 in Lebanon. It sometimes called itself Arab-JRA after the Lod airport massacre...
in collaboration with the PFLP in what became known as the Lod Airport massacreLod Airport massacreThe Lod Airport massacre was a terrorist attack that occurred on May 30, 1972, in which three members of the Japanese Red Army, on behalf of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine , killed 26 people and injured 80 others at Tel Aviv's Lod airport...
. - On October 13, 1977, the PFLP hijacked Lufthansa flight LH181, a Boeing 737 flying from Palma de Mallorca to Frankfurt. After various stopovers the pilot was killed. The remaining passengers and crew were eventually rescued by German counter-terrorism special forces see Mogadishu hijacking.
- On 3 October 1980 four people were killed and dozens injured in the 1980 Paris synagogue bombing1980 Paris synagogue bombingOn October 3, 1980, the eve of Simchat Torah, a bomb went off outside the Union Libérale Israélite de France synagogue on Rue Copernic, Paris. Four people were killed and more than forty injured. The bomb, consisting of about of Semtex explosives, had been hidden in the saddlebags of a motorcycle...
. - On 12 April 1984 a busKav 300 affairThe Bus 300 affair , also known as Kav 300 affair, was an affair in which Shin Bet members executed two Palestinian bus hijackers, immediately after the hostage crises incident ended and the two militants were captured....
from Tel Aviv was hijacked. Bassam Abu SharifBassam Abu SharifBassam Abu Sharif is a former senior adviser to the late Yasser Arafat and press officer of the Palestine Liberation Organization ....
in Damascus issued a statement in the name of the PFLP claiming responsibility.
Armed attacks after 2000
The PFLP's Abu Ali Mustapha BrigadesAbu Ali Mustapha Brigades
The Abu Ali Mustapha Brigades is the armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine in the Palestinian territories ....
has carried out attacks on both civilians and military targets during 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...
. Some of these attacks are:
- The killing of Meir Lixenberg, councillor and head of security in four settlements, who was shot while travelling in his car in the West BankWest BankThe 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...
on 27 August 2001. PFLP claimed that this was a retaliation for the killing of Abu Ali MustafaAbu Ali MustafaAbu Ali Mustafa , , the kunya of Mustafa Alhaj a.k.a. Mustafa Ali Zibri, was the Secretary General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine from July 2000 until he was killed by Israel forces.-Biography:...
. - The 21 October 2001 assassination of Israeli Minister for Tourism Rehavam ZeeviRehavam Zeevi' 20 June 1926 - 17 October 2001) was an Israeli general, politician, and historian who founded the right-wing nationalist Moledet party, mainly advocating population transfer....
by Hamdi QuranHamdi QuranHamdi Quran is a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. He grew to prominence when he assassinated Rehavam Ze'evi, the Tourism Minister of Israel. Quran was imprisoned by the Palestinian National Authority in a Jericho prison guarded by American and European guards. In 2006,...
, the only Israeli politician to have been assassinated in the Second Intifada. - A suicide bombing in a pizzeria in Karnei ShomronKarnei ShomronKarnei Shomron is an Israeli settlement and local council established in 1977 in the northwestern West Bank, east of Kfar Sava. It is north-east of Tel Aviv and north of Jerusalem. In 2006, the population of Karnei Shomron was 6,300...
, on the West BankWest BankThe 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...
on 16 February 2002, killing three Israeli civilians. - A suicide bombing in ArielAriel (city)Ariel is an Israeli settlement and a city in the West Bank. Ariel was established in 1978. Its population at the end of 2009 was 17,600, including 7,000 immigrants who came to Israel after 1990. It is the fourth largest Jewish settlement city in the West Bank., after Modi'in Illit, Beitar Illit,...
on 7 March 2002, which left wounded but no fatalities. - A suicide bombing in a NetanyaNetanyaNetanya is a city in the Northern Centre District of Israel, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is located north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa between the 'Poleg' stream and Wingate Institute in the south and the 'Avichail' stream in the north.Its of beaches have made the...
market in Israel, on 19 May 2002, killing three Israelis. This attack was also claimed by HamasHamasHamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
, but the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades have identified the perpetrator on their website as one of their members http://www.kataebabuali.com/000/abnaa_elkataeb/osama_bashkar.htmhttp://www.kataebabuali.com/ab_ka/photos/osama.gif - A suicide bombing in the bus station at Geha Junction in Petah TikvaPetah TikvaPetah Tikva known as Em HaMoshavot , is a city in the Center District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv.According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, at the end of 2009, the city's population stood at 209,600. The population density is approximately...
on 25 December 2003 which killed 4 Israelis. http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-2848729,00.html - A suicide bombing in Bikat Hayerden on 22 May 2004 , which left no fatalities. http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-2920363,00.html
- A suicide bombing in the Carmel MarketCarmel MarketThe Carmel Market is the largest bazaar market in Tel Aviv. The market is bordered by Allenby Street and Magen David Square and the market is principally located along Carmel Street , but has expanded over time to streets such as Nahalat Binyamin Street...
in Tel AvivTel AvivTel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
on 1 November 2004 , which killed 3 Israeli civilians. http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-2998015,00.html
See also
- Arab Socialist Action PartyArab Socialist Action PartyArab Socialist Action Party was a Pan-Arab political party, formed by the rightwing faction of the Arab Nationalist Movement. The general secretary of the party was Dr. George Habash...
- List of political parties in the Palestinian National Authority
- Palestinian domestic weapons productionPalestinian domestic weapons productionEven before the outbreak of the Al-Aqsa Intifada, various militant Palestinian groups built domestically produced weapons for use against the Israel Defense Forces, including rockets to launch into Israel. Most of the effort has been in the production of unguided artillery rockets, though Hamas has...
- Rejectionist FrontRejectionist FrontThe Rejectionist Front or Front of the Palestinian Forces Rejecting Solutions of Surrender was a political coalition formed in 1974 by radical Palestinian factions who rejected the Ten Point Program adopted by the Palestine Liberation Organization in its 12th Palestinian National Congress ...
- Mohamed BoudiaMohamed BoudiaMohamed Boudia was a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine assassinated by an Israeli hit team as part of Operation Wrath of God, in reaction to his role in the 1972 Munich massacre. At the time of his assassination Boudia was the head of PFLP terrorist operations in Europe...
, Carlos the JackalCarlos the JackalIlich Ramírez Sánchez , better known as Carlos the Jackal, is a Venezuelan pro-Palestinian currently serving a life sentence in France for shooting to death two French secret agents and a Lebanese informer in 1975.... - Revolutionare Zellen
- Japanese Red ArmyJapanese Red ArmyThe was a Communist terrorist group founded by Fusako Shigenobu early in 1971 in Lebanon. It sometimes called itself Arab-JRA after the Lod airport massacre...
- DFLP
- Palestinian Islamic Jihad
- HamasHamasHamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
- Palestinian Popular Struggle FrontPalestinian Popular Struggle FrontThe Palestinian Popular Struggle Front , , is a militant Palestinian organization. The group was led by Dr. Samir Ghawshah until his death in 2009...
External links
- PFLP's official site
- PFLP's official site in English version
- Interview with imprisoned PFLP General Secretary Ahmad Saadat- Fight Back! News, Summer 2003