Palestine Liberation Organization

Arab organization founded in 1964 to bring about an independent state in Palestine. It consists of several distinct groupings, the chief of which is al-Fatah, led by Yassir Arafat, the president of the PLO from 1969. Another major faction is the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a Marxist party formed in 1967, which is more hard line, opposing negotiations with Israel and the 1993 peace accord. Recognized in 1973 by Arab nations as the ‘sole representative of the Palestinian people’, and given observer status by the United Nations in 1974, the PLO has played a central role in the Israel-Palestine peace process.

The PLO's original main aim was the destruction of the Israeli state, but over time it changed to establishing a Palestinian state alongside that of Israel. In 1988, the PLO renounced terrorism and recognized Israel's right to exist. In 1993 a peace agreement was reached with Israel, providing for limited Palestinian autonomy in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. In 1994 Arafat returned to the newly-liberated territories of Gaza and Jericho to head an interim civilian administration, the Palestine National Authority, and in 1995 further agreement was reached with Israel regarding extending Palestinian autonomy. In January 1996, Arafat was elected president of the newly-elected 88-member Palestine Legislative Council (PLC).

Its early activities caused trouble with Jordan, where it was based, and after its defeat in a brief civil war in 1970, the headquarters moved to Beirut, Lebanon, in 1971. When Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982, the PLO had to abandon its headquarters there, and moved to Tunis, Tunisia. After the ceasefire, 500 Palestinians were massacred in the Sabra-Shatila camps 16-18 September 1982 by Lebanese Christian militia, with alleged Israeli complicity, and PLO members remaining in Lebanon were drawn into the internal conflict.

In 1974 the PLO became the first non-governmental delegation to be admitted to a session of the United Nations General Assembly. Its status was upgraded in July 1998 when it was granted some rights previously enjoyed only by full member states. It became able to take part in debates, co-sponsor resolutions, and raise points of order in the discussion of Middle East affairs.

The PLO's supreme organ is the Palestine National Council (PNC), which now comprises members of the PLC and representatives of the rest of the Palestinian Diaspora. The PNC meets periodically to make key constitutional decisions and elects an Executive Committee to lead it between sessions. The PLO is funded by a 3-6% tax levied on the income of Palestinians and by annual contributions from Arab states, the largest being from Saudi Arabia.