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{{Short description|Palestinian Marxist–Leninist organization}}
{{Distinguish2|the Syria-based ]}}
{{redirect|PFLP|other meanings|PFLP (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2014}}
{{pp-extended|small=yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2023}}
{{Infobox political party {{Infobox political party
| name = Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
|country = Palestine
| native_name = الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير فلسطين
|name_english = Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
| native_name_lang = ar
|name_native = <big>''الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير فلسطين''</big>
| logo = Logo of PFLP.png
|colorcode = Red
| caption =
|party_logo = ]
|leader1_title = General Secretary | leader1_title = General Secretary
|leader1_name = ] | leader1_name = ]<br><small>(imprisoned)</small>
|foundation = {{start date|1967}} | foundation = {{start date and age|1967}}
|founder = ] | founder = ]
| ideology = {{ubl|class=nowrap
|ideology =]<ref> ], 18 November 2014</ref><br>]<br>]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ibtimes.com/jerusalem-synagogue-attack-motivation-was-not-religion-revenge-1948-massacre-says-1725894|title=Jerusalem Synagogue Attack: Motivation Was Not Religion But Revenge For 1948 Massacre, Says PFLP|date=19 November 2014|work=International Business Times}}</ref><br>]<ref>http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/printgroupProfile.asp?grpid=6390</ref><br>]<br> ]<ref>"." Terrorist Group Symbols Database. Anti-Defamation League.</ref><ref>"" (1969). From Walter Laqueur and Barry Rubin, eds., ''The Israel-Arab Reader'' (New York: Penguin Books, 2001).</ref><ref>"." ], ]</ref><br>]<ref>https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Terrorism/pflp.html</ref>
| ]
|position = ]
| ]
|headquarters =
| ]
|wing1_title = Paramilitary wing
| ]
|wing1 = ]
| ]
|national = ]
| ]
|international = ]
| ]
|website =
| ]
|seats1_title = ]
| ]<ref> ], 18 November 2014</ref>
|seats1 = {{Composition bar|3|132|hex=red}}
| ]<ref name="One-state solution"/>
|flag = ]
}} }}
| position = ]
The '''Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine''' ('''PFLP''') (]: الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير فلسطين, ''al-Jabhah al-Sha`biyyah li-Taḥrīr Filasṭīn'') is a secular Palestinian ] and ] organization founded in 1967 by ]. It has consistently been the second-largest of the groups forming the ] (PLO), the largest being ]. PFLP is described as a ] organization by the United States,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/j/ct/rls/other/des/123085.htm|title=Foreign Terrorist Organizations|work=U.S. Department of State}}</ref> Canada,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/ntnl-scrt/cntr-trrrsm/lstd-ntts/crrnt-lstd-ntts-eng.aspx#2042|title=About the listing process|publisher=|accessdate=17 July 2015}}</ref> Australia,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-legal-threatens-to-sue-australian-charity-for-funding-terror-group/|title=Israeli legal group threatens to sue Australian charity for funding terror group|work=]|date=October 14, 2012|accessdate=March 23, 2016}}</ref> and the European Union.<ref>http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2012:165:0072:0074:EN:PDF</ref> Other countries, such as India, China, Russia and the United Kingdom do not designate the PFLP as a terrorist organisation.
| headquarters = ], Syria
| wing1_title = Paramilitary wing
| wing1 = ]
| national = ]<br />]
| international = ] (defunct)<br>]
| seats1_title = ]
| seats1 = {{Composition bar|3|132|hex={{party color|Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine}}}}
| flag = Flag of PFLP.svg
| colorcode = {{party color|Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine}}
| website = {{website|https://www.pflp.ps/}}
| country = Palestine
| leader2_title = Deputy General Secretary
| leader2_name = ]
}}

The '''Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine''' ('''PFLP'''; {{langx|ar|الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير فلسطين|translit=al-Jabha ash-Shaʿbīyya li-Taḥrīr Filasṭīn}})<ref>{{cite web |title=Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine {{!}} Palestinian political organization {{!}} Resistance, Activism, Liberation {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Popular-Front-for-the-Liberation-of-Palestine |website=www.britannica.com |access-date=22 January 2024 |language=en |date=17 January 2024}}</ref> is a secular Palestinian ] and ] organization founded in 1967 by ]. It has consistently been the second-largest of the groups forming the ] (PLO), the largest being ].


The PFLP has generally taken a hard line on Palestinian national aspirations, opposing the more moderate stance of Fatah. It does not recognize Israel and promotes a ] to the ]. The military wing of the PFLP is called the ].
From its foundation the PFLP sought both superpower and regional patrons and early developed ties with the People's Republic of China, the ] and, at various times, with regional powers such as Syria, ], Libya and Iraq, as well as left-wing groups around the world, including the ], ] and the ]. When that support diminished, or stopped, in the late 1980s and 1990s, the PFLP sought new allies and developed contacts with ] groups linked to Iran, despite the PFLP's strong adherence to secularism and ]. The relationship between the PFLP and the Islamic Republic of Iran has fluctuated – it strengthened as a result of ] moving away from Iran due to differing positions on the ]. Iran rewarded the PFLP for its pro-Assad stance with an increase in financial and military assistance.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/09/iran-pflp-gaza-palestine-syria.html##ixzz3GuZeTOzl|title=Iran Increases Aid to PFLP Thanks to Syria Stance - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East|work=Al-Monitor|accessdate=17 July 2015}}</ref>


The PFLP pioneered armed ] in the late 1960s and early 1970s.<ref>{{cite news |date=26 January 2008 |title=Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1604540.stm |access-date=4 February 2012 |newspaper=BBC News}}</ref> More recently, the group has participated in the ] (2023–present) alongside ] and other ].<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=2023-11-07 |title=Not only Hamas: eight factions at war with Israel in Gaza |url=https://www.newsweek.com/not-only-hamas-eight-factions-war-israel-gaza-1841292 |access-date=2024-09-22 |website=Newsweek |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=The Order of Battle of Hamas' Izz al Din al Qassem Brigades, Part 1: North and Central Gaza |url=https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/order-battle-hamas%E2%80%99-izz-al-din-al-qassem-brigades-part-1-north-and-central-gaza |access-date=2024-09-22 |website=Institute for the Study of War |language=en}}</ref> It has been designated a ] by the ],<ref>{{cite web |title=Foreign Terrorist Organizations |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/ct/rls/other/des/123085.htm |work=U.S. Department of State (2009-2017.state.gov)}}</ref> ],<ref name="Japan_ban">{{Cite web |title=MOFA: Implementation of the Measures including the Freezing of Assets against Terrorists and the Like |url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/announce/2002/7/0705.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130406134416/http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/announce/2002/7/0705.html |archive-date=6 April 2013 |access-date=21 November 2013 |website=www.mofa.go.jp}}</ref> ],<ref>{{cite web |title=About the listing process |url=http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/ntnl-scrt/cntr-trrrsm/lstd-ntts/crrnt-lstd-ntts-eng.aspx#2042 |access-date=17 July 2015 |website=www.publicsafety.gc.ca}}</ref> and the ].<ref>{{cite web |title=EUR-Lex – Official Journal of the European Union |url=http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2012:165:0072:0074:EN:PDF |website=lex.europa.eu}}</ref>
The PFLP has generally taken a hard line on Palestinian national aspirations, opposing the more moderate stance of Fatah. It opposes negotiations with the ], and favours a ] to the ]. The military wing of the PFLP is called the ]. The PFLP is well known for pioneering armed ]s in the late '60s and early '70s.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1604540.stm|title=Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine|date=26 January 2008|newspaper=BBC News|accessdate=4 February 2012}}</ref> According to Politburo member and former aircraft hijacker ], the PFLP does not see suicide bombing as a form of resistance to occupation or a strategic action or policy and no longer carries out such attacks.


], who was sentenced in 2006 to 30 years in an Israeli prison, has served as General Secretary of the PFLP since 2001. {{As of|2015}}, the PFLP boycotts participation in the ]<ref name="middleeasteye">{{cite news|last1= Ibrahim|first1= Arwa|title= PROFILE: The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine|url= http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/profile-popular-front-liberation-palestine-29954131 |work= ] |date= 13 February 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title= Bringing the PFLP back into PLO fold? |url= http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=319959 |work=]|date= 2 October 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title= Profile: Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)|url= https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-30099510|work= ]|date= 18 November 2014}}</ref> and the ].<ref name="reuters">{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-palestinians-plo/palestinian-forum-convenes-after-22-years-beset-by-division-idUSKBN1I1101 |title=Palestinian forum convenes after 22 years, beset by division |first=Ali|last=Sawafta |website=reuters.com |date=30 April 2018 }}</ref>
Currently the PFLP is boycotting participation in the executive committee of the PLO.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pflp.ps/english/?q=pflp-suspends-its-participation-plo-executive-comm|title=Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine|publisher=PFLP|accessdate=8 May 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/en/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s72h4RO64meoGITXWxOg9fFzkVl1g3rMs%2bYtvaviVrDhZoNmUA71V1CnklVVwvjgVc3NAeE7owkczRyYmYggDXAoOtbGn4cTC6fx7UN7hUgTE%3d|title=Hamas praises PFLP decision to freeze PLO membership|date=27 September 2010|publisher=The Palestinian Information Center|accessdate=4 February 2012}}</ref> It considers both the Fatah-led government in the ] and the ] government in the ] illegal due to the lack of new elections to the ] since 2006.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90777/90854/7242501.html|title=Fatah slams Hamas' intention to reshuffle its deposed government|date=26 December 2010|newspaper=People's Daily Online|accessdate=4 February 2012}}</ref>


==History== ==History==
{{refimprove section|date=January 2013}}


===Arab Nationalist Movement===
===Origins of the Palestine army===
], a Palestinian Christian, was PFLP's Secretary General at its beginning. He had been influenced by the ideas of ] and ], Arab nationalists of the 1940s and 1950s]]
The PFLP grew out of the ''Harakat al-Qawmiyyin al-Arab,'' or ] (ANM), founded in 1953 by Dr. ], a Palestinian Christian, from ].


In 1948, 19-year-old Habash, a medical student, went to his home town of Lydda during the ] to help his family. While he was there, the ] attacked the city and as a result most of its civilian population was forced to leave. They marched for three days without food or water until they reached the ] armies' front lines. The PFLP grew out of the ''Harakat al-Qawmiyyin al-Arab'', or ] (ANM), founded in 1953 by ], a Palestinian Christian from ]. In 1948, 19-year-old Habash, a medical student, went to his home town of Lydda during the ] to help his family. While he was there, the ] attacked the city and forced most of its civilian population to leave in what became known as the ]. They marched for three days without food or water until they reached the ] armies' front lines, leading to the death of his sister. Habash finished his medical education in ] at the ], graduating in 1951.<ref name="Khazziha">Kazziha, Walid, ''Revolutionary Transformation in the Arab World: Habash and his Comrades from Nationalism to Marxism''. p. 17–18</ref>


In an interview with US journalist ], Habash argued for viewing "the liberation of Palestine as something not to be isolated from events in the rest of the Arab world" and identified "the main reason for defeat" as triumph of "the scientific society of Israel" over "our own backwardness in the Arab world"; because of this, he "called for the total rebuilding of Arab society into a twentieth-century society" and a "scientific and technical renaissance in the Arab world".<ref name="GreenMarchBlackSeptember">{{cite book |last=Cooley|first=John K.|author-link=John K. Cooley |title=Green March Black September: The Story of the Palestinian Arabs |year=1973 |publisher=Frank Cass & Co,. Ltd. |location=London |isbn=0-7146-2987-1|page=|url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/greenmarchblacks00john/page/135}}</ref> The ANM was founded in this nationalist spirit. " held the '] view' of the ']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."<ref name="GreenMarchBlackSeptember"/>
] — Secretary General of the PFLP at its beginning – he had been influenced by the ideas of ] and ], Arab nationalists of the 1940s and 1950s]]


The ANM formed underground branches in several Arab countries, including ], ] and ], then still under British rule. It adopted ] and ] economic ideas, and pushed for armed struggle. In collaboration with the ], the ANM established ''Abtal al-Audah'' (Heroes of the Return) as a ] group in 1966.
Habash finished his medical education in ] at the ], graduating in 1951.<ref name="Khazziha">Kazziha, Walid, ''Revolutionary Transformation in the Arab World: Habash and his Comrades from Nationalism to Marxism''. p. 17–18</ref>

In an interview with US journalist ], Habash identified the Arab defeat by the Zionists 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."<ref name="GreenMarchBlackSeptember">{{cite book|last=Cooley|first=John K.|authorlink=John K. Cooley|title=Green March Black September: The Story of the Palestinian Arabs|year=1973|publisher=Frank Cass & Co,. Ltd.|location=London|isbn=0-7146-2987-1|page=135}}</ref>

The ANM was founded in this nationalist spirit. " held the '] view' of the ']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."<ref name="GreenMarchBlackSeptember"/>


===Formation of the PFLP=== ===Formation of the PFLP===
{{More citations needed section|date=September 2024}}
The ANM formed underground branches in several Arab countries, including ], ] and ], then still under British rule. It adopted ] and ] economic ideas, and pushed for armed struggle. In collaboration with the ], the ANM established ''Abtal al-Audah'', Heroes of the Return, as a ] group in 1966. After the ] of June 1967, this group merged in August with two other groups, Youth for Revenge and ]'s Syrian-backed ], to form the PFLP, with Habash as leader.
After the ] of June 1967, ANM merged in August with two other groups, Youth for Revenge and ]'s Syrian-backed ], to form the PFLP, with Habash as leader.{{citation needed | date = December 2023}} Three other independent groups, namely Heroes of the Return, the National Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and the Independent Palestine Liberation Front, also met with Habash to form the PFLP.<ref name=Alexander-pp-33/>


By early 1968, the PFLP had trained between one and three thousand ]. It had the financial backing of ], and was headquartered there, and one of its training camps was based in ], ]. In 1969, the PFLP declared itself a ] organization, but it has remained faithful to ], seeing the Palestinian struggle as part of a wider uprising against Western ], which also aims to unite the ] by overthrowing "]" regimes. It published a newspaper, '']'' (The Target, or Goal), which was edited by ]. By early 1968, the PFLP had trained between one and three thousand ]. It had the financial backing of ], and was headquartered there, and one of its training camps was based in ], ]. In 1969, the PFLP declared itself a ] organization, but it has remained faithful to ], seeing the Palestinian struggle as part of a wider uprising against Western ], which also aims to unite the ] by overthrowing "]" regimes. It published a magazine, '']'' (The Target, or Goal), which was edited by ].


===Operations=== ===Operations===
The PFLP gained notoriety in the late 1960s and early 1970s for a series of armed attacks and ]s, including on non-Israeli targets. Their ] also claimed responsibility for several suicide attacks during the ]. See ] below. The PFLP gained notoriety in the late 1960s and early 1970s for a series of armed attacks and ]s, including on non-Israeli targets. ] also claimed responsibility for several suicide attacks during the ]. See ] below.


===Breakaway organizations=== ===Breakaway organizations===
] ]
In 1967, ] (PPSF) broke away from the PFLP. In 1967, ] (PPSF) broke away from the PFLP.


Line 65: Line 79:
In 1972, the ] was formed following a split in PFLP. In 1972, the ] was formed following a split in PFLP.


The PFLP had a troubled relationship with George Habash's one-time deputy, ], 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.<ref>http://www.bukovsky-archives.net/pdfs/terr-wd/0912_plo75d-Eng-Stroilov.pdf</ref> The PFLP had a troubled relationship with George Habash's one-time deputy, ], 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.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.bukovsky-archives.net/pdfs/terr-wd/0912_plo75d-Eng-Stroilov.pdf |title=Welcome bukovsky-archives.net - Hostmonster.com |website=www.bukovsky-archives.net}}</ref>


===PLO membership=== ===PLO membership===
The PFLP joined the ] (PLO), the ] of the Palestinian national movement, in 1968, becoming the second-largest faction after ]'s ]. In 1974, it withdrew from the organization's executive committee (but not from the PLO) to join the ] following the creation of the ], accusing the PLO of abandoning the goal of destroying Israel outright in favor of a ], which was opposed by the PFLP leadership. It rejoined the executive committee in 1981. The PFLP joined the ] (PLO), the ] of the Palestinian national movement, in 1968, becoming the second-largest faction after ]'s ].<ref name=Alexander-pp-33>{{cite book | author-last = Alexander | author-first = Yonah | publication-date = 1 January 2003 | section = Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine | title = Palestinian Secular Terrorism: Profiles of Fatah, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command, and Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine | url = https://brill.com/display/book/9789004479500/B9789004479500_s004.xml | publication-place = ] | publisher = Transnational Publishers | pages = 33–39 | doi = 10.1163/9789004479500_004 | isbn = 9789004479500}}</ref> In 1974, it withdrew from the ] (but not from the PLO) to join the ] following the creation of the ], accusing the PLO of abandoning the goal of destroying Israel outright in favor of a ], which was opposed by the PFLP leadership.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Parkinson |first1=Sarah E. |title=Beyond the Lines: Social Networks and Palestinian Militant Organizations in Wartime Lebanon |date=2023 |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=978-1-5017-6630-5 |url=https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/62032 |page=40 |hdl=20.500.12657/62032 |language=en}}</ref> It rejoined the executive committee in 1981.{{sfn|Parkinson|2023|pp=47–48}}

In December 1993 PFLP withdrew from the PLO and became one of the ten founding members of the Damascus-based ], eight of which had been members of the PLO, which was opposed to the Oslo Accords process. PFLP withdrew from APF in 1998. Currently, the PFLP is boycotting participation in the PLO Executive Committee<ref name=middleeasteye/> and the ].<ref name=reuters/>

In December 2009, around 70,000 supporters demonstrated in Gaza to celebrate the PFLP's 42nd anniversary.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2010/989/re62.htm|title=Revolutionary roses|newspaper=Al Ahram|date=17 March 2010|access-date=8 May 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120124192621/http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2010/989/re62.htm|archive-date=24 January 2012}}</ref>


===After the Oslo Accords=== ===After the Oslo Accords===
After the eruption of the ] and the subsequent ] the PFLP had difficulty establishing itself in the ] and ]. At that time (1993–96) ] enjoyed rapidly rising popularity in the wake of their successful strategy of ]s devised by ] ("the Engineer"). The ] together with the rise of ]—and particularly the increased popularity of the Islamist groups Hamas and ]—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 ]. After the occurrence of the ] and the subsequent ] the PFLP had difficulty establishing itself in the ] and ]. At that time (1993–96) the popularity of ] was rapidly increasing in the wake of{{Colloquialism|date=May 2021}}<!-- "in the wake of" → "due to", if the increasing popularity was as a result of the suicide bombings. --> their successful strategy of ]s devised by ] ("the Engineer"). The ] together with the rise of ]—and particularly the increased popularity of the Islamist groups Hamas and ]—disoriented many left activists who had looked towards the Soviet Union, and has marginalized 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 organization's legislative body, the ].


The PFLP developed contacts at this time with Islamic fundamentalist groups linked to ]both Palestinian Hamas, and the Lebanon-based ] – a detour from its avowedly Marxist orientation. The PLO's agreement with Israel in September 1993, and negotiations which followed, further isolated it from the umbrella organization and led it to conclude a formal alliance with the Iranian backed groups.<ref>The PFLP's Changing Role in the Middle East, Harold Cubert, 1997, p.xiii</ref> The PFLP developed contacts at this time with Islamic fundamentalist groups linked to ]{{snd}}both Palestinian Hamas, and the Lebanon-based ]. The PLO's agreement with Israel in September 1993, and negotiations which followed, further isolated it from the umbrella organization and led it to conclude a formal alliance with the Iranian backed groups.<ref>''The PFLP's Changing Role in the Middle East'', Harold Cubert, 1997, p.xiii</ref>


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 ], including the ], the ] of Gaza. 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.{{citation needed|date=April 2023}} The PFLP has therefore formed alliances with other leftist groups formed within the ], including the ] and the ] of Gaza.{{citation needed|date=April 2023}}


In 1990, the PFLP transformed its ] branch into a separate ], the ]. From its foundation, the PFLP sought ] patrons, early on developing ties with the ], the ], and, at various times, with ] such as ], ], ], ], and ], as well as with left-wing groups around the world, including the ] and the ].<ref>{{Cite web |date=20 May 2021 |title=How North Korea supports Palestine and aided Hamas {{!}} NK News |url=https://www.nknews.org/2021/05/how-north-korea-supports-palestine-and-aided-hamas/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210520132041/https://www.nknews.org/2021/05/how-north-korea-supports-palestine-and-aided-hamas/ |archive-date=20 May 2021 |access-date=21 July 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=United States |last2=Department of State |last3=Office for Combatting Terrorism |last4=United States |last5=Department of State |last6=Office of the Ambassador at Large for Counter-Terrorism |last7=United States |last8=Department of State |last9=Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism |date=1983 |title=Patterns of global terrorism |journal=Patterns of Global Terrorism |language=English |pages=20 |via=WorldCat}}</ref> When that support diminished or stopped, in the late 1980s and 1990s, the PFLP sought new allies and developed contacts with ] groups linked to ], despite the PFLP's strong adherence to secularism and ]. The relationship between the PFLP and the ] has fluctuated{{snd}}it strengthened as a result of Hamas moving away from Iran due to differing positions on the ]. Iran rewarded the PFLP for its pro-] stance with an increase in financial and military assistance.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/09/iran-pflp-gaza-palestine-syria.html##ixzz3GuZeTOzl|title= Iran Increases Aid to PFLP Thanks to Syria Stance |work= Al-Monitor|date= 17 September 2013 |access-date= 17 July 2015}}</ref> The PFLP has been accused by Israel of diverting European humanitarian aid from ] to itself.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/shin-bet-european-humanitarian-funds-diverted-to-pflp-667426|title=Four Palestinians to be charged with diverting European aid to terrorism|website=The Jerusalem Post }}</ref>
In 1990, the PFLP transformed its ] branch into a separate ], the ].


===Elections in the PNA=== ===Elections in the Palestinian Authority ===
Following the death of ] 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 ]'s candidate ], who gained 19.48% of the vote. In the municipal elections of December 2005 it had more success, e.g. in ] and ], and winning the mayorship of ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.alterinter.org/article85.html?lang=fr|title=Palestinian Municipal Elections: The Left is advancing, while Hamas capitalizes on the decline of Fatah|last=Nassar Ibrahim|date=22 December 2005|publisher=Alternatives International|accessdate=4 February 2012}}</ref> There are conflicting reports about the political allegiance of ] and ], the mayors of Ramallah and ], they may be close to the PFLP without being members. Following the death of ] 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 ] to be held on 9 January 2005. These discussions were unsuccessful, so the PFLP decided to support the independent ]'s candidate ], who gained 19.48% of the vote.


In the municipal elections of December 2005 it had more success, e.g. in ] and ], and winning the mayorship of ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.alterinter.org/article85.html?lang=fr|title=Palestinian Municipal Elections: The Left is advancing, while Hamas capitalizes on the decline of Fatah|last=Nassar Ibrahim|date=22 December 2005|publisher=Alternatives International |access-date=4 February 2012}}</ref> There are conflicting reports about the political allegiance of ] and ], the mayors of Ramallah and ]; they may be close to the PFLP without being members.{{According to whom|date=May 2021}}
The PFLP is powerful politically in the Ramallah area, the eastern districts and suburbs of ] and Bethlehem, the primarily ] Refidyeh district of ], 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 ] as the "Martyr Abu Ali Mustafa List". It won 4.2% of the popular vote and took three of the 132 seats in the ]. Its deputies are ], ], and ]. In the lists, its best vote was 9.4% in ], followed by 6.6% in ], and 6.5% in ]. The PFLP participated in the ] as the "Martyr Abu Ali Mustafa List". It won 4.2% of the popular vote, winning three of the 132 seats in the ]. Its deputies are ], ], and ]. In the lists, its best vote was 9.4% in ], followed by 6.6% in ], and 6.5% in ]. Sa'adat was sentenced in December 2006 to 30 years in an Israeli prison.


===Successors to George Habash=== ===Successors to George Habash===
At the PFLP's Sixth National Conference in 2000, Habash stepped down as general secretary. ] was elected to replace him, but was assassinated on 27 August 2001 when an Israeli ] fired rockets at his office in the West Bank town of Ramallah. At the PFLP's Sixth National Conference in 2000, Habash stepped down as General Secretary. ] was elected to replace him, but was assassinated on 27 August 2001 when an Israeli ] fired rockets at his office in the West Bank town of Ramallah.


After Mustafa's death, ] was elected general secretary on 3 October 2001. After Mustafa's death, the Central Committee of the PFLP on 3 October 2001 elected ] as General Secretary. He has held that position, though since 2002 he has been incarcerated in Palestinian and Israeli prisons.


==Attitude to the peace process== ==Attitude to the peace process==
{{cleanup list|section|date=October 2023}}
When it was formed in the late 1960s the PFLP supported the established line of most Palestinian ] fronts and ruled out any negotiated settlement with Israel that would result in ] between the ] and the ]. Instead, George Habash in particular, and various other leaders in general advocated one state with an ] identity in which ]s were entitled to live with the same rights as any minority. The PFLP declared that its goal was to "create a people's democratic Palestine, where Arabs and Jews would live without discrimination, a state without classes and national oppression, a state which allows Arabs and Jews to develop their national culture."
When it was formed in the late 1960s the PFLP supported the established line of most Palestinian ] fronts and ruled out any negotiated settlement with Israel that would result in ] between the ] and the ]. Instead, George Habash in particular, and various other leaders in general advocated one state with an ] in which ]s were entitled to live with the same rights as any minority. The PFLP declared that its goal was to "create a people's democratic Palestine, where Arabs and Jews would live without discrimination, a state without classes and national oppression, a state which allows Arabs and Jews to develop their national culture."{{cn|date=July 2024}}


The PFLP platform never wavered on key points such as the overthrow of conservative or ] Arab states like ] and Jordan, the ] of all ]s to their homes in pre-1948 ], or the use of the liberation of Palestine as a launching board for achieving Arab unityreflecting its beginnings in the ] ANM. It opposed the ] and was for a long time opposed to the idea of a ] to the ], but in 1999 came to an agreement with the PLO leadership regarding negotiations with the ]. However, in May 2010, PFLP general secretary ] called for an end to the PLO's negotiations with Israel, saying that only a ] was possible.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/jailed-pflp-leader-only-a-one-state-solution-is-possible-1.288412|title=Jailed PFLP leader: Only a one-state solution is possible|newspaper=Haaretz|date=29 April 2012|accessdate=8 May 2012}}</ref> The PFLP platform never compromised on key points such as the overthrow of conservative or ] Arab states like ] and Jordan, the ] of all ]s to their homes in pre-1948 ], or the use of the liberation of Palestine as an impetus for achieving Arab unity{{snd}}reflecting its beginnings in the ] ANM. It opposed the ] and was for a long time opposed to the idea of a ] to the ], but in 1999 came to an agreement with the PLO leadership regarding negotiations with the ]. However, in May 2010, PFLP general secretary ] called for an end to the PLO's negotiations with Israel, saying that only a ] was possible.<ref name="One-state solution">{{cite news|url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/jailed-pflp-leader-only-a-one-state-solution-is-possible-1.288412|title=Jailed PFLP leader: Only a one-state solution is possible|newspaper=Haaretz|date=29 April 2012|access-date=8 May 2012}}</ref>


In January 2011, the PFLP declared that the ] stood for "subservience, submission, dictatorship and silence", and called for ] and ] in ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pflp.ps/english/2011/01/pflp-salutes-the-egyptian-people-and-their-struggle/|title=PFLP salutes the Egyptian people and their struggle|date=27 January 2011|publisher=Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)|access-date=4 February 2012}}</ref>
The PFLP opposed the ] between Hamas and Fatah and believes that the ] government is not helpful in solving the conflict.<ref> {{wayback|url=http://www.alalam.ir/english/en-NewsPage.asp?newsid=029030120070616232425 |date=20140227203016 |df=y }}</ref>


In January 2011, the PFLP declared that the ] stood for "subservience, submission, dictatorship and silence", and called for ] and ] in ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pflp.ps/english/2011/01/pflp-salutes-the-egyptian-people-and-their-struggle/|title=PFLP salutes the Egyptian people and their struggle|date=27 January 2011|publisher=Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)|accessdate=4 February 2012}}</ref> In December 2013, the PFLP stated: "Hamas is a vital part of the Palestinian national movement, and this is the position of the PFLP."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pflp.ps/english/2013/12/pflp-hamas-is-part-of-the-palestinian-national-movement-and-we-do-not-call-upon-them-to-abandon-their-ideology/|title=PFLP: Hamas is part of the Palestinian national movement and we do not call upon them to abandon their ideology|date=30 December 2013|publisher=Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)|access-date=3 January 2013}}</ref>


== Armed attacks ==
In December 2013, the PFLP stated: "Hamas is a vital part of the Palestinian national movement, and this is the position of the PFLP."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pflp.ps/english/2013/12/pflp-hamas-is-part-of-the-palestinian-national-movement-and-we-do-not-call-upon-them-to-abandon-their-ideology/|title=PFLP: Hamas is part of the Palestinian national movement and we do not call upon them to abandon their ideology|date=30 December 2013|publisher=Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)|accessdate=3 January 2013}}</ref>

==Membership profile==
The PFLP's armed wing, in the West Bank and Gaza, the ], draws much of its support from student organizations in universities like ] (eastern Jerusalem), ] (] area), ] (]), and the ]. 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2010/989/re62.htm |title=Revolutionary roses|newspaper=Al Ahram|date=17 March 2010|accessdate=8 May 2012}}</ref> The PFLP's leader in Gaza is ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pflp.ps/english/?q=unity-and-steadfastness-over-70000-rally-gaza-pflp|title=Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine|publisher=PFLP|accessdate=8 May 2012}}</ref>

== Armed attacks of the PFLP ==
{{Refimprove section|date=January 2008}}
This is a list of armed attacks attributed to the PFLP. It is not complete.


===Armed attacks before 2000=== ===Armed attacks before 2000===
] poster]] ] poster]]
The PFLP gained notoriety in the late 1960s and early 1970s for a series of armed attacks and ]s, including on non-Israeli targets: The PFLP gained notoriety in the late 1960s and early 1970s for a series of armed attacks and ]s, including on non-Israeli targets:
* The ] from Rome to ] in Israel on 23 July 1968.<ref>{{cite book |author=Mark Ensalaco|title=Middle Eastern Terrorism: From Black September to September 11|year=2008|publisher=]|location=Philadelphia, PA|isbn=978-0-8122-4046-7|page=14|jstor=j.ctt3fhmb0 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt3fhmb0}}</ref> The Western media reported that the flight was targeted because the PFLP believed Israeli general ], who was Israeli ambassador to the US, was on board. Several individuals involved with the hijacking, including ] deny this. The plane was diverted to ], where 21 passengers and 11 crew members were held for 39 days, until 31 August.

* Gunmen ] in ] about to take off for New York on 26 December 1968, killing one Israeli{{snd}}this prompted ].
*The ] from Rome to ] in ] on 23 July 1968. The Western media reported that the flight was targeted because the PFLP believed Israeli general ], who was Israeli ambassador to the USA, was on board. Several individuals involved with the hijacking, including ] deny this. The plane was diverted to ], where 21 passengers and 11 crew members were held for 39 days, until 31 August;
*Gunmen ] in ] about to take off for New York on 26 December 1968, killing one Israeli this prompted ]; * An ] passengers jet at ] airport on 18 February 1969, killing the co-pilot and wounding the pilot; an Israeli undercover agent thwarted the hijacking after killing the terrorist leader.
* Bombings by ] and other PFLP members killed 21-year-old Leon Kanner of Netanya and 22-year-old Eddie Joffe on 21 February 1969.<ref name=act>{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/24/woman-faces-immigration-c_0_n_4157797.html|title=Rasmieh Yousef Odeh, Community Activist, Accused Of Hiding Terror Conviction To Gain Citizenship|date=24 October 2013|author=Michael Tarm |work=The Huffington Post}}</ref><ref name=young/><ref name=terror>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/nov/05/federal-trial-rasmea-odeh-immigration-fraud|title=Arab-American activist on trial for allegedly concealing terror role in immigration papers |date=5 November 2014|work=The Guardian}}</ref> The two were killed by ] which the two students stopped in at to buy groceries for a field trip.<ref name=trial>{{cite web|url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/trial-set-for-jerusalem-terror-convict-who-moved-to-us/|title=Trial set for Jerusalem terror convict who moved to US|date=3 September 2014 |work=The Times of Israel}}</ref><ref name=ha>{{cite web|url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/world/1.613739|title=Palestinian convicted of two bombings back in U.S. court over immigration fraud|date=2 September 2014|work=Haaretz}}</ref> The same bomb wounded 9 others.<ref name=obama>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalreview.com/article/372065/convicted-terrorist-worked-obamacare-navigator-illinois-jillian-kay-melchior|title=Convicted Terrorist Worked as Obamacare Navigator in Illinois |author=Jillian Kay Melchior |date=26 February 2014|work=National Review Online}}</ref> A second bomb was found at the supermarket, and defused.<ref name=young>{{cite web |url=http://www.jta.org/1969/02/24/archive/jerusalem-supersol-re-opens-for-business-2-young-bombing-victims-are-buried |title=Jerusalem Supersol Re-opens for Business; 2 Young Bombing Victims Are Buried|date=24 February 1969|agency=Jewish Telegraphic Agency}}</ref> Odeh was also convicted of bombing and damaging the ] four days later.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/world/1.619036|title=Trial set for U.S.-Palestinian immigrant convicted in Israel deaths; Rasmieh Odeh is accused of hiding she was convicted in Israel for terror attacks from American immigration officials.|date=3 October 2014 |work=Haaretz}}</ref><ref name=hiding>{{cite web|url=http://patch.com/illinois/evergreenpark/evergreen-park-woman-accused-of-hiding-terrorist-past|title=Evergreen Park Woman Accused of Hiding Terrorist Past |author=Lorraine Swanson |date=21 October 2014|work=Evergreen Park, Illinois Patch}}</ref><ref name=abc>{{cite web|url=http://abc13.com/archive/9298742/|title=Evergreen Park woman Rasmieh Odeh charged with lying about Palestinian terrorist past |date=23 October 2013 |publisher=ABC13 Houston}}</ref><ref name=hid>{{cite web |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-feds-woman-hid-terror-conviction-to-get-citizenship-20131022-story.html |title=Feds: Woman hid terror conviction to get citizenship |date=22 October 2013 |author=Jason Meisner |work=Chicago Tribune |access-date=18 November 2014 |archive-date=8 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180708093533/http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-feds-woman-hid-terror-conviction-to-get-citizenship-20131022-story.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1980, Odeh was among 78 prisoners released by Israel in an exchange with the PFLP for one Israeli soldier captured in Lebanon.<ref name=act /><ref name=trial/><ref name=ha />
*An attack on ] passengers jet at ] airport on 18 February 1969, killing the co-pilot and wounding the pilot;
* The ] from Los Angeles to ] on 29 August 1969 by a PFLP cell led by ], who became the PFLP's most noted recruit. Two Israeli passengers were held for 44 days.
*Bombings by ] and other PFLP members killed 21-year-old Leon Kanner of Netanya and 22-year-old Eddie Joffe on 21 February 1969.<ref name=act>{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/24/woman-faces-immigration-c_0_n_4157797.html|title=Rasmieh Yousef Odeh, Community Activist, Accused Of Hiding Terror Conviction To Gain Citizenship|date=24 October 2013|author=Michael Tarm|work=The Huffington Post}}</ref><ref name=young/><ref name=terror>{{cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/nov/05/federal-trial-rasmea-odeh-immigration-fraud|title=Arab-American activist on trial for allegedly concealing terror role in immigration papers|date=5 November 2014|work=The Guardian}}</ref> The two were killed by a bomb placed in a crowded Jerusalem SuperSol supermarket which the two students stopped in at to buy groceries for a field trip.<ref name=trial>{{cite web|url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/trial-set-for-jerusalem-terror-convict-who-moved-to-us/|title=Trial set for Jerusalem terror convict who moved to US|date=3 September 2014|work=The Times of Israel}}</ref><ref name=ha>{{cite web|url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/world/1.613739|title=Palestinian convicted of two bombings back in U.S. court over immigration fraud|date=2 September 2014|work=Haaretz}}</ref><ref name=convicted>{{cite web|url=http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/barbara-hollingsworth/convicted-terrorist-goes-trial-detroit-immigration-fraud|title=Convicted Terrorist Goes on Trial in Detroit for Immigration Fraud|date=30 October 2014|work=CNS |author=Barbara Hollingsworth}}</ref> The same bomb wounded 9 others.<ref name=obama>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalreview.com/article/372065/convicted-terrorist-worked-obamacare-navigator-illinois-jillian-kay-melchior|title=Convicted Terrorist Worked as Obamacare Navigator in Illinois |author=Jillian Kay Melchior|date=26 February 2014|work=National Review Online}}</ref> A second bomb was found at the supermarket, and defused.<ref name=young>{{cite web|url=http://www.jta.org/1969/02/24/archive/jerusalem-supersol-re-opens-for-business-2-young-bombing-victims-are-buried|title=Jerusalem Supersol Re-opens for Business; 2 Young Bombing Victims Are Buried|date=24 February 1969|work=Jewish Telegraphic Agency}}</ref> Odeh was also convicted of bombing and damaging the ] four days later.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/world/1.619036|title=Trial set for U.S.-Palestinian immigrant convicted in Israel deaths; Rasmieh Odeh is accused of hiding she was convicted in Israel for terror attacks from American immigration officials.|date=3 October 2014|work=Haaretz}}</ref><ref name=hiding>{{cite web|url=http://patch.com/illinois/evergreenpark/evergreen-park-woman-accused-of-hiding-terrorist-past|title=Evergreen Park Woman Accused of Hiding Terrorist Past |author= Lorraine Swanson |date= 21 October 2014|work=Evergreen Park, Illinois Patch}}</ref><ref name=abc>{{cite web|url=http://abc13.com/archive/9298742/|title=Evergreen Park woman Rasmieh Odeh charged with lying about Palestinian terrorist past |date=23 October 2013 |work=ABC13 Houston}}</ref><ref name=hid>{{cite web|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-feds-woman-hid-terror-conviction-to-get-citizenship-20131022-story.html|title=Feds: Woman hid terror conviction to get citizenship|date=22 October 2013 |author=Jason Meisner| work=Chicago Tribune}}</ref> In 1980, Odeh was among 78 prisoners released by Israel in an exchange with the PFLP for one Israeli soldier captured in Lebanon.<ref name=act/><ref name=trial/><ref name=ha/>
* On 6 September 1970, the PFLP, including Leila Khaled, ] from ], ] and ] on flights to New York from ], ] and ], 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 ] flight from ] to London via ]. The Pan Am flight was diverted to ]; the TWA, Swissair and BOAC flights were diverted to Dawson's Field in ], Jordan. The TWA, Swissair and BOAC aircraft were subsequently blown up by the PFLP on 12 September, 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 ] clashes between Palestinian and Jordanian forces.
*The hijacking of a ] flight from Los Angeles to ] on 29 August 1969 by a PFLP cell led by ], who became the PFLP's most famous recruit. Two Israeli passengers were held for 44 days;
* On 30 May 1972, ] at ] by members of the ] in collaboration with the PFLP's Waddie Haddad in what became known as the Lod Airport massacre. Haddad had been ordered to stop planning operations, and ordered the attack without the PFLP's knowledge.
*Three adult Palestinians and three boys aged 14 and 15 years old threw ]s at the Israeli ] in ], ] and the El Al office in ] on the same day, 9 September 1969 with no casualties;
* On 13 October 1977, the PFLP ], 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.
*Attack on a bus containing El Al passengers at ] airport, killing one passenger and wounding 11 on 10 February 1970;
* On 12 April 1984 a ]. ] in Damascus issued a statement in the name of the PFLP claiming responsibility.<ref>''The Times'' (London), 14 April 1984. Robert Fisk.</ref>
*On 6 September 1970, the PFLP (including ]) hijacked four passenger aircraft from ], ] and ] on flights to New York from ], ] and ], 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 ] flight from ] to London via ]. The Pan Am flight was diverted to ]; the TWA, Swissair and BOAC flights were diverted to ] in ], ]. The TWA, Swissair and BOAC aircraft were subsequently blown up by the PFLP on 12 September, 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 ] clashes between Palestinian and Jordanian forces.
]]]
*On 30 May 1972, 28 passengers were gunned down at ] by members of the ] in collaboration with the PFLP's Waddie Haddad in what became known as the ]. Haddad was ordered to stop planning operations, and ordered the attack without the PFLP's knowledge.
* On 8 June 1990 a clash occurred near ] in ] in which four members of the PFLP were killed by the ] (SLA).<ref>] No 377, 8 June 1990, Publishers ], ]; “Fourteen days in brief” p. 15</ref>
*On 13 October 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 ].
* On 27 November 1990 five elite Israeli soldiers and two PFLP fighters were killed in the South Lebanon ].<ref>Middle East International No 389, 7 December 1990, Publishers ], ]; Hai’m Baram p.12</ref>
*On 12 April 1984 a ] from Tel Aviv was hijacked. ] in Damascus issued a statement in the name of the PFLP claiming responsibility.<ref>The Times (London), 14 April 1984. Robert Fisk.</ref>
]]]


===Armed attacks after 2000=== ===Armed attacks after 2000===
The PFLP's ] has carried out attacks on both civilians and military targets during the ]. Some of these attacks are:
{{See also|List of Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine suicide attacks}}
* The killing of Meir Lixenberg, councillor and head of security in four settlements, who was shot while travelling in his car in the ] on 27 August 2001. PFLP claimed that this was a retaliation for the killing of ].<ref>{{cite news |title=Palestinian leader killed by Israeli rockets |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1338659/Palestinian-leader-killed-by-Israeli-rockets.html |work=The Telegraph |date=27 August 2001 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="AmnestyMDE02/003/2002">{{cite web|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE02/003/2002/en|title=Middle East: Israel and the Occupied Territories and the Palestinian Authority: Without distinction – attacks on civilians by Palestinian armed groups|date=10 July 2002|publisher=Amnesty International (Index Number: MDE 02/003/2002)|access-date=4 February 2012}}</ref>
The PFLP's ] has carried out attacks on both civilians and military targets during the ]. Some of these attacks are:
* 21 October 2001 assassination of Israeli Minister for Tourism ] by ].
*The killing of Meir Lixenberg, councillor and head of security in four settlements,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.shechem.org/itamar/emliks.html|title=ITAMAR- Meir Lixenberg|publisher=Shechem|date=31 August 2001|accessdate=8 May 2012}}</ref> who was shot while travelling in his car in the ] on 27 August 2001. PFLP claimed that this was a retaliation for the killing of ].<ref name="AmnestyMDE02/003/2002">{{cite web|url=http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE02/003/2002/en|title=Middle East: Israel and the Occupied Territories and the Palestinian Authority: Without distinction – attacks on civilians by Palestinian armed groups|date=10 July 2002|publisher=Amnesty International (Index Number: MDE 02/003/2002)|accessdate=4 February 2012}}</ref>
]]]
*21 October 2001 assassination of Israeli Minister for Tourism ] by ].
* The PFLP claimed responsibility for the ] in which four Jewish worshippers and a policeman were killed with axes, knives, and a gun, while seven were injured.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/jerusalem-synagogue-attack-popular-front-for-the-liberation-of-palestine-claims-responsibility-9868981.html|title=Jerusalem synagogue attack: Popular Front for Liberation of Palestine claims responsibility|work=The Independent|date=19 November 2014}}</ref><ref>, ''The New York Times''</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/11237316/Jerusalem-attack.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/11237316/Jerusalem-attack.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Jerusalem synagogue axe attack kills five|date=18 November 2014|work=Telegraph}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name="m.thehindu.com"> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150508215341/http://m.thehindu.com/news/international/pflp-claims-responsibility-for-jerusalem-synagogue-attack/article6611700.ece/ |date=8 May 2015 }}, ''The Hindu''</ref>
*A suicide bombing in a pizzeria in ], on the ] on 16 February 2002, killing three Israeli teenagers.<ref name="AmnestyMDE02/003/2002" />
* On 29 June 2015, the PFLP claimed responsibility for an attack in which Palestinians in a vehicle fired on a passing Israeli car. Four people were injured; one was severely injured and died the next day in hospital.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.663621/|title=Four wounded, one seriously, in West Bank shooting attack|author=Chaim Levinson and Gili Cohen |date=30 June 2015|work=Haaretz|access-date=17 July 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Israeli-man-wounded-in-West-Bank-terror-shooting-dies-in-Jerusalem-hospital-407597|title=Israeli man wounded in West Bank terror shooting dies in Jerusalem hospital|work=The Jerusalem Post |access-date=17 July 2015}}</ref>
*A suicide bombing in ] on 7 March 2002, which left wounded but no fatalities.
* Israeli police suspect the PFLP to be responsible for the ].<ref>{{Cite news |title=Netherlands admits to paying terrorists who killed 17-year-old Israeli |url=https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/netherlands-admits-to-paying-terrorists-who-killed-17-year-old-israeli-635792 |access-date=2022-06-11 |newspaper=The Jerusalem Post &#124; Jpost.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=JTA and TOI staff |title=Netherlands suspends aid to group that employed suspected Palestinian terrorists |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/netherlands-suspends-aid-to-group-that-employed-suspected-palestinian-terrorists/ |access-date=2022-06-11 |website=www.timesofisrael.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Gross |first=Judah Ari |title=Spanish-Palestinian woman pleads guilty to raising PFLP funds through charity |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/spanish-palestinian-woman-pleads-guilty-to-raising-pflp-funds-through-charity/ |access-date=2022-06-11 |website=www.timesofisrael.com |language=en-US}}</ref>
*A suicide bombing in a ] market in Israel, on 19 May 2002, killing three Israelis. This attack was also claimed by ],<ref name="AmnestyMDE02/003/2002" /> but the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades have identified the perpetrator on their website as one of their members.
* Israel–Hamas war (2023-present): the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades published videos of it storming Israeli watchtowers during the ], <ref>{{Cite web |date=7 October 2023 |title=صادر عن كتائب الشهيد أبو علي مصطفى الجناح العسكري للجبهة الشعبية لتحرير فلسطين |url=https://pflp.ps/post/23726/%D8%B5%D8%A7%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%B9%D9%86-%D9%83%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%A6%D8%A8-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D9%87%D9%8A%D8%AF-%D8%A3%D8%A8%D9%88-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%8A-%D9%85%D8%B5%D8%B7%D9%81%D9%89-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AC%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%AD-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%B3%D9%83%D8%B1%D9%8A-%D9%84%D9%84%D8%AC%D8%A8%D9%87%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D8%B9%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%A9- |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231008000112/https://pflp.ps/post/23726/%D8%B5%D8%A7%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%B9%D9%86-%D9%83%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%A6%D8%A8-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D9%87%D9%8A%D8%AF-%D8%A3%D8%A8%D9%88-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%8A-%D9%85%D8%B5%D8%B7%D9%81%D9%89-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AC%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%AD-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%B3%D9%83%D8%B1%D9%8A-%D9%84%D9%84%D8%AC%D8%A8%D9%87%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D8%B9%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%A9- |archive-date=8 October 2023 |access-date=7 October 2023 |publisher=الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير فلسطين}}</ref> and has since fought alongside Hamas and other allied factions in multiple battles inside the Gaza Strip.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=PFLP says it will target British forces if they are deployed in Gaza |url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/pflp-says-it-will-target-british-forces-if-they-are-deployed-gaza |access-date=2024-09-22 |website=Middle East Eye |language=en |quote=The military wing of the PFLP, which was founded by leftists in 1967, has carried out sporadic attacks since 7 October in retaliation for Israel's assault on Gaza.}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2023-12-31 |title='Operation Al-Aqsa Flood' Day 86: Israel falls in 'serious strategic trap' in Gaza as Netanyahu vows to fight 'for months' |url=https://mondoweiss.net/2023/12/operation-al-aqsa-flood-day-86-israel-falls-in-serious-strategic-trap-in-gaza-as-netanyahu-vows-to-fight-for-months/ |access-date=2024-09-22 |website=Mondoweiss |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":4" />
*A suicide bombing in the bus station at ] in ] on 25 December 2003 which killed 4 Israelis.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-2848729,00.html|title=ynet ארבעה הרוגים בפיגוע בצומת גהה – חדשות|newspaper=Ynet|date=20 June 1995|accessdate=8 May 2012}}</ref>

*A suicide bombing in the ] on 22 May 2004, which left no fatalities.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-2920363,00.html|title=מחבל פוצץ עצמו במחסום בבקעה, חייל נפצע קל – חדשות |newspaper=Ynet|date=20 June 1995|accessdate=8 May 2012}}</ref>
== Assassinations of leaders ==
*A suicide bombing in the ] in ] on 1 November 2004, which killed 3 Israeli civilians.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-2998015,00.html|title=2 נשים וגבר נרצחו בפיגוע בשוק הכרמל בת"א – חדשות |newspaper=Ynet|date=20 June 1995|accessdate=8 May 2012}}</ref>
=== 2024 Israeli invasion of Lebanon ===
*14 April 2009, PFLP militants fire a homemade projectile at the Kerem Shalom border crossing, HaDarom.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=200804140017|title=Incident Summary for GTDID: 200804140017|publisher=}}</ref>
Three PFLP leaders, Imad Audi, PFLP’s military leader in Lebanon; and Mohammad Abdel Aal and Abdel Rahman Abdel Aal, members of the group’s political bureau, targeted and assassinated in Beirut’s central Kola district on 29 September 2024 Sunday night, during the ] by Israel.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/9/30/israels-attack-on-beiruts-kola-what-happened-and-why-it-matters|title=Israel’s attack on Beirut’s Kola: What happened and why it matters|author=Justin Salhani |date=30 September 2024|work=Al Jazeera|access-date=1 October 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.en.isna.ir/xdRXKT|title=PFLP announces assassination of leaders in Israeli airstrike on Beirut|author=Homayoun Barkhor |date=30 September 2024|work= Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA)|access-date=1 October 2024}}</ref>
*23 October 2012, A PFLP roadside bomb detonated targeting an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) patrol near Kibbutz Kissufim, Southern, Israel. An IDF commander was seriously injured in the blast.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=201210230007|title=Incident Summary for GTDID: 201210230007|publisher=}}</ref>
*10 November 2012, PFLP militants fired an anti-tank missile towards Karni Crossing near the Gaza Strip, near Nahal Oz. The explosive device struck an Israeli Givati Brigade jeep, injuring four soldiers and destroying the vehicle.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=201211100023|title=Incident Summary for GTDID: 201211100023|publisher=}}</ref>
*18 November 2014, the PFLP took responsibility for the ] in which four Jewish worshipers and a policeman were killed with axes, knives, and a gun, while seven were injured.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/jerusalem-synagogue-attack-popular-front-for-the-liberation-of-palestine-claims-responsibility-9868981.html|title=Jerusalem synagogue attack: Popular Front for Liberation of Palestine claims responsibility|work=The Independent}}</ref><ref>, ''The New York Times''</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/11237316/Jerusalem-attack.html|title=Jerusalem synagogue axe attack kills five|date=18 November 2014|work=Telegraph}}</ref><ref name="m.thehindu.com">, ''The Hindu''</ref>
*29 June 2015, the PFLP claimed responsibility for an attack in which Palestinians passed by an Israeli car with a vehicle and shot it. 4 people were injured, one was severely injured and died the next day in hospital.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.663621/|title=Four wounded, one seriously, in West Bank shooting attack|author=Chaim Levinson and Gili Cohen|date=30 June 2015|work=Haaretz.com|accessdate=17 July 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Israeli-man-wounded-in-West-Bank-terror-shooting-dies-in-Jerusalem-hospital-407597|title=Israeli man wounded in West Bank terror shooting dies in Jerusalem hospital|work=The Jerusalem Post - JPost.com|accessdate=17 July 2015}}</ref>


==See also== ==See also==
*] * ]
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==References== == References ==
{{Reflist|33em}} {{Reflist}}


==Other sources== ==Sources==
*, , Secret documents regarding 1974 cooperation between the ] and the PFLP against Israel and arming PFLP(in Russian) from the ''Soviet Archives'' collected by ] * {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100615130243/http://psi.ece.jhu.edu/%7Ekaplan/IRUSS/BUK/GBARC/pdfs/terr-wd/plo75a.pdf |date=15 June 2010 }}, {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100615115918/http://psi.ece.jhu.edu/%7Ekaplan/IRUSS/BUK/GBARC/pdfs/terr-wd/plo75c.pdf |date=15 June 2010 }}, {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100615161704/http://psi.ece.jhu.edu/%7Ekaplan/IRUSS/BUK/GBARC/pdfs/terr-wd/plo75d.pdf |date=15 June 2010 }} Secret documents regarding 1974 cooperation between the ] and the PFLP against Israel and arming PFLP{{snd}}(in Russian) from the ''Soviet Archives'' collected by ]


==External links== ==External links==
* *
* at the ]
*- Fight Back! News, Summer 2003


{{Palestinian political parties}} {{Palestinian political parties}}
{{Israeli-Palestinian Conflict}} {{Israeli-Palestinian Conflict}}
{{Arab nationalism}}
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Latest revision as of 13:19, 26 December 2024

Palestinian Marxist–Leninist organization "PFLP" redirects here. For other meanings, see PFLP (disambiguation).

Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير فلسطين
General SecretaryAhmad Sa'adat
(imprisoned)
Deputy General SecretaryJamil Mezher
FounderGeorge Habash
Founded1967; 57 years ago (1967)
HeadquartersDamascus, Syria
Paramilitary wingAbu Ali Mustafa Brigades
Ideology
Political positionFar-left
National affiliationPalestine Liberation Organization
Democratic Alliance List
International affiliationInternational Communist Seminar (defunct)
Axis of Resistance
Legislative Council (2006, defunct)3 / 132
Party flag
Website
www.pflp.ps

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP; Arabic: الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير فلسطين, romanizedal-Jabha ash-Shaʿbīyya li-Taḥrīr Filasṭīn) is a secular Palestinian Marxist–Leninist and revolutionary socialist organization founded in 1967 by George Habash. It has consistently been the second-largest of the groups forming the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the largest being Fatah.

The PFLP has generally taken a hard line on Palestinian national aspirations, opposing the more moderate stance of Fatah. It does not recognize Israel and promotes a one-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The military wing of the PFLP is called the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades.

The PFLP pioneered armed aircraft-hijackings in the late 1960s and early 1970s. More recently, the group has participated in the Israel–Hamas war (2023–present) alongside Hamas and other allied Palestinian factions. It has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States, Japan, Canada, and the European Union.

Ahmad Sa'adat, who was sentenced in 2006 to 30 years in an Israeli prison, has served as General Secretary of the PFLP since 2001. As of 2015, the PFLP boycotts participation in the PLO Executive Committee and the Palestinian National Council.

History

Arab Nationalist Movement

George Habash, a Palestinian Christian, was PFLP's Secretary General at its beginning. He had been influenced by the ideas of Constantin Zureiq and Sati' al-Husri, Arab nationalists of the 1940s and 1950s

The PFLP grew out of the Harakat al-Qawmiyyin al-Arab, or Arab Nationalist Movement (ANM), founded in 1953 by 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 Defense Forces attacked the city and forced most of its civilian population to leave in what became known as the Lydda Death March. They marched for three days without food or water until they reached the Arab armies' front lines, leading to the death of his sister. Habash finished his medical education in Lebanon at the American University in Beirut, graduating in 1951.

In an interview with US journalist John K. Cooley, Habash argued for viewing "the liberation of Palestine as something not to be isolated from events in the rest of the Arab world" and identified "the main reason for defeat" as triumph of "the scientific society of Israel" over "our own backwardness in the Arab world"; because of this, he "called for the total rebuilding of Arab society into a twentieth-century society" and a "scientific and technical renaissance in the Arab world". The ANM was founded in this nationalist spirit. " held the 'Guevara view' of the 'revolutionary 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."

The ANM formed underground branches in several Arab countries, including Libya, 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.

Formation of the PFLP

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After the Six-Day War of June 1967, ANM 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. Three other independent groups, namely Heroes of the Return, the National Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and the Independent Palestine Liberation Front, also met with Habash to form the PFLP.

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 magazine, al-Hadaf (The Target, or Goal), which was edited by Ghassan Kanafani.

Operations

The PFLP gained notoriety in the late 1960s and early 1970s for a series of armed attacks and aircraft hijackings, including on non-Israeli targets. Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades also claimed responsibility for several suicide attacks during the Al-Aqsa Intifada. See #Armed attacks of the PFLP below.

Breakaway organizations

A PFLP patrol in Jordan, 1969

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.

PLO membership

The PFLP joined the Palestine Liberation Organization (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 PLO Executive Committee (but not from the PLO) to join the Rejectionist Front following the creation of the PLO's Ten Point Program, 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.

In December 1993 PFLP withdrew from the PLO and became one of the ten founding members of the Damascus-based Alliance of Palestinian Forces, eight of which had been members of the PLO, which was opposed to the Oslo Accords process. PFLP withdrew from APF in 1998. Currently, the PFLP is boycotting participation in the PLO Executive Committee and the Palestinian National Council.

In December 2009, around 70,000 supporters demonstrated in Gaza to celebrate the PFLP's 42nd anniversary.

After the Oslo Accords

After the occurrence of the First Intifada and the subsequent Oslo Accords the PFLP had difficulty establishing itself in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. At that time (1993–96) the popularity of Hamas was rapidly increasing in the wake of their successful strategy of suicide bombings devised by Yahya Ayyash ("the Engineer"). The dissolution 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 had looked towards the Soviet Union, and has marginalized 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 organization's legislative body, the PNC.

The PFLP developed contacts at this time with Islamic fundamentalist groups linked to Iran – both Palestinian Hamas, and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah. The PLO's agreement with Israel in September 1993, and negotiations which followed, further isolated it from the umbrella organization and led it to conclude a formal alliance with the Iranian backed groups.

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 and 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. From its foundation, the PFLP sought superpower patrons, early on developing ties with the Soviet Union, the People's Republic of China, and, at various times, with regional powers such as Syria, South Yemen, Libya, North Korea, and Iraq, as well as with left-wing groups around the world, including the FARC and the Japanese Red Army. When that support diminished or stopped, in the late 1980s and 1990s, the PFLP sought new allies and developed contacts with Islamist groups linked to Iran, despite the PFLP's strong adherence to secularism and anti-clericalism. The relationship between the PFLP and the Islamic Republic of Iran has fluctuated – it strengthened as a result of Hamas moving away from Iran due to differing positions on the Syrian Civil War. Iran rewarded the PFLP for its pro-Assad stance with an increase in financial and military assistance. The PFLP has been accused by Israel of diverting European humanitarian aid from Palestinian NGOs to itself.

Elections in the Palestinian Authority

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 Palestinian presidential election to be held on 9 January 2005. These discussions were unsuccessful, so the PFLP 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. 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 participated in the Palestinian legislative elections of 2006 as the "Martyr Abu Ali Mustafa List". It won 4.2% of the popular vote, winning 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. Sa'adat was sentenced in December 2006 to 30 years in an Israeli prison.

Successors to George Habash

At the PFLP's Sixth National Conference in 2000, Habash stepped down as General Secretary. Abu Ali Mustafa 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.

After Mustafa's death, the Central Committee of the PFLP on 3 October 2001 elected Ahmad Sa'adat as General Secretary. He has held that position, though since 2002 he has been incarcerated in Palestinian and Israeli prisons.

Attitude to the peace process

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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. The PFLP declared that its goal was to "create a people's democratic Palestine, where Arabs and Jews would live without discrimination, a state without classes and national oppression, a state which allows Arabs and Jews to develop their national culture."

The PFLP platform never compromised on key points such as the overthrow of conservative or monarchist Arab states like Morocco and Jordan, the Right of Return of all Palestinian refugees to their homes in pre-1948 Palestine, or the use of the liberation of Palestine as an impetus 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.

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.

In December 2013, the PFLP stated: "Hamas is a vital part of the Palestinian national movement, and this is the position of the PFLP."

Armed attacks

Armed attacks before 2000

PFLP May Day poster

The PFLP gained notoriety in the late 1960s and early 1970s for a series of armed attacks and aircraft hijackings, including on non-Israeli targets:

  • The hijacking of El Al Flight 426 from Rome to Lod airport in Israel on 23 July 1968. The Western media reported that the flight was targeted because the PFLP believed Israeli general Yitzhak Rabin, who was Israeli ambassador to the US, was on board. Several individuals involved with the hijacking, including Leila Khaled deny this. The plane was diverted to Algiers, where 21 passengers and 11 crew members were held for 39 days, until 31 August.
  • Gunmen opened fire on El Al Flight 253 in Athens about to take off for New York on 26 December 1968, killing one Israeli – this prompted a reprisal by Israel destroying airliners in Beirut.
  • An attack on El Al Flight 432 passengers jet at Zürich airport on 18 February 1969, killing the co-pilot and wounding the pilot; an Israeli undercover agent thwarted the hijacking after killing the terrorist leader.
  • Bombings by Rasmea Odeh and other PFLP members killed 21-year-old Leon Kanner of Netanya and 22-year-old Eddie Joffe on 21 February 1969. The two were killed by a bomb placed in a crowded Jerusalem SuperSol supermarket which the two students stopped in at to buy groceries for a field trip. The same bomb wounded 9 others. A second bomb was found at the supermarket, and defused. Odeh was also convicted of bombing and damaging the British Consulate four days later. In 1980, Odeh was among 78 prisoners released by Israel in an exchange with the PFLP for one Israeli soldier captured in Lebanon.
  • The hijacking of TWA Flight 840 from Los Angeles to Damascus on 29 August 1969 by a PFLP cell led by Leila Khaled, who became the PFLP's most noted recruit. Two Israeli passengers were held for 44 days.
  • On 6 September 1970, the PFLP, including Leila Khaled, hijacked four passenger aircraft from Pan Am, TWA and Swissair on flights to New York from Brussels, Frankfurt and Zürich, 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 BOAC flight from Bahrain to London via Beirut. The Pan Am flight was diverted to Cairo; the TWA, Swissair and BOAC flights were diverted to Dawson's Field in Zarqa, Jordan. The TWA, Swissair and BOAC aircraft were subsequently blown up by the PFLP on 12 September, 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 September clashes between Palestinian and Jordanian forces.
  • On 30 May 1972, 28 passengers were gunned down at Ben Gurion International Airport by members of the Japanese Red Army in collaboration with the PFLP's Waddie Haddad in what became known as the Lod Airport massacre. Haddad had been ordered to stop planning operations, and ordered the attack without the PFLP's knowledge.
  • On 13 October 1977, the PFLP hijacked Lufthansa Flight 181, 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.
  • On 12 April 1984 a bus from Tel Aviv was hijacked. Bassam Abu Sharif in Damascus issued a statement in the name of the PFLP claiming responsibility.
PFLP graffiti in Bethlehem

Armed attacks after 2000

The PFLP's Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades has carried out attacks on both civilians and military targets during the Al-Aqsa Intifada. 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 Bank on 27 August 2001. PFLP claimed that this was a retaliation for the killing of Abu Ali Mustafa.
  • 21 October 2001 assassination of Israeli Minister for Tourism Rehavam Zeevi by Hamdi Quran.
PFLP graffiti in Sebastia
  • The PFLP claimed responsibility for the November 2014 Jerusalem synagogue massacre in which four Jewish worshippers and a policeman were killed with axes, knives, and a gun, while seven were injured.
  • On 29 June 2015, the PFLP claimed responsibility for an attack in which Palestinians in a vehicle fired on a passing Israeli car. Four people were injured; one was severely injured and died the next day in hospital.
  • Israeli police suspect the PFLP to be responsible for the 2019 murder of Israeli teenager Rina Shnerb.
  • Israel–Hamas war (2023-present): the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades published videos of it storming Israeli watchtowers during the 7 October Hamas-led attacks into Israel, and has since fought alongside Hamas and other allied factions in multiple battles inside the Gaza Strip.

Assassinations of leaders

2024 Israeli invasion of Lebanon

Three PFLP leaders, Imad Audi, PFLP’s military leader in Lebanon; and Mohammad Abdel Aal and Abdel Rahman Abdel Aal, members of the group’s political bureau, targeted and assassinated in Beirut’s central Kola district on 29 September 2024 Sunday night, during the September 2024 Lebanon strikes by Israel.

See also

References

  1. Profile: Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine BBC News, 18 November 2014
  2. ^ "Jailed PFLP leader: Only a one-state solution is possible". Haaretz. 29 April 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
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