Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) 



Origins

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) is a Marxist-Leninist Palestinian movement which was created on 11 December 1967 by, amongst others, Georges Habash, Nayef Hawatmeh, Ahmad Jibril and Waddi Haddad. Georges Habash formerly the leader of the PFLP's predecessor, the Arab Nationalist Movement (ANM), which was created in 1952 in Beirut, Lebanon. In 1964, the National Front for the Liberation of Palestine was created as a Palestinian branch of the ANM. Following the 1967 war between Israel, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan, the National Front for the Liberation of Palestine, in conjunction with other groups, (most notably the Palestine Liberation Front), created the PFLP. During the early 1970's, the PFLP joined the Palestinian Liberation Organization and became its second largest faction.

Location / Main area of operation

The PFLP is located in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip,  Syria, and Lebanon; however, its current strikes into Israel are only launched from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Most notably, this armed group has not launched any attacks from the southern Lebanon since the Israeli withdrawal in June 2000. In addition, this group has been responsible for suicide-attacks committed in Israeli cities.
In Lebanon, the PFLP has members in the Palestinian refugee camps. They are reportedly involved in political, propaganda and logistic activities.
The PFLP maintains its headquarters and political offices in Syria. Additionally, some sources report the presence of training camps in Syria, but this allegation is denied by Syrian authorities.

 


Objectives

The historical and long term objectives of the PFLP are to replace the state of Israel with a secular and democratic state made of all “historical Palestine,” meaning Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
The PFLP joined the Alliance of Palestinian Forces in Damascus, a coalition of several Palestinian factions opposed to the Oslo peace process and in favour of armed struggle against Israel. In 1999, the Popular Front started negotiations with Arafat and the Fatah movement in Cairo in order to find a common position toward the peace process and to reform the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). The organization was then expelled from the Alliance of Palestinian Forces.
Despite the talks with Fatah, the Popular Front maintained a critical position toward the Oslo agreements and affirmed that it has three objectives as an opposition force:

  • to maintain an opposition policy to Zionism and occupation;
  • to enhance the democratic character of the struggle against Israel; and
  • to maintain the unity of the Palestinian people.

Recently, the leaders of the PFLP have, in several instances, called both Fatah and Hamas to hold talks aimed at reaching national unity, which is the PFLP ultimate goal. For example, in an interview in 2007, the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades spokesperson asked Fatah and Hamas “to end all the conflicts and make the national interest the priority.”  On 4 January 2008, the leaders of the PFLP branch in Gaza made similar requests to both groups.  According to PFLP leaders, this objective should be reached by reactivating the institutions of the PLO and the Cairo Agreement of March 2005, as well as holding of elections for the Palestine National Council based on proportional representation.  Lastly, in a recent interview, Maher al-Taher, the leader of the PFLP branch in exile, stated that the PFLP's decision to not participate in the Palestinian Conference of rejectionist groups in Damscus was aimed at avoiding more division within the Palestinians.
However, recent actions show that this armed group’s short-term position toward Israel seems to have evolved. The previous leader of the PFLP, Abu Ali Mustafa, stated that the PFLP has currently two objectives vis-à-vis Israel: the short-term objective is to create a sovereign Palestinian State made of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as its capital;  and the recognition by Israel of the right of return for the Palestinian refugees. However, the strategic or long-term objective is still a secular and democratic state made of Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Furthermore, the PFLP has a critical position vis-à-vis the governments of Arab countries; specifically, the PFLP has stated that it does not only fight against Zionism, but also the Arab regimes, which it calls the “Arab reaction.”
 

Number of Members


According to the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Force (DCAF) and the Graduate Institute for Development Studies, the number of militants in the military wing of this armed group is around 300 in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.  In addition, the Popular Front has between 800 and 1,000 fighters in the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon.

Type : Transnational

The PFLP is a transnational non-state armed group since it carries out its armed operations in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and Israel. It should be noted, however, that despite PFLP training camps and militants in the refugee camps in Lebanon, the armed group does not regularly carry out armed operations there.

Conflict Status : Active

Despite its formal adherence to the November 2006 lull between all the Palestinian groups and Israel in the Gaza Strip, the PFLP has often carried out armed operations, maintaining that they are in retaliation to Israeli attacks. For example, the group claimed responsibility for a rocket attack on 26 April 2007 and for an armed attack against Israeli soldiers near the Gaza Strip on 9 May 2007.  Moreover, on 10 May 2007, the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, the PFLP military wing, formally announced the end of the lull.  In an interview in 2007 the spokesman for the Brigades stated that “as long as the occupation exists on our lands …, we will not give up our resistance until the establishment of our Palestinian state . . . .” In concurrence, in January 2008, Rabah Mhanna, the chair of the PFLP branch in Gaza, called for “the continuation of resistance in all its forms against the Israeli occupation.”

Structure of the organization

The structure of the PFLP is composed of the following branches:

  • The National Congress: it is the supreme governing body; however, this branch has only met six times, the most recent being in June 2000.
  • The Central Committee: it is the policy-making and electing body. It design policies between the sessions of the National Congress and elects the Secretary General and the members of the political bureau.
  • The Political Bureau: it is the highest executive body of the Central Committee; acts when the Central Committee is not in session.
  • The Military Wing: Martyr Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades (Kata’ib al-Shahid Abu ‘Ali Mustafa).
     

Leadership

The current leaders of this armed group are Abdelrahim Mallouh, who is the group’s Deputy General Secretary; and Maher al-Taher, who leads the PFLP branch in exile.

The historical leader of the PFLP, Georges Habash, left the presidency in April 2000; and died on 26 January 2008. He was replaced by Mustafa Ali Kasam Zabiri, known as Abu Ali Mustafa.  On 27 August 2001, Abu Ali Mustafa was killed during an air strike on a PFLP building in Ramallah by Israeli armed forces.  Following this attack, Ahmad Sa'adat was given leadership of the group until his arrest, and that of several others, on 14 January 2002  by the Palestinian authorities following the PFLP assassination of an extreme right-wing Israeli Minister, Rehavam Ze’evi, on 17 October 2001. They were judged and sent to a Palestinian prison in Jericho under American-British protection until 14 March 2006, when American and British monitors abandoned the prison. Subsequently Israel kidnapped the two prisoners  and Ahmad Sa’adat is now held in an Israeli jail. 

External aid/Third party involvement

The main external actor is Syria. The PFLP currently maintains logistical, political and propaganda offices in Syria, as well as the general headquarter of the movement. Facing criticism by certain foreign States, Syria has justified its position in this respect by maintaining that the PFLP is a resistance movement and not a terrorist organization.  In addition, Syria has been named for providing the PFLP with funds; this information has neither been confirmed nor denied by Syrian authorities. The presence of training camps in Syria has been reported but Syrian authorities deny this allegation.
In addition, Iran was recently named for providing US $180,000 monthly to the PFLP  in order to influence it against Fatah.

 

External effects of the NSAG's armed activities

No information is available on this matter.

 

Funding

It is reported that before the 1990s, the PFLP received funds from various sources such as the Palestine National Fund,  several unspecified Arab countries, and the Palestinian Liberation Organisation.
However, the situation changed in the beginning of the 1990s with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Gulf war, and Syria is now allegedly the major source of funding for the PFLP.  As mentioned above, Iran has also been named for providing funding to the PFLP.

 

Relationship with the international community

The PFLP is considered as a terrorist organization by the European Union and the United States.

Books

  • Atkins, Stephen E. (2004), Encyclopedia of Modern Worldwide Extremists and Extremist Groups (Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers), available at link
  • Baud, Jacques (2003), Encyclopédie des terrorismes et violences politiques (Paris: Lavauzelle).
  • Cordesman, Anthony H. (2006), Arab-Israeli Military Forces in an Era of Asymmetric Wars (Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers) available at link.
  • Cordesman, Anthony H. (2005), The Israeli-Palestinian War: Escalating to Nowhere (Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers) available at link.
  • Sayigh, Yezid (1999), Armed Struggle and the Search for State: The Palestinian National Movement 1949-1993 (New York: Oxford University Press).
     

 

Articles and Chapters

  • Habash, George and Soueid, Mahmoud, “Taking Stock. An Interview with George Habash,” 28.1 Journal of Palestine Studies (1998), at 86-101.
  • Hawatimah, Nayif and Abu Ali Mustafa, “The Palestinian Secular Opposition at a Crossroads”, 29.2 Journal of Palestine Studies (2000), at 78-94
  • Jarbawi, Ali, “Palestinian Politics at a Crossroads”, 25.4 Journal of Palestine Studies (1996), at 29-39.
  • Strindberg, Anders, “The Damascus-Based Alliance of Palestinian Forces: A Primer”, 29.3 Journal of Palestine Studies (2000), at 60-76.
  • Suleiman, Jaber, “The Current Political, Organizational, and Security Situation in the Palestinian Refugee Camps of Lebanon”, 29.1 Journal of Palestine Studies (1999), at 66-80.
     

Reports and resolutions of intergovernmental organizations

  • EU Council, Common Position 2006/380/CFSP of 29 May 2006, Official Journal of the European Communities L 144/25, 31.5.2006.

 

Governmental reports

  • Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism, Country Reports on Terrorism, Washington DC, April 28 2006, available at link.
  • U.S. Department of State, Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs). Fact Sheet Office of Counterterrorism, Washington, DC, 11 October 2005, available at link
     

Reports of think tanks and non-governmental organizations

  • Council of Foreign Relations, “PFLP, DFLP, PFLP-GC, Palestinian leftists”, 31 October 2005, available at link
  • National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism, Martyr Abu-Ali Mustafa, available at link.
  • National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), available at link
  • The Democratic Control of Armed Force (DCAF) and the Graduate Institute for Development Studies (2006), Government Change and Security Sector Governance: Palestinian Public Perceptions, available at link

 

Press Information (in chronological order)

  • “Poided to Strike”, The Jerusalem Report, 12 November 1993.
  • “Israel’s 10 Most Wanted Terrorists”, The Jerusalem Report, 20 October 1994.
  • “Palestinian Raids Kill 6 Israelis, Including 3 Soldiers at Gaza Base”, The New York Times, 26 August 2001.
  • “Blair Sets Out on Mission to Middle East”, The Guardian, 31 October 2001.
  • “Lebanon Won’t Freeze Hezbollah Assets”, The Washington Post, 9 November 2001.
  • “Four Killed in Tel Aviv Suicide Bombing Minutes After Israel Kills Senior Militant in Air Strike,” The Associated Press, 25 December 2003.
  • “Timeline of Ze’evi killers,” The Jerusalem Post, 15 March 2006.
  • “Hamas Wants Probe Into “Surrender”. Abbas Slams Jericho Raid as “Unforgivable Crime,” The Jerusalem Post, 16 March 2006.
  • “You’re Nicked –Again”, The Economist, 18 March 2006.
  • “PFLP Head Sa’adat Indicted on 19 Terror Charges,” The Jerusalem Post, 22 May 2006.
  • “Palestinian Groups Clash with Israeli Army After Truce Declaration,” Ma’an News Agency in BBC Monitoring Middle East, 26 November 2006.
  • “UK Paper Reports Palestinian Efforts in Bid to Reach Full Ceasefire,” Al-Hayat in BBC Monitoring Middle East, 11 December 2006.
  • “Thousands of Dollars Channelled to PFLP,” Ma’ariv in BBC Monitoring Middle East, 11 January 2007.
  • “Palestinian Militants Fire Rockets at Israeli Targets,” Ma’an News Agency in BBC Monitoring Middle East, 26 April 2007.
  • “Palestinian Militants Claim Shooting of Israeli Soldier,” Ma’an News Agency in BBC Monitoring Middle East, 9 May 2007.
  • “Palestinian PFLP Armed Wing Ends Clams with Israel,” Ma’an News Agency in BBC Monitoring Middle East, 10 May 2007.
  • “Palestinian Groups Claim 12 Rockets Attacks at Israeli Town,” Ma’an News Agency in BBC Monitoring Middle East, 21 May 2007.

 

Interviews

Internet resources

  • www.fightbacknews.org, “Interview with imprisoned PFLP General Secretary Ahmad Saadat”, at www.fightbacknews.org/2003-3-summer/pflp.htm.
  • Mideast Web, Palestinian Organizations and Parties, available at link.
  • Ma’an News Agency, available at link
  • PFLP web-site: available at www.pflp.ps.
     

Statements of the armed group

  • Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, “Interview with Abu Ali Mustafa brigades Spokesperson – 2007,” available at link.
  • Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, “Under the Slogan of ‘Rising and Unity,’ the Front Holds its Fourth Convention of Its Branch in Gaza,” available at link.
  • Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, “PFLP Reservations on the Statement of the Palestinian Central Council,” available at link.
  • Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, “Comrade Taher: ‘The Path of Resistance is Our Strategic Path and National Unity is a Necessity in Confronting a Vicious Enemy’,” available at link.
  • Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Declaration, “The Resistance Will Continue Until the Occupation is Driven Out,” 29 July 2007, available at link.
  • Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, “Interview with Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades Spokesperson – 2007,” available at link.
  • Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, “Under the Slogan of ‘Rising and Unity,’ the Front Holds its Fourth Convention of Its Branch in Gaza,” available at link.

 

Agreements involving armed groups