History Of Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO)

The Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) came into place in 1964 in Jerusalem. The creation of the organization resulted from many factors, including the increase in salience of the Palestine question in inter-Arab politics; the rising friction between the Arab states and Israel over water diversion projects and many other underlying issues. The main purpose for the creation of this organization is for Palestine to gain independence. The original PLO charter issued in May 1964 stated that there are boundaries of Palestine that existed during the presence of the British assignment. This required that it became an integral regional unit. The charter also wanted to end the existence of Zionism.

The PLO grew quickly and became the arena of national activity. It geared towards achieving independence of political action from the Arabs. Their main goal was also to liberate Palestinians and secure the release of approximately 700,000 Palestinians who were refugees since 1948. War erupted in June 1967 with attendant shattering the prestige of Arab regimes. Independent Palestinian political formations seized control of PLO with more radical programs than those of the founders.

These factions have been on the limelight since their inception with Fatah or Palestinian National Liberation Movement being the largest faction within PLO by far. Other factions existed that played very important roles in the development of PLO. The lawyer Aḥmad Shuqayrī became the PLO’s first leader and was a close ally of Gamal Abdel Nasser, the Egyptian president. This meant that Egypt influence PLO in its early years (Smith 348).

In 1969, the organization showed its emerging independence by choosing Fatah’s leader, Yasser Arafat to be the chairman of Executive Committee of the PLO. Arafat held this position until when he died in November 2004. Mahmoud Abbas took over the Chairmanship position after his death. Proposed amendments on the PLO charter became enacted in 1968; the amendments reflected the ideology of militant groups like Fatah, which championed the Palestinian-initiated “armed struggle” against Israel as the main tool to use in securing freedom for Palestinians. The ideology differed with an original approach that advocated Arab states play a key role in dealing with Israel. An agreement signed in Cairo in 1969 gave the refugees the right to work, engage in armed struggle and participate in self-governing committees. The Palestinian Resistance Movement took over the role of managing daily operations of refugee camps, offering security and providing a variety of health, social and educational services to the refugees. In May 1970, another faction crossed into the Israelis territory and killed people in the Avivim school bus; this became the Avivim school bus massacre. This became the worst attack on Israelis by PLO in the year 1970. Israelis planes major retaliatory attacks.

The Arab states being champions for the Palestinians to secure freedom suffered a major setback after resounding defeat of Jordan, Syria and Egypt in the war that lasted for six days in 1967. Palestinians made radical changes as a result of this war, which destroyed Nasser’s ability by a greater extent. The battle of Karameh in March of 1968 opened the way for Yasser Arafat to take over the leadership position. Arafat advocated guerilla warfare and successfully made the PLO to become a have independent and be led by Fedayeen organizations. A meeting of Palestinian National Congress in 1969 gave Fatah the leadership of all executive groups of the PLO. The PLO fought with Israel for a close to two years between 1969 and 1970, with enormous support from Jordan. PLO began attacking the moshavim and kibbutzim. Fedayeen, on the other hand, launched many attacks on the Israeli forces. The Israelis attacked PLO camps in Jordan and withdrawing only under the Jordanian military pressure. This war culminated in removal of PLO from Jordan to Lebanon. “The Fedayeen defeated in Jordan in September 1970” (Harkabi 131).

Immediately PLO leadership and their Fatah brigade got expelled from Jordan for forming a revolt, they went to Lebanon where the cross-border wars increased. Demographic tensions increased as a result of the Lebanese Pact which caused the Lebanese Civil War of 1975-1990. In 1978, Israelis invaded Lebanon and pushed the PLO towards the north of Litani River, but PLO continued their fight against Israel. Israel invaded Lebanon again in 1982 and successfully evicted PLO outside Lebanon. In 1985, Hezbollah, a Lebanese Shia resistance movement being backed by Iran, initiated an armed struggle to evict the Israelis from occupying Lebanese territory. The warring factions agreed to disarm when the Lebanese civil war ended. However, Hezbollah and SLA did not heed the call and continued possessing their armed weapons. “Israelis retaliation actually benefited the Fedayeen” (Baracskay 102). The fight with Hezbollah weakened Israeli resolve that resulted in the collapse of the SLA.

In 1993, the PLO and Israel exchanged letters of recognition, which culminated to both signing a Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements (DOP) that had a common name called Oslo Accords. PLO accepted the conditions in the Oslo Accords which it had rejected previously, which included a five year interim period for the start of an unstated final status arrangement. “Late in August 1993, the world learned the secret negotiations” (Tessler 753). The Israeli also withdrew in 2000 to their side that had UN designation. Israelis continued control of Shebaa farms territory, made Hezbollah launch cross border attacks continually over the next six years. Hezbollah finally sought freedom for the Lebanese people being held in Israeli prisons. They also used the tactic to capture the Israeli soldiers with the condition that they release prisoners. In 2004, Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers which ignited the 2006 Lebanon war. The ceasefire prompted the disarmament of Hezbollah and all the remaining armed groups of the PLO. This resulted in the control of the southern border militarily by Lebanon for the first time in a period four decades. The suspicions among the warring groups got suspended in September 2006. As at 2012, Hezbollah had not been disarmed. Israel declared its willingness to hold peace talks with Lebanon on 18th June 2008.

It can be concluded that politics and fundamentalist Islam played a key role in PLO. Political Islam posits an overall view that deals with selective integration of modernity. Fundamental Islam, on the other hand, advocated for the return of ontological form of Islam that opposes modernity. Fundamental Islam, therefore, supported the emergence of Jihadist group such as Al Qaeda and Egyptian Islamic Jihad. The warring groups are majorly fighting for the control of Lebanon. Palestinians are fighting for their independence from the Israelis, while the Israelis are not ready to let go the control of Lebanon, which has prolonged the war.

Works Cited

Baracskay, Daniel. The Palestine Liberation Organization: Terrorism and Prospects for Peace in the Holy Land. Santa Barbara, Calif: Praeger, 2011. Print.

HYPERLINK “http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=UIJDreLroswC&pg=PA102&dq=palestine+liberation+organization+israel&hl=en&sa=X&ei=QMmnUpWbMoWk0QXM1oH4CQ&ved=0CCwQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=palestine%20liberation%20organization%20israel&f=false” http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=UIJDreLroswC&pg=PA102&dq=palestine+liberation+organization+israel&hl=en&sa=X&ei=QMmnUpWbMoWk0QXM1oH4CQ&ved=0CCwQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=palestine%20liberation%20organization%20israel&f=false

Harkabi, Yehoshafat. Palestinians and Israel. New Brunswick, N.J: Transaction Books, 1974. Print.

HYPERLINK “http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=dtHRdvtCCxwC&pg=PA130&dq=palestine+liberation+organization+israel&hl=en&sa=X&ei=QMmnUpWbMoWk0QXM1oH4CQ&ved=0CEEQ6AEwBA” l “v=onepage&q=palestine%20liberation%20organization%20israel&f=false” http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=dtHRdvtCCxwC&pg=PA130&dq=palestine+liberation+organization+israel&hl=en&sa=X&ei=QMmnUpWbMoWk0QXM1oH4CQ&ved=0CEEQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=palestine%20liberation%20organization%20israel&f=false

Smith, Charles D. Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict: A History with Documents. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013. Print.

HYPERLINK “http://www.worldcat.org/title/palestine-and-the-arab-israeli-conflict-a-history-with-documents/oclc/819520185” http://www.worldcat.org/title/palestine-and-the-arab-israeli-conflict-a-history-with-documents/oclc/819520185

Tessler, Mark A. A History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Bloomington: Indiana Univ. Press, 1994. Print.

HYPERLINK “http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=3kbU4BIAcrQC&pg=PA753&dq=palestine+liberation+organization+israel&hl=en&sa=X&ei=QMmnUpWbMoWk0QXM1oH4CQ&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAQ” l “v=onepage&q=palestine%20liberation%20organization%20israel&f=false” http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=3kbU4BIAcrQC&pg=PA753&dq=palestine+liberation+organization+israel&hl=en&sa=X&ei=QMmnUpWbMoWk0QXM1oH4CQ&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=palestine%20liberation%20organization%20israel&f=false