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Palestine Liberation Organization

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Palestine Liberation Organization
منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية‎
AbbreviationPLO
Chairperson Mahmoud Abbas
Founder Ahmad Shukeiri
FoundedMay 28, 1964; 60 years ago (1964-05-28)
HeadquartersAl-Bireh, West Bank, State of Palestine
IdeologyPalestinian nationalism
Anti-Zionism
Factions:
Social democracy
Marxism-Leninism
Left-wing nationalism
Arab nationalism
Ba'athism
National affiliation Palestinian National Authority (from 1994)[a]
International affiliation United Nations (from 1974)

The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) is a political group that advocates for the creation of a state for the Palestinian people. The group was created in 1964. It represents Palestinians in diplomatic relations to other countries.[1][2] It has held observer status at the United Nations since 1974.[3] Since the First Intifada, it has ran the Palestinian National Authority (PNA).[a]

Founded as a result of the Israel–Palestine conflict, the PLO originally used violence and terrorism to try and defeat Israel and liberate the Palestinian territories. It was initially founded by Ahmad Shukeiri in 1964, but thrived under the leadership of Yasser Arafat from 1969 to 2004. Under Arafat, Fatah became the largest faction of the PLO. The group became involved in Black September, the Lebanese Civil War, the First Intifada, and the Second Intifada during the Arafat years. After the First Intifada, the PLO and Israel signed the Oslo Accords, creating the PNA and transitioning the PLO into a political party. Arafat died during the Second Intifada, causing Mahmoud Abbas to become the current leader.

Since the Second Intifada, Fatah has maintained control over the PLO and the group has largely avoided violent combat. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) sometimes clash with the PLO during incursions into the West Bank, although no official war has been declared. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), minor factions of the PLO, went to war with Israel in 2023, but it does not represent the majority consensus of the group.

  1. 1.0 1.1 Since 2006, the PLO's leadership of the Palestinian National Authority has been partially disputed by Hamas.

References

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  1. United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3236. "Having heard the statement of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the representative of the Palestinian people, …"
  2. Kim Murphy. "Israel and PLO, in Historic Bid for Peace, Agree to Mutual Recognition," Los Angeles Times, 10 September 1993.
  3. United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3210. "Invites the Palestine Liberation Organization, the representative of the Palestinian people, to participate in the deliberations of the General Assembly on the question of Palestine in plenary meetings."