Imperialism and
Terrorism - Part V: Terrorism as a Tool to Discredit the Palestinian Struggle
In our
continuing series on the relationship between imperialism and terrorism, Modern
Communism is examining the different ways in which imperialist
powers have openly embraced the use of terror against civilian populations or
provided support to terrorist groups to achieve their aims.The experience of the Red Brigades in Italy
(see Modern Communism Vol. 5, No. 32) was an example of a
supposedly communist group embracing terrorist tactics and lowering the
prestige of communism and revolution, ultimately weakening the progressive
forces throughout Europe.The Popular Front for the Liberation of
Palestine (PFLP) is another such example.
The PLFP emerged
on the scene in 1967, shortly after Israel
occupied the West Bank, Gaza Strip, East
Jerusalem and Sinai Peninsula following the
Six-Day Arab-Israeli war. It was following this war that U.S.
imperialism firmly established Israel
as its base in the region, funnelling billions of
dollars in loans and military assistance to the Israeli state.The overtly racist nature of Israeli Zionism
was becoming much clearer to progressive and democratic people around the world
and support for the Palestinian cause was growing.The Palestinian struggle was seen as part of
the anti-colonial struggles taking place across Africa
and Asia.
During this
period the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) emerged as the major force
representing the Palestinian people.The
PLO was established as an umbrella group of organizations dedicated to the
establishment of an independent Palestinian state.Al-Fatah, the group
led by the late Yasser Arafat, was the largest group
in the PLO. Arafat’s influence was increasing rapidly as a result of the work
he was leading to organize Palestinian refugees living in camps scattered
throughout the OccupiedTerritories,
Jordan and Lebanon.The PFLP was created and joined the PLO at
precisely this time.
Within a few
years, the PFLP had become infamous for hijacking major commercial airlines,
often holding the civilian passengers hostage and bartering their lives for the
exchange of Palestinian political prisoners.Fatah, on the other hand, while waging a
strategic guerilla campaign against Israel,
under the general direction of the PLO Central Committee, had never used violence
against civilians in its struggle.The PFLP’s tactics caused a rift within the PLO, with one side
decrying the use of terrorist tactics and the other claiming it was part of the
ongoing struggle to liberate Palestine.Within this situation came the events of September 6, 1970, when the PFLP
hijacked three international airlines and forced two of them to land in Jordan.Arafat and other PLO leaders condemned the
hijacking and called on those responsible to release the hostages, while PFLP
militants accused Arafat and others of going “moderate” and abandoning the
struggle.
The Jordanian
state, already looking for an excuse to expel the PLO over its organization of
Palestinian refugees, seized on the action and launched an all-out offensive
against the organization. This resulted in the death of thousands of PLO
fighters and the organization’s eventual expulsion from Jordan.The losses suffered in Jordan
and the move to Lebanon
represented a serious organizational setback for the PLO, one from which it was
slow to recover. The blows dealt to the Palestinian people by the PFLP tactics
led to a rapid drop in support for the group, which also began to splinter.By the early 1970s, when the PFLP became the
first group to deploy suicide bombers on packed Israeli buses, the group was
expelled from the PLO.However, the damage
had already been done - the prestige of the Palestinian struggle was lowered,
as the liberation movement became associated in people’s minds with hijackings,
hostage takings and civilian deaths.