The PFLP’s Changing Role in the Middle East

250 Pages·1997·11.784 MB·English

by  Harold M. Cubert

The PFLP's Changing Role
in the Middle East
To my wife Sirna, with love and gratitude
THE PFLP'S
CHANGING ROLE IN
THE MIDDLE EAST
HAROLD M. CUBERT, Ph.D.
First Published in 1997
FRANK CASS & CO. LTD.
Published 2013 by Routledge
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Copyright C 1997 Frank Cass & Co. Ltd.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Cubert, Harold M,
The PFLP's changing role in the Middle East
1. PFLP 2. Fath (Organisation) 3. Popular fronts -Middle East
4. Middle East -Politics and government - 1979-
I. Title
322.4'2'0956
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Cubert, Harold M.
The PLFP's changing role in the Middle East /Harold M. Cubert.
p. em.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-714-64329-8 (pbk)
1. Jabha aI-Sha'biyah Ii-Tahir Filastin. 2. Israel-Arab
conflicts, 3. National liberation movements--Palestine. I. Title,
324.2S694'08--dc20 96-42486
CIP
Contents
Acknowledgements Vl
Preface Vll
Introduction: overview of the PFLP's ideology and aims lX
I. Historical and ideological background 1
2. Western incursions; Ottoman concessions 8
3. Arab nationalism: issues and programmes 16
4. A history of Palestinian nationalism 35
5. The PFLP succeeds the ANM and competes with
the dominant Fatah movement 52
6. The Palestinian national movement since 1988 63
7. Towards an Israel-PLO accord 82
8. Ideology 96
9. Structure 117
10. Operating environments and methods 128
II. The PFLP's role and position within the PLO 154
12. Fatah-PFLP rivalry within the PLO 161
13. Conclusion 182
Bibliography 194
Index 225
Acknowledgements
The author gratefully acknowledges the following individuals whose
assistance and encouragement made this book possible: Professor Paul
Wilkinson, Head of the School of History and International Relations at
the University of St Andrews, whose patience, knowledge, and experi
ence were invaluable in helping to transform an idea into a publishable
Ph.D. thesis; Dr Bruce Hoffman, Chairman of the Department of
International Relations at the University of St Andrews and Dr Richard
Clutterbuck, of the University of Exeter, for their candid comments and
criticisms as members of the thesis examination committee; Mr Robert
Easton, Managing Editor at Frank Cass Publishers, whose patience and
optimistic demeanour painlessly guided a neophyte author through an
unfamiliar process; and finally, my valued colleague Mr Michael
Lindemann, who drew my attention to the PFLP as an organization
worthy of study and supported my efforts throughout the project.
HMC
Preface
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) represents a
violent Marxist trend among Palestinian political organizations. It is
uncompromisingly hostile toward Israel, the industrialized West, and the
West's regional allies, and it rejects any settlement of the Arab-Israeli
conflict which does not entail both Israel's elimination and the
establishment of an independent Palestinian state on all the land that the
PFLP claims to be Palestine. The PFLP remains committed to armed
conflict with its enemies until this occurs.
This book attempts to explain the PFLP's lagging position within the
secular Palestinian national movement by comparing its policies with
those of Fatah. Unlike the PFLp, Fatah's overriding concern was to
establish a Palestinian authority on any portion of 'liberated land'; the
question of Israel's existence would be considered later. Fatah's
supporters were never selected for their ideological compatibility. The
organization formed coalitions with all interested parties and accepted
assistance from all willing providers. Most importantly, Fatah - as the
dominant faction within the PLO - transformed itself from an
underground group to a quasi-government with diplomatic status, and it
later achieved the leadership of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA)
in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Fatah's flexibility enabled it to survive regional and global changes. In
the unipolar international order which followed the Soviet bloc's collapse
in 1991, the PLO courted the United States and its allies, participated in
the Arab-Israeli peace process, and was rewarded with authority over
part of the Palestinian 'homeland'. The PFLp, spurning change, refused to
act likewise. With its headquarters in Damascus, it can do nothing at the
moment without the Syrian government's approval and Syria, on the
verge of a peace agreement with Israel, is unlikely to allow its protege to
do more than issue statements. Only an imaginative and bold move by the
PFLp, at this point, can restore the organization's prestige among its
constituents and notoriety among its enemies.
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Introduction:
Overview of the PFLP's ideology and aims
Although the priorities of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
(PFLP), and its predecessor, the Arab Nationalists Movement (ANM),
have shifted with every major international and Middle Eastern political
realignment, its fundamental aim of eliminating Israel and replacing it
with a Palestinian state has remained constant throughout its history.
What has changed over time is the focus of its activities, the alliances that
it has formed with other organizations and governments, and the time
limits which it has set for achieving its aims.
The PFLP is a secular nationalist organization which seeks to set up a
Palestinian state on territory which is currently under Israel's
sovereignty or administrative control. This territory, which was governed
under a British mandate between 1917 and 1948, should - in the PFLP's
view - have been turned over to a Palestinian Arab government in 1948,
but was instead unjustly transferred to Zionist control. This eventually
resulted in the establishment of the state of Israel and the dispersal of
most of the territory's Arab inhabitants to the neighbouring countries and
beyond. The PFLP seeks to restore what it considers to be stolen
territory to Palestinian sovereignty, to dismantle the state of Israel, to
bring about the return of the Palestinian diaspora to its homeland, and to
establish a 'secular democratic state' in Israel's place.
This is the PFLP's core aim and Israel is its principal adversary.
However, the PFLP has also identified its ancillary foes; that is to say,
countries which it believes facilitated the establishment of Israel and
continue to ensure the Jewish state's survival of the Jewish state through
military and economic aid. The United States is the chief target in this
category, primarily because of what the PFLP views as its unconditional
support for Israel and the vast amounts of American military and
economic aid that Israel receives annually.
Other countries in the same category as the United States, but guilty to
a lesser degree, include Britain and other western European nations such as
France and Germany, all of which the PFLP blames for having provided the
Zionist movement - and later Israel - with political, military, or economic
support. For example, the PFLP holds Britain responsible for having