Palestine Liberation Organization

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"PLO" redirects here. For the poker game, see Omaha Hold'em.
Palestinian National Authority

This article is part of the series:
Politics and government of
the Palestinian National Authority
Note: On June 14, 2007, President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed Haniyeh's government, and appointed Fayyad to form an emergency government. However, Haniyeh and Hamas maintain that these actions were illegal, and that Haniyeh is still the Prime Minister; Haniyeh still exercises de facto authority in the Gaza Strip, while Fayyad's authority is limited de facto to the West Bank.
Other countries · Atlas
 Politics Portal
view • talk • edit

The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) (Arabic: منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية‎; Munazzamat al-Tahrir al-Filastiniyyah (help·info) or Munazzamat al-Tahrir al-Filastiniyyah) is a multi-party terrorist organization regarded since 1974 as the "sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people."[1]

The PLO was founded by the Arab League.[2] The original PLO Charter declared the establishment of Israel "illegal, null and void" and outlined goals to "liberate the homeland" via armed struggle.

Palestinian statehood was not mentioned, although in 1974 the PLO adopted the idea of an independent state between the Jordan River and Mediterranean Sea.[2] More recently, the PLO officially adopted a two-state solution, with Israel and Palestine living side by side contingent on specific terms such as making East Jerusalem capital of the Palestinian state and giving Palestinians right of return.[3]

In 1993, P.L.O. chairman Yasir Arafat recognized the State of Israel in an official letter to its prime minister, Yitzhak Rabin:

"The signing of the Declaration of Principles marks a new era. … I would like to confirm the following PLO commitments: The PLO recognizes the right of the State of Israel to exist in peace and security. The PLO accepts United Nations Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338. The PLO commits itself … to a peaceful resolution of the conflict between the two sides and declares that all outstanding issues relating to permanent status will be resolved through negotiations. … The PLO renounces the use of terrorism and other acts of violence and will assume responsibility over all PLO elements and personnel in order to assure their compliance, prevent violations and discipline violators. … The PLO affirms that those articles of the Palestinian Covenant which deny Israel's right to exist, and the provisions of the Covenant which are inconsistent with the commitments of this letter are now inoperative and no longer valid. Consequently, the PLO undertakes to submit to the Palestinian National Council for formal approval the necessary changes in regard to the Palestinian Covenant."

In response to Arafat's letter, Israel recognized the PLO as "the representative of the Palestinian people".

The PLO has at times undertaken to amend its charter originally calling for the elimination of Israel. It undertook this in its note to the Hebron Protocol, and by convening the PNC to that effect. To date however it has yet to do so. One reason given is that it will be rewritten when Israel writes its own constitution. [4] [5]

Arafat was the Chairman of the PLO Executive Committee from 1969 until his death in 2004. He was succeeded by Mahmoud Abbas (also known as Abu Mazen).

Contents

[edit] Overview

The PLO emblem shows the Flag of Palestine above a map of State of Palestine (present-day Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip.)
The PLO emblem shows the Flag of Palestine above a map of State of Palestine (present-day Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip.)

The PLO has a nominal legislative body, the Palestinian National Council (PNC), but most actual political power and decisions are controlled by the PLO Executive Committee, made up of 15 people elected by the PNC. 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. The Palestine Liberation Organization is considered by most countries, including the Arab League[1][6] the United Nations[7] and Israel, to be the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people and holds a permanent observer seat in the United Nations General Assembly.

[edit] History

[edit] Creation

In spite of the 1949 Armistice Agreements, the Arab states remained unreconciled to the existence of Israel as they had been to the UN-mandated partition of Palestine in 1948.

The Hamdi League at the Cairo Summit in January 1964 proposed the creation of an organization representing the Palestinian people. The Palestinian National Council convened in (east) Jerusalem on 29 May 1964. During this meeting the Palestinian Liberation Organization was founded on 2 June 1964. Its Statement of Proclamation of the Organization[8] declared:

"... the right of the Palestinian Arab people to its sacred homeland Palestine and affirming the inevitability of the battle to liberate the usurped part from it, and its determination to bring out its effective revolutionary entity and the mobilization of the capabilities and potentialities and its material, military and spiritual forces".

The Palestinian National Charter of 1964[9] stated:

"The claims of historic and spiritual ties between Jews and Palestine are not in agreement with the facts of history or with the true basis of sound statehood... [T]he Jews are not one people with an independent personality because they are citizens to their states." (Article 18).

However, as Egypt and Jordan favored the creation of a Palestinian state on land they considered to be occupied by Israel, they would not grant sovereignty to the Palestinian people in lands under Jordanian and Egyptian military occupation, amounting to 53% of the territory allocated to Arabs under the UN Partition Plan. Hence Article 24 provided:

"This Organization does not exercise any territorial sovereignty over the West Bank in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, on the Gaza Strip or in the Himmah Area."

Due to the influence of the Egyptian President Nasser the PLO supported the Pan-Arabist vision then espoused by Nasser, according to which Arabs should collectively belong to one unified state. Nonetheless the core idea of the PLO from the beginning was to represent the Palestinian People under Jordanian and Egyptian Rule and in Exile with the aim of an independent Palestinian State. The first executive committee was formed on 9 August, with Ahmad Shuqeiri as its leader.

[edit] Leadership by Yasser Arafat

The defeat of Syria, Jordan and Egypt in the Six Day War of 1967 undermined the credibility of the states that sought to be patrons of the Palestinian people and weakened Nasser significantly. Yasser Arafat played an instrumental role in making the PLO a fully independent organization under the control of the fedayeen organizations.[10] At the Palestinian National Congress meeting of 1969, Fatah gained control of the executive bodies of the PLO. At the Palestinian National Congress in Cairo on February 3, 1969 Arafat was appointed PLO chairman. From then on, the Executive Committee was composed essentially of representatives of the various member organizations.

[edit] The PLO and Palestinian Women

One of the main implications of the 1967 War, therefore, was that the PLO became more representative of the interests of Palestinian movements and of the Palestinian people more generally. This in turn had consequences for Palestinian women's groups and their role in the political struggle. The new leadership structure of the PLO initially had connections with the General Union of Palestinian Women in the territories that were now under Israeli occupation. Arguably a sign of this was that there were 100 women imprisoned by Israeli forces by 1968, compared with what had been a minimal number beforehand in 1967.[11]

Just over a decade later, in 1979, the amount of Palestinian women imprisoned had risen to 3,000, a result of their increasing involvement in 'resistance' organisations in the occupied territories. This growing political activity on the part of women had partly been facilitated by the greater interaction of women and men working alongside each other in voluntary programmes organised by the Palestinian National Front (who assumed leadership of the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip at the beginning of the 1970s). Political participation amongst women was also further enhanced by gaining the vote for the first time, when suffrage for everyone over the age of twenty-one was implemented by 'Israeli military order' at elections in 1976.[12]

[edit] War of Attrition

From March 1969 to September 1970 the PLO, with passive support from Jordan,[citation needed] fought a war of attrition with Israel. During this time, the PLO launched artillery attacks on the moshavim and kibbutzim of Bet Shean Valley Regional Council, while fedayeen launched numerous attacks on Israeli civilians. Israel raided the PLO camps in Jordan, withdrawing only under Jordanian military pressure.

This conflict culminated in Jordan's expulsion of the PLO in September 1970.

[edit] Black September in Jordan

Main article: Black September in Jordan

The PLO suffered a major reversal with the Jordanian assault on its armed groups in the events known as Black September in 1970. Shortly afterwards, the Cairo Agreement led the PLO to establish itself in Lebanon. During the 1970s the PLO, while maintaining a central role, found its politics and activities complicated by the emergence of several factions headquartered in Damascus and Beirut, all competing with the PLO, from distinct ideological and strategical positions, to engage in armed resistance to either Zionism or the Israeli occupation. [13]

[edit] Ten Point Program

In 1974, the PNC approved the Ten Point Program[14] formulated by Fatah's leaders which called for the establishment of a national authority 'over every part of Palestinian territory that is liberated with the aim of 'completing the liberation of all Palestinian territory'. The program implied that the liberation of Palestine would be partial (at least, at some stage), and though it emphasized armed struggle, it did not exclude other means. Therefore, it was considered the first attempt by PLO at a compromise.[citation needed]

This led to several radical PLO factions (such as the PFLP, PFLP-GC and others) breaking out to form the Rejectionist Front, which would act independently of PLO over the following years. Suspicion between the Arafat-led mainstream and more hard line factions, inside and outside of the PLO, have continued to dominate the inner workings of the organization ever since, often resulting in paralysis or conflicting courses of action. A temporary closing of ranks came in 1977, as Palestinian factions joined with hardline Arab governments in the Steadfastness and Confrontation Front to condemn Egyptian attempts to reach a separate peace with Israel (eventually resulting in the 1979 Camp David Accords).

Israel saw the Ten Point Program as dangerous[citation needed] because it appeared to allow the Palestinian leadership to enter into negotiations with Israel on issues where Israel can compromise, but with an apparent intent to exploit compromises in order to 'improve positions' for attacking Israel. This program was thus called in Hebrew the Step/stage Program (Tokhnit HaShlavim or Torat HaShlavim).[citation needed] Over the years, negotiations were conducted with this suspicion in mind, with Israeli concerns that the Palestinians' willingness to compromise might be nothing more than a smoke-screen to implement the Ten Point Program.[citation needed]. When the Oslo Accords were signed, Israeli right-wing politicians have consistently claimed that this is part of the ploy to implement the Stage Program. The Ten Point Program was never officially canceled by the Palestinians and it has been claimed that many Palestinians saw the Oslo Accords as a step in the Ten Point Program.[15]

[edit] The PLO in Lebanon and the Lebanese Civil War

Main article: Lebanese Civil War

In the mid-1970s, Arafat and his Fatah movement found themselves in a tenuous position. The Rejectionist Front opposed Arafat's growing calls for diplomacy from the mid-1970s, implied in his Ten Points Program, which was denounced by the Rejectionist Front, and by his support for a 1976 UN Security Council draft resolution calling for a two-state settlement on the pre-1967 borders that was vetoed by the United States. The population in the West Bank and Gaza Strip saw Arafat as their best hope for a resolution to the conflict, especially in the aftermath of the Camp David Accords, which Palestinians had seen as a blow to their aspirations to self-determination. Abu Nidal, a sworn enemy of the PLO since 1974, assassinated the PLO's diplomatic envoy to the European Economic Community, which in the Venice Declaration of 1980 had called for the Palestinian right of self-determination to be recognized by Israel.

Numerous killings of civilians were carried out by all sides in the Civil War, and by the occupying armies of Syria and Israel, although all sides tend to dispute their own responsibility for such events. Palestinians were particularly hard hit by violence against civilians, perhaps to some extent because of their concentration in small refugee camps, where much fighting took place. Palestinian civilians were killed in large-scale massacres on several occasions during the Civil War, by different factions; eg. on Black Saturday, the Bus Massacre, Karantina, Tel al-Zaatar and Sabra and Shatila. In 1976, factions from the PLO (mainly al-Sa'iqa) and Lebanese National Movement entered the Christian Lebanese town of Damour and, in revenge for the Karantina massacre, murdered between 200-500 civilians in what became known as the Damour Massacre. The PLO then resettled Palestinian Tel az-Zaatar survivors in the area.

During the Lebanese Civil War, the PLO first fought against Maronite militias, then against Israel, then, finally, against the Syrian-supported Amal militia[citation needed]. In the 1985-88 War of the Camps, Amal and other pro-Syrian militias besieged Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon to drive out supporters of Arafat. Many thousands of Palestinians, including women and children, were slaughtered or died of starvation[citation needed]. After the Amal siege ended, there was a great deal of intra-Palestinian fighting in the camps.

[edit] The PLO timeline

  • 1964 : Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) founded.
  • 1969 : Organization of the Islamic Conference admits Palestine, represented by the PLO.
  • 22 November 1974 : The United Nations General Assembly grants the PLO observer status.
  • 20 January 1976 : PLO militiamen slaughter 500 Christian-Lebanese civilians known as the Damour Massacre.
  • 9 September 1976 : Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) admitted as a member of Arab League.
  • 13 August 1978 : PLO headquarters in Beirut bombed, 150 are killed.
  • 1982: The vast majority of the PLO relocated to Tunis after being driven out of Beirut during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon
  • 16 April 1988 : Khalil al-Wazir "Abu Jihad", PLO 2nd in command, is killed by Israel, in Tunis.
  • 15 November 1988 : Palestine National Congress meeting in Algiers declared a Palestinian state on the West Bank and Gaza Strip (to no effect).
  • 14 January 1991 : Salah Khalaf "Abu Iyad", PLO 3rd in command, is assassinated in Tunis by an Abu Nidal operative.
  • 4 May 1994 : Palestinian Authority created to administer most of Gaza Strip and parts of West Bank

[edit] The PLO as a partner for peace

Opposition to Arafat was fierce not only among radical Arab groups but among many on the Israeli right as well, including Menachem Begin, who had stated on more than one occasion that even if the PLO accepted UN Security Council resolution 242 and recognized Israel's right to exist, he would never negotiate with the organization because of their terrorist ties and activities (Smith, op. cit., p. 357). 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 leader Anwar Sadat on his visit to Washington 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" (Smith, op. cit., 376).

[edit] Tunisia

In 1982, the PLO relocated to Tunis after it was driven out of Lebanon by Israel during Israel's six-month invasion of Lebanon. It remained active in Lebanon, but not to the same extent as before 1982. On October 1, 1985, in Operation Wooden Leg, Israeli Air Force F-16s bombed the PLO's Tunis headquarters, killing more than 60 people.

[edit] First Intifada

Main article: First Intifada

In 1987 the First Intifada broke out in the Occupied Territories. The Intifada caught the PLO by surprise,[16] and the leadership abroad could only indirectly influence the events while a new local leadership, the Unified Intifada Leadership comprising many leading Palestinian factions, emerged. After King Hussein of Jordan proclaimed the administrative and legal separation of the West Bank from Jordan in 1988,[17] the Palestine National Council adopted the Palestinian Declaration of Independence in Algiers proclaiming an independent State of Palestine. The declaration made reference to UN resolutions without explicitly mentioning Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338. A month later, Arafat declared in Geneva that the PLO would support a solution of 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. While the Intifada many members of PLO organizations take a part at the activities or organized them, especially as "Unified Intifada Leadership" and its branches. Activities (especially those involing violence) were organized by the PLO. The Proclamation of Independence did not lead to a Palestinian State, although over 100 states recognized the "State of Palestine"[citation needed].

[edit] Persian Gulf War

In 1990, the PLO under Yasser Arafat openly supported Saddam Hussein in his regime's invasion of Kuwait, leading to a later rupture in Palestinian-Kuwaiti ties and the expulsion of many Palestinians from Kuwait.[1]

[edit] Oslo Accords

In 1993, the PLO secretly negotiated the Oslo Accords with Israel. The accords were signed on 20 August 1993. There was a subsequent public ceremony in Washington D.C. on September 13, 1993 with Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin. The Accords granted the Palestinians right to self-government on the Gaza Strip and the city of Jericho in the West Bank through the creation of the Palestinian Authority. Yasser Arafat was appointed head of the PA and a timetable for elections was laid out which saw Arafat elected president in January 1996, 18 months behind schedule. Although the PLO and the Palestinian Authority are not formally linked the PLO dominates the administration. The headquarters of the PLO were moved to Ramallah on the West Bank.

On 9 September 1993, Arafat issued a press release stating that "the PLO recognizes the right of the State of Israel to exist in peace and security".

Numerous leaders within the PLO and the PA, including Yasser Arafat himself, have declared that the State of Israel has a permanent right to exist, and that the peace treaty with Israel is genuine, though members of the PLO have claimed, and, sometimes boasted, responsibility for a number of attacks against Israelis since the Oslo Accords. Some Palestinian officials have stated that the peace treaty must be viewed as permanent. According to some opinion polls majority of Israelis believe Palestinians should have a state of their own—a major shift in attitude from the pre-Oslo years—even though both Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres were both against the creation of a Palestinian state both before and after the signing of Oslo.

At the same time, a significant portion of the Israeli public and some political leaders (including the former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu) express doubt over whether a peaceful, coherent state can be founded by the PLO and call for significant re-organization, including the elimination of all terrorism, before any talk about independence.

[edit] Al-Aqsa Intifadah

Main article: Al-Aqsa Intifada

The Second or Al-Aqsa Intifada started concurrent with the breakdown of talks at Camp David with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak. The Intifada never ended officially, but violence has hit relatively low levels since 2005. The death toll both military 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.

[edit] Development and reactivation

In the Cairo Declaration and the Prisoners' Document, Palestinian factions agreed to rebuild the PLO. A meeting will be held in Damascus to discuss its future.[citation needed]

[edit] The PLO in the United Nations

On 19 October 1965, the Special Political Committee, at the request of a group of Arab states, decided that a delegation of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) be allowed to attend the meetings of the Committee and present a statement, without implying recognition. The PLO participated in the discussions of the Committee under the agenda item of UNRWA in much the same way until 1973.

At the 434th meeting, on 19 October, the Chairman drew the attention of the Committee to a letter dated 15 October 1965 (A/SPC/104) from the representatives of Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia. United Arab Republic and Yemen, requesting "... that the delegation of the Palestine Liberation Organization, representing the Arab people of Palestine, the principal party to the Palestine question, be heard ..." by the Committee during its deliberations on the item. After discussion at the same meeting and at the 435th meeting on 20 October, the Special Political Committee adopted a draft resolution submitted by Costa Rica and El Salvador (A/SPC/L.112/Rev.l)[18] whereby the Committee, considering the request submitted in document A/SPC/104 by the representatives of the Arab States that the members of the delegation of the Palestine Liberation Organization be heard during the Committee's deliberations on item 35, decided to authorize the persons constituting the said delegation to speak in the Committee and to make such statements as they might deem necessary, without such authorization implying recognition of that organization. In accordance with this decision, Mr. Tannous, one of the persons constituting the delegation made statements at the 437th meeting, on 22 October and at the 450th, 451st and 457th meetings, on 9, 10 and 16 November.[19]

On 9 May 1975, the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) adopted resolution 1949 (LVIII), amending rule 73 of its rules of procedure to provide for the participation of national liberation movements as observers in the deliberations of the Council.[20]

In accordance with General Assembly resolution 3237 (XXIX) of 22 November 1974, "by which the Palestine Liberation Organization was accorded the status of observer at the sessions of the General Assembly and the right to participate in the work of all conferences and meetings convened under the auspices of other organs and institutions of the United Nations in the capacity of observer,

The Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP) was established on 10 November 1975 by the General Assembly, in resolution 3376 (XXX). Composed of twenty member states, the Committee was to recommend a program for the implementation of the rights of the Palestinian people.[21] A similar resolution is adopted annually under the agenda item "Question of Palestine". Also on 10 November 1975 the PLO, was invited to participate in the efforts for peace in the Middle East by the General Assembly in resolution 3375 (XXX).

From 5 December 1975, the PLO was able to participate for the first time in official meetings of the Security Council. As the request for participation was not made under either article 37 or article 39 of the rules of procedure of the Council, the Council adopts a procedural decision, by 9 votes, under which the PLO is granted the same rights of participation as if it were a member state under article 37.[22]

The PLO was recognized as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people before the international community, and was granted observer status as a national liberation movement by the United Nations General Assembly.[23][24] On January 12, 1976 the UN Security Council voted 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.

The United Nations General Assembly discussed the implications of the 1988 Palestinian Declaration of Independence on 15 December 1988 and concluded that the proclamation was in accord with UNGA Resolution 181 and the Palestinian right to self-determination.[25] Accordingly, representation for Palestinians in the UN was renamed from the "Palestine Liberation Organization" to "Palestine" from that point forward.[25] On July 7, 1998, this status was extended to allow participation in General Assembly debates, though not in voting.

In numerous Resolutions by the General Assembly the PLO was declared the "sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian People". This was recognised by Israel in the Oslo Accords from 1993.

[edit] PLO National Charter

The Palestinian National Charter[26] as amended in 1968 endorsed 'armed struggle' against 'Zionist imperialism.' Article 10 of the Palestinian National Charter states:

'Commando (Fedayeen) action constitutes the nucleus of the Palestinian popular liberation war. This requires its escalation, comprehensiveness, and the mobilization of all the Palestinian popular and educational efforts and their organization and involvement in the armed Palestinian revolution. It also requires the achieving of unity for the national (watani) struggle among the different groupings of the Palestinian people, and between the Palestinian people and the Arab masses, so as to secure the continuation of the revolution, its escalation, and victory.'

Ilan Pappe argues that, in their charter, the PLO emphasised the importance of the process of the 'liberation struggle' ahead of the aims at which the struggle was directed; that they saw the means as being more important than the ends. He cites clause eight of the Charter, which states that 'the armed struggle for the liberation of Palestine is a strategy, not tactics', and suggests that this was considered central to the reinforcement of a collective identity amongst the dispersed Palestinian community, as a common thread with which to connect them.[27]

The most controversial element of text of the Palestinian National Charter was a clause declaring the creation of the state of Israel 'null and void', since it was created by force on Palestinian soil under imperial auspices.

In letters exchanged between Arafat and Rabin following the 1993 Oslo Accords, Arafat wrote that:

'the PLO affirms that those articles of the Palestinian Covenant which deny Israel's right to exist, and the provisions of the Covenant which are inconsistent with the commitments of this letter are now inoperative and no longer valid. Consequently, the PLO undertakes to submit to the Palestinian National Council for formal approval the necessary changes in regard to the Palestinian Covenant.'

On 26 April 1996, the Palestine National Council held a meeting in camera, at whose end it was announced that the Council had voted to nullify or amend all such clauses, and called for a new text to be produced. At the time, some Israeli political figures and academics expressed suspicions and doubts this that this is what had actually taken place, and continued to claim that controversial clauses were still in force.[citation needed]

A letter from Arafat to US President Bill Clinton in 1998 listed the clauses concerned, and a meeting of the Palestine Central Committee approved that list. To remove all doubt the vote this time was held in a public meeting of PLO, PNC and PCC members which was televised worldwide and in the presence of none other than the President of the United States Bill Clinton in person, who arrived in the Gaza Strip for that specific purpose. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accepted this as the promised nullification.

The fact that a new text of the Charter has never been produced the source of a continuing controversy, with critics of the Palestinian organizations claim that failure to produce a new text proves the insincerity of the clause nullifications.[28] One of several Palestinian responses is that the proper replacement of the Charter will be the constitution of the forthcoming state of Palestine.[citation needed]The published draft constitution states that the territory of Palestine 'is an indivisible unit based upon its borders on the 4th of June 1967' - which clearly implies an acceptance of Israel's existence in its 1967 borders.

[edit] Designation of Terrorism by United States Congress

In 1987 the United States Congress declared the PLO to be a terrorist organization under the Anti-Terrorism Act 1987, citing among others the Achille Lauro attack.[29][30]

[edit] Acts of Violence linked to PLO

[edit] Assets and Mismanagement

Before it formally renounced terrorism as a one of the means to gain Palestinian self-determination, the PLO was considered 'the richest of all terrorist organizations" with US$8-$10 billion in assets and an annual income of $1.5-$2 billion from "donations, extortion, payoffs, illegal arms dealing, drug trafficking, money laundering, fraud, etc.", according to a 1993 British National Criminal Intelligence Service report. England's Daily Telegraph reported in 1999 that the PLO had $50 billion in secret investments around the world.[31]. According to other sources, Arafat's personal fund manager, the Kurd Muhammad Rashid, managed a secret channel with former Israeli intelligence chief Yossi Ginossar involving covert payments and joint enterprises which helped swell Arafat's personal coffers. [32]

With the establishment of the Palestine Authority, instruments of financial review have been put in place. The Palestinian Legislative Council has set up a special commission to investigate corruption and the comptroller's first report, on one conspicuous scandal, revealed that mismanagement and corruption distracted some 40% of the annual budget from its proper use, in what it called a 'Mafia-styled government'.In October 1999, Azmi Shuaibi, chairman of the PLC's Budget Committee, speaking at the 9th International Anti-Corruption Conferencein in Durban, South Africa[33], remarked that: 'The recent corruption found in the PA is similarto the corruption that exists in the rest of the Arab countries'governments.'[34]. Financial oversight was, until Arafat's death, difficult to put in place, given the leader's tight personal control of monies. As Azmi Shuaibi put it at the time: “We are afraid if something happens to Arafat, we will not know where the money is.'[32]

[edit] Statements made by members of the PLO

On fighting against Israel:

"I come bearing an olive branch in one hand, and the freedom fighter's gun in the other. Do not let the olive branch fall from my hand." -- Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the PLO (November, 1974, while speaking at the United Nations)
"This is my homeland; no one can kick me out." -- Yasser Arafat's reply to Ariel Sharon's threat to expel him from the occupied territories. September 11, 2003.
"Whoever thinks of stopping the uprising before it achieves its goals, I will give him ten bullets in the chest." --Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the PLO
"We know only one word: Jihad, Jihad, Jihad. When we stopped the intifada, we did not stop the jihad for the establishment of a Palestinian state whose capital is Jerusalem. And now we are entering the phase of the great jihad prior to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state whose capital is Jerusalem...We are in a conflict with the Zionist movement and the Balfour Declaration and all imperialist activities." --Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the PLO (During an October 21,1996 speech at the Dehaishe refugee camp)
"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct "Palestinian people" to oppose Zionism. For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa. While as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan." -- PLO Executive Committee member Zuhayr Muhsin, March 31, 1977, interview with the Dutch newspaper Trouw."

On accepting Israel:

"Palestinians are no strangers to compromise. In the 1993 Oslo Accords, we agreed to recognize Israeli sovereignty over 78 percent of historic Palestine and to establish a Palestinian state on only 22 percent." -- Saeb Erekat, Chief Palestinian negotiator, 5 August 2000
"Consequently, the PLO undertakes to submit to the Palestinian National Council for formal approval the necessary changes in regard to the Palestinian covenant." --Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the PLO (in the exchange of letters with Israel on 9 September 1993)
"Israel must not demand that the PLO alter its covenant, just as the PLO does not demand that the Jewish nation cancel the Bible." --Ziad Abu Ziad, senior PLO official (in a speech to the American Jewish Federation, 23 October 1993)
In his 22 April 2004 interview with the Jordanian newspaper Al-Arab, the PLO minister still living in Tunisia Farouk Kaddoumi said that the PLO charter was never changed so as to recognize Israel's right to exist. "The Palestinian national charter has not been amended until now. It was said that some articles are no longer effective, but they were not changed. I'm one of those who didn't agree to any changes." He said also: "...the national struggle must continue. I mean the armed struggle... Fatah was established on the basis of the armed struggle and that this was the only way to leading to political negotiations that would force the enemy to accept our national aspirations. Therefore there is no struggle other than the armed military struggle... If Israel wants to leave the Gaza Strip, then it should do so. This means that the Palestinian resistance has forced it to leave. But the resistance will continue. Let the Gaza Strip be South Vietnam. We will use all available methods to liberate North Vietnam."
"If you are asking me, as a man who belongs to the Islamic faith, my answer is also "From the river to the sea," the entire land is an Islamic Waqf which cannot be bought or sold, and it is impossible to remain silent while someone is stealing it..." -- Faisal Husseini (1940-2001), Fatah leader and PA Minister for Jerusalem, 'Al-Arabi' (Egypt), 24 June 2001.[35] Similar statements were made in the newspaper 'As-Safir' on 3 March 2001.[36][37]

On whether the PLO police force will work with Israel against terrorism:

"The Joint Security Coordination and Cooperation Committee set up under Article II hereunder shall develop a plan to ensure full coordination between the Israeli military forces and the Palestinian police..." -- from the agreement signed by Israel and the PLO in Cairo on 4 May 1994 (paragraph 2a of Annex I to the agreement)
"Anyone who thinks the Palestinian police will try to prevent attacks outside the borders of the autonomous area is making a bitter mistake." --- Sufian Abu Zaida, a leader of Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction in Gaza (Maariv, 25 April 1994)
"If there are those who oppose the agreement with Israel, the gates are open to them to intensify the armed struggle." -- Jibril Rajoub, PLO security chief for the West Bank, during a lecture at Bethlehem University (Yediot Aharonot, 27 May 1994)

On the right of return of Palestinian refugees:

"I recently read an interview with an elderly Palestinian woman living in the Ein el Hilwa camp in Lebanon. Tightly gripping the rusted key to her family's farm near Jaffa, she asked her interviewer how she should explain to her grandchildren, who had known only the stench of the camp's open sewers, what it was like to wake up to the scent of fresh lemons." -- Elia Zureik, a Professor of Sociology at Queen's University, Kingston, Canada, Advises the Palestine Liberation Organization on Refugee Issues
"800,000 Palestinians among those who left after 1967 will come back in the transitional period, which is five years. Those who left in 1948 will come back after the declaration of the Palestinian independent state." -- Nabil Sha'ath, head of the PLO delegation to the talks with Israel in Taba (Al-Hayat, 28 September 1993)
"In my opinion, the refugees problem is more important than a Palestinian state" -- Faruk Kadumi, general secretary of the Fatah council (Kul Al-Arab, 3 January 2003)

On why the PLO signed the Cairo agreement with Israel:

"The money is the carrot for signing the peace agreement with Israel. We have signed." -- Hassan Abu Libdah, deputy chairman of the PLO's Palestinian Economic Council for Development and Reconstruction (The New York Times, 10 June 1994)

On Palestinian statehood:

"Palestinians believe that Jerusalem should be a shared, open city; two capitals for two states." -- Faisal Husseini, senior PLO representative in Israel, 3 July 2000
"Gradually, stage by stage, we will reach an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as the capital." -- Faisal Husseini, senior PLO representative in Israel (Beirut Times, 16 September 1993)
The Palestinian flag "will fly over the walls of Jerusalem, the churches of Jerusalem and the mosques of Jerusalem." -- Yasser Arafat, Former Chairman of the PLO (Jordanian TV, 13 September 1993)

[edit] Media representation of the PLO

[edit] Documentaries

The Cutting Edge: Dining with the Devil explores the history between the PLO and the CIA, including secret meetings.[38]

[edit] Music

Hip-hop artist M.I.A. references the PLO in her song "Sunshowers", with the line "Like PLO, I don't surrendero". She has recently had trouble entering the U.S. due to problems with her Visa, and she has speculated that this comment could possibly be related to this line.[39]

American rock band Blondie mentiones PLO in their single "Warchild" (PLO lovers courting after the curfew/Your father and brother have the West Bank blues).

American rapper Method Man has an song entitled "P.L.O Style", the title of which is repeated many times throughout the song and the album itself.

"Ebin" from the Sublime song is "down with the PLO."

[edit] See also

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b Madiha Rashid al Madfai, Jordan, the United States and the Middle East Peace Process, 1974-1991, Cambridge Middle East Library, Cambridge University Press (June 25th 1993). ISBN 0521415233. p. 21:"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."
  2. ^ The PNC Program of 1974, June 8, 1974. On the site of MidEastWeb for Coexistence R.A. - Middle East Resources. Page includes commentary. Accessed 5 December 2006.
  3. ^ William L. Cleveland, A History of the Modern Middle East, Westview Press (2004). ISBN 0813340489.
  4. ^ Efraim Karsh, Arafat’s War: The Man and His Battle for Israeli Conquest,Grove Press 2004 p.85
  5. ^ Khalid Shikaki, ìThe Internal Consequences of Unstable Peace: Psychological and Political Responses of the Palestinians,’in Robert L.Rothstein, (ed) After the Peace: Resistance and Reconciliation,' Lynne Rienner Publishers, Boulder, Colorado, 1999 pp.29-66 p.163
  6. ^ Esam Shashaa, 1964 - PLO representative of the Palestinian people, Zajel, An-Najah National University (Palestine), September 26, 2004. Accessed online 27 December 2006.
  7. ^ United Nations General Assembly Resolution 60/39, December 1, 2005. Accessed online on the Jewish Virtual Library, 27 December 2006.
  8. ^ Statement of Proclamation of the Organization, Palestine Liberation Organization, Jerusalem, 28 May 1964. Online on the site of the Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine to the United Nations. Accessed 5 December 2006.
  9. ^ The Palestinian National Charter, Adopted in 1964 by the 1st Palestinian Conference. Online on the site of the Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine to the United Nations. Accessed 5 December 2006.
  10. ^ Sela, Avraham. "Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)." The Continuum Political Encyclopedia of the Middle East. Ed. Avraham Sela. New York: Continuum, 2002. pp. 689-696.
  11. ^ I. Jad, 'From Salons to the Popular Committees: Palestinian Women, 1919-89', in I. Pappe (ed.), The Israel-Palestine Question: A Reader (Routledge, London, 2007), pp.190-91.
  12. ^ I. Jad, 'From Salons to the Popular Committees: Palestinian Women, 1919-89', in I. Pappe (ed.), The Israel-Palestine Question: A Reader (Routledge, London, 2007), pp.191-92.
  13. ^ For details see Rex Brynen, Sanctuary and Survival: The PLO in Lebanon,Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado 1990 passim.
  14. ^ Political Program Adopted at the 12th Session of the Palestine National Council, Cairo, 8 June 1974. Online on the site of the Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine to the United Nations. Retrieved on 2007-05-16.
  15. ^ (Hebrew) http://www.nfc.co.il/archive/003-D-6200-00.html?tag=23-15-32 nfc.co.il news site.
  16. ^ Yasser Arafat obituary, socialistworld.net (Committee for a Worker’s International) 11 November 2004. Accessed 5 December 2006.
  17. ^ King Hussein, Address to the Nation, Amman, Jordan, July 31, 1988. On the Royal Hashemit Court's official site in tribute to King Hussein. Accessed 5 December 2006.
  18. ^ UN Doc A/SPC/L.112/Rev.1 of 21 October 1965 Reports of the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East
  19. ^ UN Doc A/6115* of 23 November 1965 Report of the Special Political Committee
  20. ^ UN Doc ECWA/RES/12 (II) of 9 May 1975 Economic and Social Council 12 (II). Palestine Liberation Organization
  21. ^ UN Doc A/PV.2399 of 10 November 1975 Question of Palestine - Establishment of CEIRPP/debate-and vote Verbatim records
  22. ^ UN Doc A/RES/3414 (XXX) of 5 December 1975 3414 (XXX). General Assembly considers the situation in the Middle East
  23. ^ Who Represents the Palestinians Officially Before the World Community?. Institute for Middle East Understanding (2006 - 2007). Retrieved on 07.27.2007.
  24. ^ Security Council. WorldMUN2007 - United Nations Security Council (26 March - 30 March 2007). Retrieved on 07.31.2007.
  25. ^ a b Eric Suy, Karel Wellens (1998). International Law: Theory and Practice : Essays in Honour of Eric Suy. Martinus Nijhoff, 378. ISBN 9041105824. 
  26. ^ Original PLO Charter (1964) from the Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine to the United Nations
  27. ^ I. Pappe, A History of Modern Palestine: One Land, Two Peoples (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2004), p.192.
  28. ^ Hollander, Ricki. "CAMERA: A Look Back: Is Fatah Really Moderate?" CAMERA: Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America. 14 August 2007. 2 March 2008.
  29. ^ U.S. Code TITLE 22 > CHAPTER 61 > § 5201. Findings; determinations, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School. Accessed 5 December 2006.
  30. ^ 22 USC CHAPTER 61 - ANTI-TERRORISM - PLO, Office of the Law Revision Counsel (United States). Accessed 5 December 2006.
  31. ^ Rachel Ehrenfeld to be fixed
  32. ^ a b Barry M. Rubin, Judith Colp Rubin, Yasir Arafat: A Political Biography,Oxford University Press 2003 p.233
  33. ^ Azmi Shuaibi, 'Elements of Corruption in the Middle East and North Africa: The Palestinian Case,' noted in Rachel Ehrenfeld, with R James Woolsey, Funding Evil: How Terrorism is Financed-- and how to Stop it, Bonus Books 2003 p.247
  34. ^ And a Thief, Too: Yasser Arafat takes what he likes, National Review, July 29, 2002.
  35. ^ The Oslo Accords: A Trojan Horse, Middle East Media Research Institute, Special Dispatch Series - No. 236, July 2, 2001. Accessed 5 December 2006.
  36. ^ Yitzhak Santis, The Middle East: A Century of Conflict. A Critique of National Public Radio's Seven-Part Series on the Arab-Israeli Conflict, Jewish Community Relations Council (San Francisco), January 1, 2003. p. 23. Accessed 5 December 2006.
  37. ^ Joel S. Fishman, Ten Years Since Oslo: The PLO's "People's War" Strategy and Israel's Inadequate Response, Jerusalem Viewpoints (Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs), No. 503 1-15 September 2003. Archived 6 December 2003 onthe Internet Archive. Accessed 5 December 2006.
  38. ^ The Cutting Edge: Dining with the Devil
  39. ^ From The Magazine : Radar Online : Hip-hop renegade M.I.A. has an explosive new album, disses George W. Bush and the Department of Homeland Security in this Radar interview

[edit] External links

[edit] Official sites

[edit] History and Overview

[edit] Documents

[edit] Analysis

[edit] General