View source for Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine

{{Short description|Palestinian Marxist–Leninist organization}}
{{redirect|PFLP|other meanings|PFLP (disambiguation)}}
{{pp-extended|small=yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2023}}
{{Infobox political party
| name             = Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
| native_name      = الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير فلسطين
| native_name_lang = ar
| logo             = Logo of PFLP.png
| caption          =
| leader1_title    = General Secretary
| leader1_name     = [[Ahmad Sa'adat]]<br><small>(imprisoned)</small>
| foundation       = {{start date and age|1967}}
| founder          = [[George Habash]]
| ideology         = {{ubl|class=nowrap
| [[Communism]]
| [[Marxism–Leninism]]
| [[Revolutionary socialism]]
| [[Palestinian nationalism]]
| [[Secularism]]
| [[Anti-imperialism]]
| [[Anti-Zionism]]
| [[Pan-Arabism]]
| [[Arab nationalism]]<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-30099510 Profile: Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine] [[BBC News]], 18 November 2014</ref>
| [[One-state solution]]<ref name="One-state solution"/>
}}
| position         = [[Far-left politics|Far-left]]
| headquarters     = [[Damascus]], Syria
| wing1_title      = Paramilitary wing
| wing1            = [[Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades]]
| national         = [[Palestine Liberation Organization]]<br />[[Democratic Alliance List]]
| international    = [[International Communist Seminar]] (defunct)<br>[[Axis of Resistance]]
| seats1_title     = [[Palestinian Legislative Council|Legislative Council (2006, defunct)]]
| 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     = [[Jamil Mezher]]
}}
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 [[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 hijacking|aircraft-hijackings]] 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 [[Israel–Hamas war]] (2023–present) alongside [[Hamas]] and other [[Palestinian Joint Operations Room|allied Palestinian factions]].<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 [[List of designated terrorist groups|terrorist organization]] by the [[United States]],<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> [[Japan]],<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> [[Canada]],<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 [[European Union]].<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>
[[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 [[Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization|PLO Executive Committee]]<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= [[Middle East Eye]] |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=[[Ma'an News Agency]]|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= [[BBC News]]|date= 18 November 2014}}</ref> and the [[Palestinian National Council]].<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>
==History==
===Arab Nationalist Movement===
[[File:George Habash.jpg|thumb|left|150px| [[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.<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 [[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 [Palestinians'] 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=[https://archive.org/details/greenmarchblacks00john/page/135 135]|url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/greenmarchblacks00john/page/135}}</ref> The ANM was founded in this nationalist spirit. "[We] held the '[[Che Guevara|Guevara]] view' of the '[[revolution]]ary human being{{' "}}, Habash told Cooley. "A new breed of man had to emerge, among the Arabs as everywhere else. This meant applying everything in human power to the realization of a cause."<ref name="GreenMarchBlackSeptember"/>
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===
{{More citations needed section|date=September 2024}}
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.{{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 [[guerrilla warfare|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 hijacking]]s, 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===
[[File:PFLP-group-1969.jpg|thumb|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.<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===
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]].<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 = [[Ardsley, New York|Ardsley, NY]] | publisher = Transnational Publishers | pages = 33–39 | doi = 10.1163/9789004479500_004 | isbn = 9789004479500}}</ref> In 1974, it withdrew from the [[Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization|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.<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 [[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<ref name=middleeasteye/> and the [[Palestinian National Council]].<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 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{{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 [[suicide bombing]]s 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 [[Palestinian National Council|PNC]].
The PFLP developed contacts at this time with Islamic fundamentalist groups linked to [[Iran]]{{snd}}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.<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.{{citation needed|date=April 2023}} 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.{{citation needed|date=April 2023}}
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 [[China|People's Republic of China]], and, at various times, with [[regional power|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]].<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 [[Islamism|Islamist]] groups linked to [[Iran]], despite the PFLP's strong adherence to secularism and [[anti-clericalism]]. The relationship between the PFLP and the [[Iran|Islamic Republic of Iran]] has fluctuated{{snd}}it strengthened as a result of Hamas moving away from Iran due to differing positions on the [[Syrian civil war|Syrian Civil War]]. Iran rewarded the PFLP for its pro-[[Bashar al-Assad|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 |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 [[Palestinian NGOs Network|Palestinian NGOs]] 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>
===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  [[2005 Palestinian presidential election|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]].<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 [[Janet Mikhail]] and [[Victor Batarseh]], the mayors of Ramallah and [[Bethlehem]]; they may be close to the PFLP without being members.{{According to whom|date=May 2021}}
The PFLP participated in the [[2006 Palestinian legislative election|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 Governorate|Bethlehem]], followed by 6.6% in [[Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate|Ramallah and al-Bireh]], and 6.5% in [[North Gaza Governorate|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==
{{cleanup list|section|date=October 2023}}
When it was formed in the late 1960s the PFLP supported the established line of most Palestinian [[guerrilla warfare|guerrilla]] fronts and ruled out any negotiated settlement with Israel that would result in [[two-state solution|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 [[Jew]]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 compromised on key points such as the overthrow of conservative or [[monarchy|monarchist]] Arab states like [[Morocco]] and Jordan, the [[Right of Return]] of all [[Palestinian refugee]]s to their homes in pre-1948 [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]], or the use of the liberation of Palestine as an impetus for achieving Arab unity{{snd}}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.<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 [[Camp David Accords]] stood for "subservience, submission, dictatorship and silence", and called for [[social revolution|social]] and [[political revolution]] in [[Egypt]].<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>
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 ==
===Armed attacks before 2000===
[[File:Pflpmayday2005.jpeg|thumb|PFLP [[International Workers' Day|May Day]] poster]]
The PFLP gained notoriety in the late 1960s and early 1970s for a series of armed attacks and [[aircraft hijacking]]s, including on non-Israeli targets:
* The [[El Al Flight 426 hijacking|hijacking of El Al Flight 426]] from Rome to [[Lod airport]] 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=[[University of Pennsylvania Press]]|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 [[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 [[El Al Flight 253 attack|opened fire on El Al Flight 253]] in [[Athens]] about to take off for New York on 26 December 1968, killing one Israeli{{snd}}this prompted [[1968 Israeli raid on Lebanon|a reprisal by Israel destroying airliners in Beirut]].
* An [[El Al Flight 432 attack|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.<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 [[1969 Jerusalem Supermarket bombing|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> 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 [[British Consulate]] 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 />
* The [[TWA Flight 840 hijacking|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, [[Dawson's Field hijackings|hijacked four passenger aircraft]] from [[Pan American World Airways|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 in Jordan|Black September]] clashes between Palestinian and Jordanian forces.
* On 30 May 1972, [[Lod Airport massacre|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 [[Lufthansa Flight 181|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 300 affair|bus from Tel Aviv was hijacked]]. [[Bassam Abu Sharif]] in Damascus issued a statement in the name of the PFLP claiming responsibility.<ref>''The Times'' (London), 14 April 1984. Robert Fisk.</ref>
[[File:Bethlehem-pflpgraffiti.JPG|thumb|right|PFLP graffiti in [[Bethlehem]]]]
* On 8 June 1990 a clash occurred near [[Chouaya (Hasbaiya)|Shuwayya]] in [[Israeli occupation of Southern Lebanon|South Lebanon]] in which four members of the PFLP were killed by the [[South Lebanon Army]] (SLA).<ref>[[Middle East International]] No 377, 8 June 1990, Publishers [[Christopher Mayhew|Lord Mayhew]], [[Dennis Walters|Dennis Walters MP]]; “Fourteen days in brief” p. 15</ref>
* On 27 November 1990 five elite Israeli soldiers and two PFLP fighters were killed in the South Lebanon [[Israeli occupation of Southern Lebanon|security zone]].<ref>Middle East International No 389, 7 December 1990, Publishers [[Christopher Mayhew|Lord Mayhew]], [[Dennis Walters|Dennis Walters MP]]; Hai’m Baram p.12</ref>
===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]].<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>
* 21 October 2001 assassination of Israeli Minister for Tourism [[Rehavam Zeevi]] by [[Hamdi Quran]].
[[File:Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine Graffiti in Sebastia, 2022.jpg|thumb|240x240px|PFLP graffiti in [[Sebastia, Nablus|Sebastia]]]]
* The PFLP claimed responsibility for the [[2014 Jerusalem synagogue massacre|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.<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>[https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/19/world/middleeast/killings-in-jerusalem-synagogue-complex.html "Israel Shaken by 5 Deaths in Synagogue Assault"], ''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">[http://m.thehindu.com/news/international/pflp-claims-responsibility-for-jerusalem-synagogue-attack/article6611700.ece/ "PFLP Claims Responsibility for Jerusalem synagogue attack"] {{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>
* 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>
* Israeli police suspect the PFLP to be responsible for the [[Murder of Rina Shnerb|2019 murder of Israeli teenager Rina Shnerb]].<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>
* Israel–Hamas war (2023-present): the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades published videos of it storming Israeli watchtowers during the [[2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel|7 October Hamas-led attacks into Israel]], <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" />
==See also==
* [[Arab Socialist Action Party]]
* [[List of political parties in the State of Palestine]]
* [[Palestinian domestic weapons production]]
* [[Mohamed Boudia]]
* [[Carlos the Jackal]]
* [[Revolutionary Cells (German group)|Revolutionare Zellen]]
* [[Blekingegade Gang]]
* [[Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine]]
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
==Sources==
* [http://psi.ece.jhu.edu/~kaplan/IRUSS/BUK/GBARC/pdfs/terr-wd/plo75a.pdf PLO 75] {{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 }}, [http://psi.ece.jhu.edu/~kaplan/IRUSS/BUK/GBARC/pdfs/terr-wd/plo75c.pdf PLO 75] {{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 }}, [http://psi.ece.jhu.edu/~kaplan/IRUSS/BUK/GBARC/pdfs/terr-wd/plo75d.pdf PLO 75] {{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 [[KGB]] and the PFLP against Israel and arming PFLP{{snd}}(in Russian) from the ''Soviet Archives'' [https://web.archive.org/web/20110425065643/http://psi.ece.jhu.edu/~kaplan/IRUSS/BUK/GBARC/buk.html V.Bukovsky, Soviet Archive] collected by [[Vladimir Bukovsky]]
==External links==
* [https://pflp.ps/ PFLP website in Arabic]
* [https://www.marxists.org/subject/israel-palestine/plo/basic-political-documents-of-the-armed-palestinian-resistance-movement.pdf#page=179 Documents of the PFLP] in Leila S. Kadi, ''Basic Political Documents of the Armed Palestinian Resistance Movement'', 1969.
* [http://www.fightbacknews.org/2003-3-summer/pflp.htm Interview with imprisoned PFLP General Secretary Ahmad Saadat]- Fight Back! News, Summer 2003
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