Introduction & Overview
The Popular Front for The Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) is a self-proclaimed secular Palestinian Marxist-Lenninist and Socialist organization, created shortly after the Six-Day War/June War with Israel in December of 1967. The PFLP was established by George Habash, who originally had ties with the Harakat al-Qawmiyyin al-Arab (Arab Nationalist Movement (ANM)). ANM was formed in the 1950s in Beirut, the capital of Lebanon in response to Israel’s occupation of Palestine and to promote Arab unity. After the Six-Day War with Israel, three Palestinian Nationalist insurgent groups merged — The Revenge Youth, Heroes of Return, and the Palestinian Liberation Front to create the Popular Front for Liberation of Palestine alongside The Arab Nationalist Movement. With these three groups merging and through the resources of the ANM, and its various military colleagues in Syria, Egypt, and Iraq, the Popular Front for The Liberation of Palestine was created. The PFLP first joined the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1968, the umbrella organization that's in charge of the Palestinian Nationalist movement. Both remained in agreement on an armed struggle in its early years, the PFLP and PLO opposed several peace talks between Israel and Palestine throughout the years; the PFLP has also removed themselves from the organization to reject peace accords but rejoined despite solution disagreements. (1)
History & Foundations
The Arab Revolt or Great Arab Revolt, was initiated by Hussein bin Ali, the Sharif of Mecca, in 1916, and marked a significant chapter in the struggle for Arab independence from Ottoman rule in Palestine. However, in 1917, the Balfour Declaration displayed British support for a Jewish national home in Palestine, further solidifying the groundwork for tensions between Arab and Jewish communities in the region. The League of Nations was an international organization until 1946. It was founded after World War I to promote peace and cooperation among countries to prevent another global war. The League of Nations ultimately granted Britain the mandate to assist Palestine after the defeat of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I.
After World War I, the Sykes-Picot Agreement placed Palestine under British control, then in 1947, the United Nations Partition Plan, Resolution 181, aimed to address the competing national aspirations by proposing separate Arab and Jewish states. The plan's rejection by Arab leaders led to the declaration of the State of Israel in 1948, which was followed by an invasion by Arab states, sparking the first Arab-Israeli War of 1948-1949. After the first Arab-Israeli war, massive displacement ensued as a result of an Israeli victory. An estimated 700,000 Palestinians were displaced, with many fleeing to neighboring Arab states, although many stayed within Israel’s new borders within the West Bank, and Gaza. With Israel’s victory, they gained independence and recognition as a country first by the United States, and the Soviet Union. As of 2020, Israel is recognized by 165 countries. More conflicts followed after the 1948-49 war, including the Suez Crisis of 1956 and then the Six-Day War of 1967, which also escalated the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, resulting in the Israeli occupation of territories including the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and Golan Heights. These events contributed to the displacement of Palestinians, latching them into continuing cycles of brutal violence, poverty, and further resistance. The signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993 offered hope for a peaceful resolution, but successive deteriorations became constant regarding negotiations. (2)
During the creation of the Popular Front for The Liberation of Palestine, a document was released that outlined the PFLP’s principles, and their goals. The PFLP firstly opposes Zionism and considers it a colonialist movement that aims to displace the Palestinian people from their homeland. The founding document further states that the PFLP advocates for a secular and democratic state, where all citizens enjoy equal rights. The document also emphasizes the importance of their armed struggle as a legitimate means to resist occupation and achieve liberation. Through this emphasis, they call for the mobilization of all Palestinian people, and the Arab nations in a unified armed struggle against Israel, the World Zionist Organization, and lastly, what the document states as a ‘third force,’ which is ‘that of world imperialism led by the United States of America. (3) By the 1980s, with the rise of Islamist movements like Hamas, and the Islamic Jihad, and with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Popular Front for The Liberation of Palestine started to lose its influence in the Palestinian resistance movements in Gaza and the West Bank.
The PFLP remained marginally aligned with the Palestinian movement’s armed struggle, including in the first and second Intifada. The first Intifada, which began on December 9th, 1987 happened due to an Israeli truck driver killing four Palestinian refugees in an automobile accident who were from the Jabalia Refugee Camp. Protests and civil disobedience erupted in response throughout the West Bank and Gaza. During the first Intifada, the Israeli army killed 1,087 Palestinians, 240 of whom were children. 100 Israeli civilians and 60 Israeli soldiers were killed. (4) The PFLP remained active in the Palestinian movement during the Second Intifada from 2000 to 2005.(5)
Objectives & Ideologies
The PFLP openly opposes Zionism, a nationalist movement that emerged in the late 19th century and advocated for the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine, which was then in the 19th century part of the Ottoman Empire. The Zionist movement, created by Theodor Herzl, strongly advocated establishing a sovereign Jewish state. Theodor Herzl focused on Palestine as the primary location for a Jewish homeland due to its historical and biblical connections to the Jewish people. However, The Popular Front for The Liberation of Palestine considers Zionism a colonialist movement that aims to displace the Palestinian people from their homeland instead of assimilating them. The PFLP also opposes a two-state solution and instead calls for the creation of a democratic Palestinian state in all of historic Palestine through armed struggle, and for Jerusalem to be Palestine’s capital. The PFLP’s founding document's conclusion calls for the mobilization of all Palestinian people and Arab nations in a unified fight against imperialism and Zionism. The PFLP also pledges solidarity with revolutionary movements worldwide, viewing the Palestinian struggle as a part of a broader global struggle against imperialism and colonialism. It also emphasizes their commitment to social justice, economic equality, and the rights of workers and peasants in Palestine. (6)
Military & Political Capabilities
The PFLP is assumed to have 18 Political Bureau members, most of whose identities
are unknow; however, it is known that at the last General Conference, held in 2001, Ahmad Sa’adat was re-elected as Secretary General. As for military capabilities, the PFLP and its umbrella organization since 1968, PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization) have a variety of suppliers. Syria has provided financial support and training, and the PFLP-General Command also maintains its headquarters in Damascus, Syria. They have also received support from Russia, China, and Iran. The PFLP has remained an off-and-on significant player within the Palestinian movement. Although often rejecting any peace negotiation and politically detached, the PFLP has remained marginally fastened to the movement's armed struggle. (7) Since Hamas' attack and subsequent Israeli air and ground operation on October 7th, 2023, the PFLP has posted a variety of texts, videos, and photographs displaying targeted cyber and armed attacks on Israeli watchtowers and military checkpoints along the Gaza Strip border. Along with these statements taking credit for terror attacks and cyber-attacks, the PFLP’s Central Media Department released a statement on the October 7th attack against Israel:
"The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) said that the solid mountains of the sons of the resistance came out united in response to the call of Palestine, the call of Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa, in which the nature of the conflict is restored and the dignity of the Arab nation is restored, determined to achieve a strategic victory over this enemy in a battle that will open the door of return and redraw the history of Palestine and the region. The PFLP called on our heroic people throughout Palestine to actively participate in the battle of the "Al-Aqsa Flood", both from its position and with the tools it possesses, to attack the enemy army and its settlers, cut off its supply routes, sabotage its vital facilities, and chase the Zionist invaders who are terrified in front of the strikes of the resistance and their proxy strikes in every inch of the land of Palestine. The Front stressed its call to all those who carry weapons, especially the sons of the security services, to engage in the battle of the Palestinian people against their enemy, and to position themselves in the natural position of every free Palestinian struggling for salvation from the occupation, and to achieve the goals and rights of all our people. The Front said that the timing of the battle coinciding with the glorious October War is an invitation to the sons of the Arab nation and the peoples of the region to realize their position in the overall conflict with the Zionist enemy and in this particular battle and to carry out their duties alongside their rebellious people fighting in occupied Palestine." (8)
Approach to Resistance
Predominantly fighting for a one-state solution in the Palestinian and Israeli conflict, the PFLP rejects any peace negotiations. The PFLP’s tactics have changed since its early years, switching from hijackings that aimed to put the Palestinian cause on the world stage to firing a combination of rockets and mortars from the Gaza Strip into Israel. Additionally, the PFLP also uses suicide bombings against the State of Israel. (9)
Internal Relations and Alliances
With the Popular Front for The Liberation of Palestine first joining the PLO, in 1968, the PFLP has had a variety of alliances since its creation. It has received support from Russia, China, Iran, and Syria. (10)
Works Cited
“Terrorism Profile – the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).” The Mackenzie Institute, 21 Jan. 2016, mackenzieinstitute.com/terrorism-profile-the-popular-front-for-the-liberation-of-palestine-pflp/.
Charif, Maher. “The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – PFLP.” Palquest, palquest.palestine-studies.org/en/highlight/23332/popular-front-liberation-palestine-%E2%80%93-pflp.
Library, Jewish Virtual. “Palestinian Terror Groups.” Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), 2021, www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/popular-front-for-the-liberation-of-palestine-pflp.
News, BBC. “Profile: Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).” BBC News, BBC, 18 Nov. 2014, www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-30099510.
“Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).” ECFR, 3 July 2023,ecfr.eu/special/mapping_palestinian_politics/popular_front_for_the_liberation_of_palestine/.
Charif, Maher. “The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – PFLP.” Palquest, 2024,palquest.palestine-studies.org/en/highlight/23332/popular-front-liberation-palestine-%E2%80%93-pflp.
Dean, Laura. “The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine: Marxists with a History of Global Ties.” The World from PRX, 30 July 2016, theworld.org/stories/2016/07/30/popular-front-liberation-palestine-marxists-history-global-ties.
Monitor, NGO. “PFLP Involvement in the October 7 Atrocities " Ngomonitor.” Ngomonitor, 30 Jan. 2024, www.ngo-monitor.org/reports/pflp-involvement-in-the-october-7-atrocities/.
Kilani, Ramsis. “Strategies for Liberation: Old and New Arguments in the Palestinian Left • International Socialism.” International Socialism, 26 June 2024, isj.org.uk/strategies-for-liberation-old-and-new-arguments-in-the-palestinian-left/.
10. “Timeline: Key Events in the Israel-Arab and Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.” AJC,
American Jewish Committee, 26 Feb. 2024, www.ajc.org/IsraelConflictTimeline.
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