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Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine

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Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
الْجَبْهَةُ الشَّعْبِيَّةُ لِتَحْرِيرِ فِلَسْطِينَ
General SecretaryAhmad Sa'adat
FounderGeorge Habash
Founded1967 (1967)
HeadquartersDamascus, Syria
Paramilitary wingAbu Ali Mustafa Brigades[1]
Ideology
Political positionMarxist, Nationalist
National affiliationPalestine Liberation Organization
Democratic Alliance List
International affiliationInternational Communist Seminar (defunct)
Axis of Resistance
SloganLong Live the Launch of the PFLP
Legislative Council (2006, defunct)
3 / 132
Party flag
Website
www.pflp.ps

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) is a Palestinian revolutionary group founded in 1967 by George Habash. It is against the two-state solution. The PFLP is the second largest group in the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). It has come into conflict with Fatah, the largest group in the PLO, over political differences. The PFLP is known for its aircraft hijackings in the 60s and 70s.

Founding

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George Habash in 1969.

The PFLP was founded by George Habash. Habash was born in 1926. He was a Palestinian from Lydda, who went to study at the American University of Beirut. Around 1950, he became involved in student politics there. He led a group that eventually grew into the Arab Nationalist Movement (ANM).[3][4] In December 1967, various ANM organizations united to form the PFLP under the leadership of Habash. This was in response to the defeat of the Arab armies in the Six-Day War.[5][6]

Ideology

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In 1969, the PFLP published its Strategy for the Liberation of Palestine. Ghassan Kanafani, an important member of the PFLP, wrote part of it.[7] The document declares the PFLP as socialist,[8] and says that its ideology is the same as the ANM's.[9] It also adopts the strategy of guerrilla warfare as a way to overcome the technological advantage of the PFLP's opponents.[10]

The PFLP is against a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Its goal is to destroy the state of Israel.[11] The current leader Ahmad Sa'adat rejects peace talks. He has said that the only solution to the conflict is a state where Jews and Palestinians can live together.[12]

Further developments

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Aircraft hijackings

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The PFLP is known for pioneering aircraft hijackings; it took over multiple flights as leverage against Israel. It did this in the first years after its founding, the first one being in July of 1968.[13][2] The well-known member Leila Khaled took part in some of these hijackings.[14][15]

Splinter groups

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Shortly after its founding, several groups split off from the PFLP, including the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command (PFLP-GC), and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP).[16][17] The DFLP split off because of political differences in February 1969.[18] The PFLP-GC separated in 1968 because it found that the PFLP was doing too much politics and too little military action.[19]

PLO membership

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The PFLP joined the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1968. It is the second largest group in the PLO, after Fatah.[17] It strongly opposed the Oslo Process, and in response distanced itself from Fatah in 1993.[20] It did reconcile with Fatah in 1999, but it is still against the Oslo Accords.[16]

Leadership

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George Habash led the PFLP until he stepped down in 2000. Abu Ali Mustafa succeeded him, but was killed in 2001. After him, Ahmad Sa'adat became the leader of the PFLP. He was imprisoned in 2002, but still leads the PFLP.[21]

Participation in Gaza war

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In 2023, the PFLP participated in the October 7 attacks, also known as the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation. It has since conducted attacks against the IDF as part of the Gaza war.[22] Israel killed several important PFLP members in its September 2024 Lebanon strikes.[23]

Designation as a terrorist organization

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The PFLP is currently considered as a terrorist organization by different countries, including the United States[24] and the European Union.[25]

Prominent members

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References

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  1. ↑ "Side by side: Palestinian Resistance factions announce mobilization". Al Mayadeen English. 7 October 2023. Archived from the original on 8 October 2023. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  2. 1 2 Profile: Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine BBC News, 18 November 2014
  3. ↑ Habash, George; Soueid, Mahmoud (1998). "Taking Stock. An Interview with George Habash". Journal of Palestine Studies. 28 (1): 86–101. doi:10.2307/2538058. ISSN 0377-919X.
  4. ↑ Kazziha, Walid (1975). Revolutionary Transformation in the Arab World: Habash and his Comrades from Nationalism to Marxism. New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 17–22.
  5. ↑ "Founding Statement of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine" (PDF). 11 December 1967. Retrieved 22 May 2026.
  6. ↑ PFLP 2017, p. 153.
  7. ↑ PFLP 2017, p. 11.
  8. ↑ PFLP 2017, p. 112.
  9. ↑ PFLP 2017, p. 155.
  10. ↑ PFLP 2017, p. 95-98.
  11. ↑ PFLP 2017, p. 102.
  12. ↑ Perry, Tom (5 May 2010). "INTERVIEW-Jailed Palestinian leader warns against more talks". U.S. Retrieved 25 May 2026.
  13. ↑ Ibrahim, Arwa (13 February 2015). "PROFILE: The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 23 May 2026.
  14. ↑ BreakThrough News (27 October 2023), Leila Khaled Interview: Palestine is an International Liberation Struggle, retrieved 25 May 2026
  15. ↑ Irving, Sarah (2012). Leila Khaled: Icon of Palestinian Liberation. Revolutionary Lives. London: Pluto Press. p. 1. ISBN 978-1-84964-673-4.
  16. 1 2 Alexander 2003, p. 33-35.
  17. 1 2 "PLO Groups – European Council on Foreign Relations". ECFR. 20 March 2018. Retrieved 25 May 2026.
  18. ↑ Charif, Maher. "The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine – DFLP". Interactive Encyclopedia of the Palestine Question. Retrieved 25 May 2026.
  19. ↑ Alexander 2003, p. 41.
  20. ↑ Leopardi, Francesco Saverio (2021). "The "Nationalist" Subordination of the Palestinian Left". www.tandfonline.com. pp. 177–191. doi:10.1080/13530194.2013.791135. Retrieved 25 May 2026.
  21. ↑ "Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine | Palestinian political organization | Resistance, Activism, Liberation | Britannica". Encyclopedia Britannica. 20 April 2026. Retrieved 23 May 2026.
  22. ↑ O'Connor, Tom (8 November 2023). "Not only Hamas: eight factions at war with Israel in Gaza". Newsweek. Retrieved 25 May 2026.
  23. ↑ Salhani, Justin (30 September 2024). "Israel's attack on Beirut's Kola: What happened and why it matters". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 25 May 2026.
  24. ↑ "Foreign Terrorist Organizations". United States Department of State. Retrieved 25 May 2026.
  25. ↑ "PFLP". data.europa.eu. EU Sanctions Tracker. Retrieved 25 May 2026.
  26. ↑ Ray, Michael (24 March 2026). "Carlos the Jackal | History, Attacks, & Capture | Britannica". Britannica. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
  27. ↑ Anderson, Raymond H. (2 April 1978). "Wadi Haddad, Palestinian Hijacking Strategist, Dies". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 25 May 2026.
  28. ↑ Charif, Maher. "The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – PFLP". Interactive Encyclopedia of the Palestine Question. Retrieved 26 May 2026.

Sources

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  • PFLP, ed. (2017). Strategy for the liberation of Palestine (PDF). Colorful classics. Utrecht: Foreign languages press. ISBN 978-1-5451-4266-0. Retrieved 23 May 2026.
  • Alexander, Yonah (2003). 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. Brill Book Archive Part 1, ISBN: 9789004472495. Leiden Boston: Brill | Nijhoff. ISBN 978-90-04-47950-0.
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