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This article is about Palestinian nationalist coalition. For the country, seeState of Palestine.For other uses of Palestine, seePalestine (disambiguation).

Palestine Liberation Organization
منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية
Munaẓẓamat at-Taḥrīr al-Filasṭīniyyahⓘ
AbbreviationPLO
ChairmanMahmoud Abbas
Founded28 May 1964[1]
HeadquartersAl-Bireh,West Bank[2][3]
Ideology
Political positionLeft-wing
International affiliationUnited Nations non-member observer
Members
AnthemFida'i[12]
Palestinian Legislative Council
50 / 132
Website
http:// plo.ps/en
Politics of Palestine
Coat of arms of Palestine
Officeholders whose status is disputed are shown initalics
National symbols
Administrative divisions
Government
Legislative Council
Elections
Local elections
Political parties
Palestine Liberation Organization(PLO) factions
Other parties
PalestinianElectoral Lists
Leaders
Map shows birthplaces or family origins
Foreign relations
Arab LeagueMember state of the Arab League
flagPalestine portal
This article is part of
a series about
Yasser Arafat
Personal
Palestine Liberation Organization
Pre-presidency
Lebanese Civil War
Presidency
Elections
Yasser Arafat's signature

ThePalestine Liberation Organization(PLO;Arabic:منظمة التحرير الفلسطينيةMunaẓẓamat at-Taḥrīr al-Filasṭīniyyah) is aPalestinian nationalist coalitionthat is internationally recognized as the official representative of thePalestinian peoplein both thePalestinian territoriesand thediaspora.[13][14][15]It is currently represented by thePalestinian Authoritybased in the West Bank city ofAl-Bireh.

Founded in 1964, it initially sought to establish anArab stateover the entire territory of the formerMandatory Palestine,advocating the elimination ofIsrael.Mediated talks between the Israeli government and the PLO in 1993 (the Oslo I Accord) resulted in the PLO recognizingIsrael's legitimacyand acceptingUnited Nations Security Council Resolution 242,which mandated Israel's withdrawal from the occupied territories, while Israel recognized the PLO as a legitimate authority representing the Palestinian people.[16]Despite theIsrael–PLO Letters of Mutual Recognition(1993), in which PLO leaderYasser Arafatrenounced violence against Israel, the PLO engaged in militant activities during theSecond Intifada(2000–2005). On 29 October 2018, thePLO Central Councilsuspended thePalestinian recognition of Israel.[17][18]

As the officially recognized government of thede jureState of Palestine,it has enjoyedUnited Nations observer statussince 1974.[19][20][21]Prior to theOslo Accords,the PLO's militant wings engaged inacts of violenceagainst both the Israeli military and civilians, within Israel and abroad.[22][23][24]TheUnited Statesdesignated it as a terrorist group in 1987, though a presidential waiver has permittedAmerican–PLO contactsince 1988.[25][26]

History and armed actions

Early actions

At itsfirst summit meetinginCairoin 1964, theArab Leagueinitiated the creation of an organization representing the Palestinian people.[27]ThePalestinian National Councilconvened inJerusalemon 28 May 1964. After concluding the meeting, the PLO was founded on 2 June 1964. Its stated "complementary goals" were Arab unity and the liberation ofPalestine.[28]

The PLO began their militancy campaign from its inception with an attack onIsrael's National Water Carrierin January 1965.[26]The group usedguerrillatactics to attack Israel from their bases inJordan(including theWest Bank),Lebanon,Egypt (Gaza Strip), andSyria.[29]

The most notable of what were considered terrorist acts committed by member organizations of the PLO were in the 1970s. The 1970Avivim school bus massacreby theDemocratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine(DFLP), killed nine children, three adults and crippled 19. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, thePopular Front for the Liberation of Palestine,the second-largest PLO faction afteral-Fatah,carried outa number of attacks and plane hijackingsmostly directed at Israel, most infamously theDawson's Field hijackings,which precipitated theBlack Septembercrisis.

In 1972, theBlack September Organizationcarried out theMunich massacreof Israeli Olympic athletes. In 1974, members of the DFLP seized a school in Israel and killed a total of 26 students and adults and wounded over 70 in theMa'alot massacre.The 1975,Savoy Hotel hostage situationkilling 8 hostages and 3 soldiers, carried out by Fatah. The 1978,Coastal Road massacrekilling 37 Israelis and wounding 76, also carried out by Fatah.

PLO operations in Jordan: 1967–1971

Main articles:War of AttritionandBlack September

From 1967 to September 1970 the PLO, with passive support from Jordan, fought awar of attritionwith Israel. During this time, the PLO launched artillery attacks on themoshavimandkibbutzimofBet Shean Valley Regional Council,whilefedayeenlaunched numerous attacks on Israeli forces. Israel raided the PLO camps in Jordan, includingKarameh,withdrawing only under Jordanian military pressure.[30]

This conflict culminated inJordan's expulsion of the PLOto Lebanon in July 1971.

The PLO suffered a major reversal with the Jordanian assault on its armed groups, in the events known asBlack Septemberin 1970. The Palestinian groups were expelled from Jordan, and during the 1970s, the PLO was effectively anumbrella groupof eight organizations headquartered inDamascusandBeirut,all devoted to armed struggle againstZionismor Israeli occupation, using methods which included direct clashing andguerrilla warfareagainst Israel. After Black September, theCairo Agreementled the PLO to establish itself in Lebanon.

Lebanese Civil War: 1971–1982

Main articles:Palestinian insurgency in South LebanonandLebanese Civil War

In the late 1960s, and especially after the expulsion of the Palestinian militants from Jordan inBlack September events in 1970–1971,Lebanon had become the base for PLO operations. Palestinian militant organizations relocated their headquarters to South Lebanon, and relying on the support in Palestinian refugee camps, waged a campaign of attacks on the Galilee and on Israeli and Jewish targets worldwide. Increasing penetration of Palestinians into Lebanese politics and Israeli retaliations gradually deteriorated the situation.

By the mid-1970s, Arafat and his Fatah movement found themselves in a tenuous position.[citation needed]Arafat increasingly called for diplomacy, perhaps best symbolized by hisTen Point Programand his support for a UN Security Council resolution proposed in 1976 calling for atwo-state settlementon the pre-1967 borders.[citation needed]But theRejectionist Frontdenounced the calls for diplomacy, and a diplomatic solution was vetoed by the United States.[citation needed]In 1975, the increasing tensions between Palestinian militants and Christian militias exploded into theLebanese Civil War,involving all factions. On 20 January 1976, the PLO took part in theDamour massacrein retaliation to theKarantina massacre.The PLO andLebanese National Movementattacked the Christian town ofDamour,killing 684 civilians and forcing the remainder of the town's population to flee. In 1976 Syria joined the war by invading Lebanon, beginning the 29‑yearSyrian occupation of Lebanon,and in 1978 Israelinvaded South Lebanonin response to theCoastal Road Massacre,executed by Palestinian militants based in Lebanon.

The population in the West Bank and Gaza Strip saw Arafat as their best hope for a resolution to the conflict.[citation needed]This was especially so in the aftermath of theCamp David Accordsof 1978 between Israel and Egypt, which the Palestinians saw as a blow to their aspirations to self-determination.[citation needed]Abu Nidal,a sworn enemy of the PLO since 1974,[31]assassinated the PLO's diplomatic envoy to theEuropean Economic Community,which in theVenice Declarationof 1980 had called for the Palestinian right of self-determination to be recognized by Israel.

Opposition to Arafat was fierce not only among radical Arab groups, but also among many on the Israeli right.[citation needed]This includedMenachem Begin,who had stated on more than one occasion that even if the PLO acceptedUN Security Council Resolution 242and recognized Israel's right to exist, he would never negotiate with the organization.[32][verification needed]This contradicted the official United States position that it would negotiate with the PLO if the PLO accepted Resolution 242 and recognized Israel, which the PLO had thus far been unwilling to do. Other Arab voices had recently called for a diplomatic resolution to the hostilities in accord with the international consensus, including Egyptian leaderAnwar Sadaton his visit to Washington, DC in August 1981, and Crown Prince Fahd of Saudi Arabia in his 7 August peace proposal; together with Arafat's diplomatic maneuver, these developments made Israel's argument that it had "no partner for peace" seem increasingly problematic. Thus, in the eyes of Israeli hard-liners, "the Palestinians posed a greater challenge to Israel as a peacemaking organization than as a military one".[33]

After the appointment of Ariel Sharon to the post ofMinister of Defensein 1981, the Israeli government policy of allowing political growth to occur in the occupied West Bank and Gaza strip changed. The Israeli government tried, unsuccessfully, to dictate terms of political growth by replacing local pro-PLO leaders with an Israeli civil administration.[34]

In 1982, after an attack on a senior Israeli diplomat by Lebanon-based Palestinian militants in Lebanon, Israelinvaded Lebanonin a much larger scale in coordination with the Lebanese Christian militias, reaching Beirut and eventually resulting in ousting of the PLO headquarters in June that year. Low-level Palestinian insurgency in Lebanon continued in parallel with the consolidation of Shia militant organizations, but became a secondary concern to Israeli military and other Lebanese factions. With ousting of the PLO, the Lebanese Civil War gradually turned into a prolonged conflict, shifting from mainly PLO-Christian conflict into involvement of all Lebanese factions – whetherSunni,Shia,Druze,andChristians.

Headquarters in Tunis: 1982–1991

In 1982, the PLO relocated toTunis,Tunisia after it was driven out of Lebanon by Israel during the1982 Lebanon War.Following massive raids by Israeli forces in Beirut, it is estimated that 8,000 PLO fighters evacuated the city and dispersed.[35]

On 1 October 1985, inOperation Wooden Leg,Israeli Air ForceF-15sbombed the PLO's Tunis headquarters, killing more than 60 people.

It is suggested that the Tunis period (1982–1991) was a negative point in the PLO's history, leading up to the Oslo negotiations and formation of the Palestinian Authority (PA). The PLO in exile was distant from a concentrated number of Palestinians and became far less effective.[36]There was a significant reduction in centres of research, political debates or journalistic endeavours that had encouraged an energised public presence of the PLO in Beirut. More and more Palestinians were abandoned, and many felt that this was the beginning of the end.[37]

Oslo I Accord (1993)

Mediated talks between the Israeli government and the PLO in 1993 (theOslo I Accord) resulted in the PLO recognizingIsrael's right to exist in peaceand acceptingUnited Nations Security Council Resolution 242( "inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war and the need to work for a just and lasting peace in the Middle East in which every State in the area can live in security" ), while Israel recognized the PLO as a legitimate authority representing the Palestinian people.[38]Despite theIsrael–PLO Letters of Mutual Recognition(1993), in which PLO leaderYasser Arafatrenounced "terrorism and other acts of violence" against Israel, the PLO continued to engage in militant activities, particularly during theSecond Intifada(see next subsection).

Second Intifada: 2000–2004

Main article:Second Intifada

The Second or Al-Aqsa Intifada started concurrently with the breakdown of July 2000Camp David talksbetween Palestinian Authority ChairmanYasser Arafatand Israeli Prime MinisterEhud Barak.The Intifada never ended officially, but violence hit relatively low levels during 2005. The death toll, including both military personnel and civilians, of the entire conflict in 2000–2004 is estimated to be 3,223 Palestinians and 950 Israelis, although this number is criticized for not differentiating between combatants and civilians.[citation needed]Members of the PLO have claimed responsibility for a number of attacks against Israelis during the Second Intifada.[citation needed] The PLO has been sued in the United States by families of those killed or injured in attacks by Palestinians.One lawsuitwas settled prior to going to trial.[39][40]The otherwent to trial. The PLO was found liable for the death and injuries of US citizens in a number of terrorist attacks in Israel from 2001 to 2004 and ordered to pay a judgment of $655.5 million.[41]The verdict was overturned on appeal for a lack of US federal jurisdiction over actions committed overseas.[42]

Ideology

The ideology of the PLO was formulated in the founding year, 1964, in thePalestinian National Covenant.[28]

After the1967 war,the ideology of the PLO changed significantly.[43]In 1968, the Charter was replaced by a comprehensively revised version.[44]For the first time, the PLO called for the establishment of a Palestinian state (to replace Israel) in which Christians, Muslims and Jews would have equal rights, thereby tacitly accepting Jewish presence in Palestine.[43]The goal was akin to forcingregime changein Israel, as opposed to a drastic redrawing of borders.[45]ThePalestinian National Councilalso insisted upon greater independence from Arab governments.[43]

In 1974, PLO accepted the creation of a "national authority" in the West Bank and Gaza as a first step towards liberating Palestine.[43]This tacit recognition of Israel caused theRejectionist Frontto break away.[43]In 1976, PLO accepted an "independent state" in the West Bank and Gaza, which was widely interpreted as accepting Israel's permanent existence. Shortly after that, the PLO established contacts with the Israeli left.[43]PLO's proposal was similar to the one given by Egyptian Prime MinisterIsmail Fahmy,in 1976, where he promised Israel peace on the basis of withdrawing to the 1967 borders, creation ofState of Palestinein the West Bank and Gaza, and a nuclear weapons free Middle East.[46]The PNC also authorized Palestinian representatives to meet Israeli officials at an Arab-Israeli peace conference.[46]In response, Israeli Prime Minister Rabin responded, "the only place the Israelis could meet the Palestinian guerrillas was on the field of battle."[46]

Until 1993, the only promoted option was armed struggle.[citation needed]From the signing of the Oslo Accords, negotiation and diplomacy became the only official policy.[citation needed]

In April 1996, a large number of articles, which were inconsistent with theOslo Accords,were wholly or partially nullified.[47]

At the core of the PLO's ideology is the belief thatZionistshad unjustly expelled the Palestinians from Palestine and established a Jewish state in place under the pretext of having historic and Jewish ties with Palestine. The PLO demanded thatPalestinian refugeesbe allowed toreturnto their homes. This is expressed in the National Covenant:

Article 2 of the Charter states that ″Palestine, with the boundaries it had during theBritish mandate,is an indivisible territorial unit″,[44]meaning that there is no place for a Jewish state. This article was adapted in 1996 to meet the Oslo Accords.[47]

Article 20 states: ″TheBalfour Declaration,the Mandate for Palestine, and everything that has been based upon them, are deemed null and void. Claims of historical or religious ties of Jews with Palestine are incompatible with the facts of history and the true conception of what constitutes statehood. Judaism, being a religion, is not an independent nationality. Nor do Jews constitute a single nation with an identity of its own; they are citizens of the states to which they belong″.[44]This article was nullified in 1996.[47]

Article 3 reads: ″The Palestinian Arab people possess the legal right to their homeland and have the right to determine their destiny after achieving the liberation of their country in accordance with their wishes and entirely of their own accord and will″.

Secularism versus adherence to Islam

The PLO and its dominating faction, Fatah, are often contrasted with more religious-orientated factions likeHamasand thePalestinian Islamic Jihad(PIJ). All, however, represent a predominantly Muslim population. Practically the whole population of the Territories is Muslim, mostlySunni.Around 50,000 (c. 1%) of the 4.6 millionPalestiniansin the occupiedPalestinian territories(OPT) arePalestinian Christian.[48][49]

Under President Arafat, the Fatah-dominatedPalestinian Authorityadopted the 2003 Amended Basic Law, which stipulates Islam as the sole official religion in Palestine and the principles of Islamicshariaas a principal source of legislation.[50]The draft Constitution contains the same provisions.[51][52]The draft Constitution was formulated by a Constitutional Committee, established by Arafat in 1999 and endorsed by the PLO.[53][54]

Organization

Structure

Orient House,the former PLO headquarters in Jerusalem

The PLO incorporates a range of generally secular ideologies of different Palestinian movements "committed to the struggle for Palestinian independence and liberation," hence the name of the organization. It's formally an umbrella organization that includes "numerous organizations of the resistance movement, political parties, and popular organizations."[55]From the beginning, the PLO was designed as a government in exile, with a parliament, thePalestine National Council(PNC), chosen by the Palestinian people, as the highest authority in the PLO, and an executive government (EC), elected by the PNC.[55]In practice, however, the organization was rather a hierarchic one with a military-like character, needed for its function as a liberation organization, the "liberation of Palestine".[27][better source needed]

ThePalestinian National Charterdescribes the ideology of the PLO. A constitution, named "Fundamental Law", was adopted, which dictates the inner structure of the organization and the representation of the Palestinian people. A draft Constitution was written in 1963, to rule the PLO until free general elections among all the Palestinians in all the countries in which they resided could be held.[56]The Constitution was revised in 1968.[57]

Institutions

ThePalestinian National Councilhas 740 members and theExecutive Committeeor ExCo has 18 members. ThePalestinian Central Councilor CC or PCC, established by the PNC in 1973, is the second leading body of the PLO.[58]The CC consists of 124 members[59]from the PLO Executive Committee, PNC,PLCand other Palestinian organizations.[60]The EC includes 15 representatives of the PLC.[55]The CC functions as an intermediary body between the PNC and the EC. The CC makes policy decisions when PNC is not in session, acting as a link between the PNC and the PLO-EC. The CC is elected by the PNC and chaired by the PNC speaker.[61]

The PNC serves as the parliament for all Palestinians inside and outside of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem. The PLO is governed internally by its "Fundamental Law", which describes the powers and the relations between the organs of the PLO.[58]

Ahmad Shukeiriwas the firstChairman of the PLO Executive Committeefrom 1964 to 1967.[62]In 1967, he was replaced by Yahia Hammuda.Yasser Arafatoccupied the position from 1969 until his death in 2004.[63]He was succeeded byMahmoud Abbas(also known as Abu Mazen).[64][65]

According to an internal PLO document, the PNC continues to act if elections are not possible. In absence of elections, most of the members of the PNC are appointed by the executive committee. The document further states that "the PNC represents all sectors of the Palestinian community worldwide, including numerous organizations of the resistance movement, political parties, popular organizations and independent personalities and figures from all sectors of life, including intellectuals, religious leaders and businessmen".[58]

Publications

The PLO has published various newspapers and magazines first of which wasFalastinunaand pamphlets.[66]During the late 1970s its publications increased consisting of twenty-nine dailies, eighteen weeklies, thirteen biweeklies, sixty-two monthlies, sixteen quarterlies, and twenty-one annuals.[67]Some of them areFalastin Al ThawraandShu'un Filastiniyya.[67][68]Its official news agency isWafa.[68]

Challenged representation

As of 2015, there have not been elections for many years, neither for the PNC, nor for the EC, the PCC or thePresident of the State of Palestine.The executive committee has formally 18 members, including its chairman, but in past years many vacant seats in the Executive remained empty. Moreover,Hamas,the largest representative of the inhabitants of the Palestinian Territories alongsideFatah,is not represented in the PLO at all. The results of thelast parliamentary elections for the PLC,held in the Territories in 2006, with Hamas as the big winner while not even a member of the PLO, "underlined the clear lack of a popular mandate by the PLO leadership", according toPASSIA.[69]Individual elected members of thePLCrepresenting Hamas, however, are automatically members of the PNC.

The representative status of the PLO has often been challenged in the past.[27]It was for example doubted in 2011 by a group of Palestinian lawyers, jurists and legal scholars, due to lack of elections. They questioned the PLO's legitimacy to alter the status and role of the Organization in respect of their status within the UN. They demanded immediate and direct elections to the Palestine National Council to ″activate representative PLO institutions in order to preserve, consolidate, and strengthen the effective legal representation of the Palestinian people as a whole″, before changing the status within the UN.[70]

PLO versus PA

The 1993–1995Oslo Accordsdeliberately detached the Palestinian population in theOccupied Palestinian Territoriesfrom the PLO and the Palestinians in exile by creating aPalestinian Authority(PA) for the Territories. A separate parliament and government were established.Mahmoud Abbaswas one of the architects of the Oslo Accords.[71][72]

Although many in the PLO opposed the Oslo Agreements, the executive committee and the Central Council approved the Accords. It marked the beginning of the PLO's decline, as the PA came to replace the PLO as the prime Palestinian political institution. Political factions within the PLO that had opposed the Oslo process were marginalized.

The PLO managed to overcome the separation by uniting the power in PLO and PA in one individual,Yasser Arafat.In 2002, Arafat held the functions of Chairman of the PLO/Executive Committee; Chairman ofFatah,the dominating faction within the PLO; as well asPresident of the Palestinian National Authority.He also controlled thePalestinian National Security Forces.[73]

Only during theHamas-led PA Government in 2006–2007 did the PLO resurface. After Hamastook overGaza in 2007, Abbas issued a decree suspending the PLC and some sections of thePalestinian Basic Law,and appointedSalam Fayyadas prime minister.

The PLO remains the official representative of theState of Palestineatthe UN.

Internal politics

On 4 February 1969, Fatah founder, Arafat, was electedChairman of the PLOinCairo.[74][75]Since, Fatah has been the dominant factor within the PLO, which still continues in 2015.

Under pressure from the international community led by Israel and US, and from inside his own party Fatah, Arafat partially transferred some of his strongly centralized power in 2003,[52][73][76]causing strong tensions within the Palestinian leadership. Arafat appointedMahmoud Abbasas prime minister, but this resulted in disputes about the transfer of tasks and responsibilities. Abbas was strongly supported by the US and the international community, because he was supposed to be more willing to give far-reaching concessions to Israel.[73]While Arafat had retained most of his power and a power struggle within Fatah continued, the leadership was criticised for corruption and nepotism.[77][78]

AfterArafat's death,Abbas increasingly gained exclusive powers within both PLO and PA as well as in Fatah, until he had acquired the same power as was previously held by Arafat.[79]Abbas is criticized for his autocratic rule and refusal to share powers and plans with other Palestinians. In the absence of a functioning parliament and Executive, he even began to issue his own laws. Senior representative of Abbas' Fatah faction andformer Fatah ministerof prisoner affairs,Sufian Abu Zaida,complained that Abbas appointed himself as the chief judge and prosecutor, making a mockery of the Palestinian judicial system.[citation needed]There appeared reports of widespread corruption and nepotism within the Palestinian Authority.[79][80]Only Hamas-ruled Gaza has a more or less functioning parliament.[81]

2015 struggle for power

See also:Politics of the Palestinian National Authority

With ade factodefunct parliament and Executive, Mahmoud Abbas increasingly gained exclusive powers within both PLO andPA,as well as inFatah.After the announcement in August 2015 of Abbas' resignation asChairman of the Executive Committeeand of nine other members as well, many Palestinians saw the move as just an attempt to replace some members in the executive committee, or to force a meeting of the PNC and remain in their jobs until the PNC decides whether to accept or to reject their resignations.[82][83]Met with fierce criticism by many Palestinian factions, a session of the PNC, who had to approve the resignations, was postponed indefinitely.[84]

Political status

The Palestine Liberation Organization is recognized by the Arab League as "thesole and legitimaterepresentative of the Palestinian people ",[14][58]and by the United Nations as "the representative of the Palestinian people".[85]

The PLO was designated aterrorist organizationby the United States in 1987,[25][86]but in 1988, a presidential waiver was issued, which permitted contact with the organization.[26]Most of the rest of the world recognized the PLO as the legitimate representatives of the Palestinian people from the mid-1970s onwards (after the PLO's admission to the UN as an observer.)[87]

In 1993, PLO chairmanYasser Arafatrecognized theState of Israelin an official letter to its prime minister,Yitzhak Rabin.In response to Arafat's letter, Israel decided to revise its stance toward the PLO and to recognize the organization as the representative of thePalestinian people.[88][89]This led to the signing of theOslo Accordsin 1993.

Status at the United Nations

Further information:State of Palestine,International recognition of the State of Palestine,List of current permanent representatives to the United Nations § United Nations General Assembly observers,andCategory:Permanent Observers of Palestine to the United Nations

Observer status

The United Nations General Assembly recognized the PLO as the "representative of the Palestinian people" in Resolution 3210 and Resolution 3236, and granted the PLO observer status on 22 November 1974 in Resolution 3237. On 12 January 1976, theUN Security Councilvoted 11–1 with 3 abstentions to allow the Palestine Liberation Organization to participate in a Security Council debate without voting rights, a privilege usually restricted to UN member states. It was admitted as a full member of theAsia groupon 2 April 1986.[90][91][92]

After thePalestinian Declaration of Independencethe PLO's representation was renamed Palestine.[93]On 7 July 1998, this status was extended to allow participation in General Assembly debates, though not in voting.[94]

2011 application for UN state membership

When President Mahmoud Abbassubmitted an application for UN state membership,in September 2011, Palestinian lawyers, jurists and legal scholars expressed their concern that the change of Palestine's status in the UN (since 1988 designated as "Palestine" in place of "Palestine Liberation Organization" ) could have negative implications on the legal position of the Palestinian people. They warned for the risk of fragmentation, where the State of Palestine would represent the people within the UN and the PLO represent the people outside the UN, the latter including the Palestinians in exile, where refugees constitute more than half of the Palestinian people. They were also afraid of the loss of representation of the refugees in the UN.[70]In Resolution 67/19 November 2012, Palestine was at last awarded non-member observer State status, but the General Assembly maintained the status of the PLO.

"Non-member observer state" status

By September 2012, with their application for full membership stalled due to the inability of Security Council members to ' "make a unanimous recommendation", the PLO had decided to pursue an upgrade in status from observer entity tonon-member observer state.On 29 November 2012,Resolution 67/19passed, upgrading Palestine to non-member observer state status in the United Nations.[95][96][97]

Diplomatic representation

Main article:Foreign relations of the State of Palestine
See also:Category:Ambassadors of the State of Palestine

The Palestine Information Office was registered with the Justice Department of the United States as a foreign agent until 1968, when it was closed. It was reopened in 1989 as the Palestine Affairs Center.[98]The PLO Mission office in Washington, DC was opened in 1994 and represented the PLO in the United States. On 20 July 2010, the United States Department of State agreed to upgrade the status of the PLO Mission in the United States to "General Delegation of the PLO".[99]Secretary of StateRex Tillersonin 2017 determined that the PLO Mission broke a US law prohibiting the PLO Mission from attempting to get the International Criminal Court to prosecute Israelis for offences against Palestinians, under penalty of closure.[100]On 10 September 2018, National Security Advisor John Bolton announced the closure of the PLO Mission;[101]Nauert, a U.S. Department of State spokeswoman, cited as the reason Palestine's "push to have the International Criminal Court investigate Israel for possible war crimes."[102]

Peace process

Further information:Palestinian views on the peace process § Yasser Arafat and the PLO

Initially, as a guerrilla organization, the PLO performed actions against Israel in the 1970s and early 1980s, regarded as terroristic activities by Israel and regarded as awar of liberationby the PLO. In 1988, however, the PLO officially endorsed a two-state solution, contingent on terms such as makingEast Jerusalemcapital of the Palestinian state and giving Palestinians theright of returnto land occupied by Palestinians prior to 1948, as well as the right to continue armed struggle until the end of "The Zionist Entity."[clarification needed][citation needed][103]In 1996, the PLO nullified the articles of the PLO's Charter, or parts of it, which called for the destruction of Israel and for armed resistance.[104]

Ten Point Program

Main article:PLO's Ten Point Program

Following the failure of the armies of Egypt and Syria to defeat Israel in October 1973Yom Kippur War,which broke the status quo existing since June 1967Six-Day War,the PLO began formulating a strategic alternative.[105]Now, they intended to establish a "national authority" over every territory they would be able to reconquer. From 1 to 9 June 1974, the Palestine National Council held its 12th meeting in Cairo. On 8 June, theTen Point Programwas adopted. The Program stated:

The Liberation Organization will employ all means, and first and foremost armed struggle, to liberate Palestinian territory and to establish the independent combatant national authority for the people over every part of Palestinian territory that is liberated. This will require further changes being effected in the balance of power in favour of our people and their struggle.[106]

By "every part of Palestinian territory that is liberated" was implicitly meant the West Bank and Gaza Strip, albeit presented as an interim goal.[105]The final goal remained "completing the liberation of all Palestinian territory" and "recover all their national rights and, first and foremost, their rights to return and to self-determination on the whole of the soil of their homeland".[107]AlsoUN Resolution 242was still rejected.[106]

While clinging to armed struggle as the prime means, the PLO no longer excluded peaceful means. Therefore, theTen Point Programwas considered the first attempt by the PLO at peaceful resolution. In October 1974, the Arab League proclaimed the PLO "the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people in any Palestinian territory that is liberated", and also the UN recognized the PLO. From then, the diplomatic road was prepared. On the other hand, the Program was rejected by more radical factions and eventually caused a split in the movement.[105]

First Intifada

Main article:First Intifada

In 1987, theFirst Intifadabroke out in theWest Bankand Gaza Strip. The Intifada caught the PLO by surprise,[108]and the leadership abroad could only indirectly influence the events. A new local leadership emerged, theUnified National Leadership of the Uprising(UNLU), comprising many leading Palestinian factions. AfterKing Husseinof Jordan proclaimed the administrative and legal separation of the West Bank from Jordan in 1988,[109]the Palestine National Council adopted thePalestinian Declaration of IndependenceinAlgiers,proclaiming an independentState of Palestine.The declaration made reference to UN resolutions without explicitly mentioning Security CouncilResolutions 242and338.

A month later, Arafat declared inGenevathat the PLO would support a solution to the conflict based on these Resolutions. Effectively, the PLO recognized Israel's right to exist within pre-1967 borders, with the understanding that the Palestinians would be allowed to set up their own state in the West Bank and Gaza. The United States accepted this clarification by Arafat and began to allow diplomatic contacts with PLO officials. The Proclamation of Independence did not lead to statehood, although over 100 statesrecognisedthe State of Palestine.

Oslo Accords

Main article:Oslo Accords

In 1993, the PLO secretly negotiated theOslo Accordswith Israel.[110]The accords were signed on 20 August 1993,[110]with a subsequent public ceremony in Washington, D.C., on 13 September 1993 with Yasser Arafat andYitzhak Rabin.[111]The Accords granted Palestinians the right to self-government in the Gaza Strip and the city ofJerichoin theWest Bankthrough the creation of thePalestinian Authority.Yasser Arafat was appointed head of the Palestinian Authority and a timetable for elections was laid out. The headquarters of the PLO were moved toRamallahon the West Bank.[2][3]

Wealth controversy

According to a 1993 report by the BritishNational Criminal Intelligence Service,the PLO was "the richest of all terrorist organizations", with $8–$10 billion in assets and an annual income of $1.5–$2 billion from "donations,extortion,payoffs, illegalarms dealing,drug trafficking,money laundering,fraud,etc. "[112]Estimates of the Palestine Liberation Organization's alleged hidden assets vary wildly and only Arafat had the whole picture. A former PLO finance minister said it was $3 billion to $5 billion.[113]

Membership

Present members include

Former member groups of the PLO include

Executive Committee chairmen

Name Image Term
Ahmad Shukeiri 2 June 1964 – 24 December 1967
Yahya Hammuda 24 December 1967 – 2 February 1969
Yasser Arafat 4 February 1969 – 11 November 2004
Mahmoud Abbas (acting [for Arafat] until 11 November 2004)

29 October 2004 – present

See also

References

  1. ^"Arabs Create Organization For Recovery of Palestine".The New York Times.Reuters. 29 May 1964.The creation of Palestine liberation organization was announced today...
  2. ^abSawafta, Ali (30 November 2010)."In West Bank, Ramallah looks ever more like capital".Reuters.
  3. ^abToameh, Khaled Abu (24 November 2010)."Abbas: Referendum law is 'obstacle to peace'".Jerusalem Post.Retrieved27 October2023.
  4. ^Szekely, Ora (26 November 2016).The Politics of Militant Group Survival in the Middle East: Resources, Relationships, and Resistance.Springer. p. 51.ISBN978-3-319-40141-6.
  5. ^Spyer, Jonathan (1 January 2011).The Transforming Fire: The Rise of the Israel-Islamist Conflict.A&C Black. p. 23.ISBN978-1-4411-6663-0.
  6. ^"Quién fue Yasser Arafat?".17 March 2019.
  7. ^Grafton, David D. (16 March 2009).Piety, Politics, and Power: Lutherans Encountering Islam in the Middle East.Wipf and Stock Publishers. p. 222.ISBN978-1-63087-718-7.
  8. ^"Rewriting history, Abbas calls Israel a 'colonial project' unrelated to Judaism".The Times of Israel.
  9. ^ab"Jailed PFLP Leader: Only a One-state Solution Is Possible".Haaretz.Retrieved8 November2023.
  10. ^abRubenberg, Cheryl (2003).The Palestinians: In Search of a Just Peace.Lynne Rienner Publishers. p. 41.ISBN978-1-58826-225-7.
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  12. ^"Palestine".National Anthems.
  13. ^Hilal, Jamil; Hammami, Rema (13 June 2001)."An Uprising at a Crossroads".Middle East Report.Retrieved26 July2024.the higher and more encompassing power of the PLO, as the representative of all Palestinians, not just Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, whom the institutions of the PA represent.
  14. ^abAl-Madfai, Madiha Rashid (1993).Jordan, the United States and the Middle East Peace Process, 1974–1991.Cambridge Middle East Library, Cambridge University Press. p. 21.ISBN978-0-521-41523-1.On 28 October 1974, the seventh Arab summit conference held in Rabat designated the PLO as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people and reaffirmed their right to establish an independent state of urgency.
  15. ^Geldenhuys, Deon (1990).Isolated states: a comparative analysis.Cambridge University Press. p.155.ISBN978-0-521-40268-2.The organisation has also been recognized as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people by well over 100 states...
  16. ^Murphy, Kim (10 September 1993)."Israel and PLO, in Historic Bid for Peace, Agree to Mutual Recognition".The Los Angeles Times.
  17. ^Mustafa, Rami (29 October 2018).المجلس المركزي الفلسطيني يعلن تعليق الاعتراف بدولة إسرائيل[The Palestinian Central Council announces the suspension of recognition of the State of Israel].El Watan.
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  19. ^United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3210. "Invites the Palestine Liberation Organization, the representative of the Palestinian people, to participate in the deliberations of the General Assembly on the question of Palestine in plenary meetings."
  20. ^United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3236. "Having heard the statement of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the representative of the Palestinian people,..."
  21. ^United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3237
  22. ^Beyer, Lisa (12 November 2004)."Arafat: A Life in Retrospect".Time.Archived fromthe originalon 8 October 2022.Retrieved8 March2017.
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  31. ^Seale 1992, 98.
  32. ^Smith, op. cit., p. 357
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  34. ^Shaul Mishal, Ranan D. Kuperman, David Boas (2001).Investment in Peace: Politics of Economic Cooperation Between Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinian Authority.Sussex Academic Press,ISBN978-1-902210-88-9p 64
  35. ^Helena Cobban(1984),The Palestinian Liberation Organisation: People, Power and Politics,Cambridge University Press,p. 3.
  36. ^Rashid Khalidi(2006),The Iron Cage: The Story of the Struffle for Palestinian Statehood,Beacon Press(ISBN978-0-8070-0308-4), p. 180.
  37. ^Khalidi (2006),The Iron Cage,p. 164.
  38. ^Murphy, Kim (10 September 1993)."Israel and PLO, in Historic Bid for Peace, Agree to Mutual Recognition".The Los Angeles Times.
  39. ^Weiser, Benjamin (12 August 1997)."A Settlement With P.L.O. Over Terror On a Cruise".The New York Times.
  40. ^Rapoport, Michael (12 August 1997)."PLO Settles Klinghoffer Suit Over Achille Lauro Murder".Wall Street Journal– via wsj.
  41. ^Weiser, Benjamin (23 February 2015)."Palestinian Groups Are Found Liable at Manhattan Terror Trial".The New York Times.Retrieved8 March2017.
  42. ^Court Throws Out $655.5 Million Terrorism Verdict Against Palestinian Groups,B. Weiser, 31 August 2016, The New York Times
  43. ^abcdefPolitical Handbook of the World 2012.SAGE Publications.p. 1634.ISBN9781608719952.
  44. ^abcThe Palestinian National Charter: Resolutions of the Palestine National Council 1–17 July 1968,on Avalon
  45. ^Davis, Rochelle; Kirk, Mimi; Piterberg, Gabriel, eds. (2013).Palestine and the Palestinians in the 21st century.Bloomington: Indiana University Press. p. 65.ISBN978-0-253-01080-3.
  46. ^abcChomsky, Noam(2010).The Chomsky Reader.Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.pp. 395–396.
  47. ^abcLetter From President Yasser Arafat to President Clinton,Miftah.org, 13 January 1998
  48. ^Palestinian Christians in the Holy Land and the DiasporaArchived11 August 2015 at theWayback Machine.Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, 21 October 2014
  49. ^Palestinian Christians in the Holy Land.Institute for Middle East Understanding, 17 December 2012
  50. ^2003 Amended Basic Law
    Art. 1: ″Palestine is part of the larger Arab world, and the Palestinian people are part of the Arab nation.″; Art. 4: ″Islam is the official religion in Palestine. Respect for the sanctity of all other divine religions shall be maintained; The principles of Islamic Shari'a shall be a principal source of legislation.; Arabic shall be the official language.″
  51. ^The revision of the third draft of the constitution of the State of Palestine(Art. 5 and 7). 15 May 2003
  52. ^abDraft Palestine Constitution.MidEastWeb, 25 March 2003
  53. ^The draft of the Palestinian Constitution.Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR), February 2001
  54. ^Palestinian Constitution.Palestinian National Authority, April 2003
  55. ^abcPalestine Liberation Organization.Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine to the United Nations
  56. ^The Draft Constitution of the Palestine Liberation Organization (1963)Archived26 December 2013 at theWayback MachineSee Article 4. The Jerusalem Fund
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  58. ^abcdMemo: Distinction between PLO, PA, PNC, PLC.Al Jazeera, The Palestine Papers, 5 February 2006.Available on.Internal PLO document from Mazen Masri, legal researcher, to the PLO Negotiations Support Unit. See also note 4 in the pdf.
  59. ^See the 1996 list of members:Members of the PLO Central Council as of 1996.At middleeastreference.org.uk
  60. ^"PLO Central Council Members"(PDF).Passia.org.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 4 March 2016.Retrieved8 March2017.
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  62. ^Pineschi (1997).The Palestine Yearbook of International Law 1987–1988.Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.ISBN978-90-411-0341-3.
  63. ^Tom Lansford,Political Handbook of the World 2014,p. 1634. CQ Press, March 2014
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  68. ^abRashid Hamid (Summer 1975). "What is the PLO?".Journal of Palestine Studies.4(4): 107.doi:10.2307/2535603.JSTOR2535603.
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  71. ^Profile: Mahmoud Abbas.BBC, 5 November 2009
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  82. ^Purported Abbas resignation from PLO Executive Committee ridiculed as ′silly show′.Khaled Abu Toameh, Jerusalem Post, 23 August 2015
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  100. ^"US may shut down Palestinians' DC office".Ynet.Associated Press. 18 November 2017.Retrieved10 September2018.Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has determined that the Palestinians ran afoul of an obscure provision in a US law that says the Palestine Liberation Organization's mission must close if the Palestinians try to get the International Criminal Court to prosecute Israelis for crimes against Palestinians. A State Department official said that in September, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas crossed that line by calling on the ICC to investigate and prosecute Israelis.
  101. ^Michael R. Gordon (10 September 2018)."Trump Administration to Close Palestine Liberation Organization Office in Washington".The Wall Street Journal.Retrieved10 September2018.
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Bibliography

  • Hajjar, Lisa (2005).Courting conflict: the Israeli military court system in the West Bank and Gaza(Illustrated ed.). University of California Press.ISBN978-0-520-24194-7.
  • Yezid Sayigh, "Struggle Within, Struggle Without: the Transformation of PLO politics since 1982",International Affairsvol. 65, no. 2 (spring 1989) pages 247–271.
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