Memorandum on Palestinian Terrorist Organizations
(December 2, 1966)
This memorandum summarizes the major Palestinian
terrorist organizations, how they are run, their links to other
terror groups and Arab countries, and their anti-Israel beliefs.
1. The tradition of terrorism in Arab-Israeli relations
extends back into the 1920's and '30's. Before the Arab-Israeli war
of 1948-49, terrorism was the principal weapon of both Arabs and Jews
in harassing the British authorities in Palestine. In the early 1950's,
the Arab governments organized paramilitary commando groups--fedayeen--which
undertook raiding and sabotage missions into Israel. Israel's invasion
of Sinai was in large measure a retaliation for this fedayeen activity,
and the terrorist raiding ceased after the 1956 Sinai campaign.
The PLO
2. As official support of terrorist operations ceased, many Palestinian
Arabs became increasingly frustrated at the relative lack of aggressiveness
toward Israel on the part of Arab governments. There was persistent
agitation among Palestinians throughout the Arab world for some kind
of representative organization, and this culminated in 1964 in the formation
of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). The PLO received the
formal sanction of the League of Arab States at an Arab summit meeting
that year.
3. The organization is a kind of Palestinian government in exile but
it has been careful to avoid such a designation because of King Husayn's
well-founded suspicion that it posed a threat to his authority in west
Jordan. The PLO's activities are mainly political and military; it has
tried, for example, to form a "Palestine Liberation Army"
around a core of Palestinian units which had been formed over the years
in the Egyptian, Syrian, and Iraqi armies. Nasir exercises considerable
influence over the PLO, though he does not completely control its leaders.
The organization's "Voice of Palestine" broadcasts emanate
from Cairo. The PLO is led by a dynamic super-orator, Ahmad Shuqayri,
a Palestinian who at various times has been a UN representative for
Syria and Saudi Arabia.
4. The PLO's long-range plans for opposing the Israelis initially omitted
sponsorship of terrorist operations into Israel. PLO leaders and sponsors
recognized that such operations would provoke Israeli retaliation, and
very possibly lead to a war for which the Arab governments are still
not ready. This policy was a source of frustration to many activist
Palestinians, and it led to the emergence of the present generation
of terrorist groups. The PLO has failed to persuade these groups to
submit to over-all PLO direction, and, to meet their competition, has
within the past few months felt compelled to undertake such activities
on its own. The "Organization of Heroes of the Return" (to
Palestine) is the group which appears to be the new PLO terrorist arm.
Some of its members clashed with Israeli forces near the Lebanese border
in mid-October.
Fatah
5. The most prominent of the terrorist groups is Fatah (a reverse acronym
of the Arabic for "Palestine Liberation Movement"). Fatah
is sometimes also known by the name of its commando arm, Asifa (Storm).
Fatah appears to be descended from a clandestine Palestinian organization--now
inactive--which was formed in the mid-1950's. Some of its members had
connections with the Muslim Brotherhood, a conservative, strongly anti-Nasir
politico-religious movement. Fatah also may have had links with the
Arab Higher Committee of Hajj Amin al-Husayni, the ex-Grand Mufti of
Jerusalem, with whom the Brotherhood collaborated in regard to Palestine
affairs.
6. In its present incarnation, Fatah emerged publicly in January 1965,
when it claimed responsibility for terrorist incidents in Israel. Its
leaders had previously participated in the organization of the PLO,
but had become disenchanted. They are also disgusted with the continuing
inability of most Arab governments to act decisively toward Israel,
and are wary of any official control which might curtail Fatah's operations.
7. Syria, the most bellicose of the Arab states, is the one government
whose policy comes closest to Fatah's violently anti-Israeli line. Damascus
supports Fatah by providing it with a base for its operations, training
facilities, and a propaganda outlet. The infiltrations into Israel,
however, have been undertaken from Jordanian and Lebanese territory,
since those borders are more easily traversed. This has occurred without
the approval of either the Jordanian or the Lebanese government. Most
of Fatah's financial support comes from wealthy Palestinians living
in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
8. The number of people who participate in Fatah, as well as in other
terrorist organizations, is unknown and probably fluctuates. Many of
the terrorists are professional thugs or smugglers, and some were active
against Israel in 1955-56. The Israelis say Fatah has been responsible
for 61 sabotage incidents. Israeli Foreign Minister Eban recently stated,
however, that Fatah had been inactive for about six weeks.
The PLF
9. A rival Palestinian terrorist organization called the "Palestinian
Liberation Front" (PLF) has been credited by the Israelis with
the 12 November road mining incident which triggered the Israeli raid
into Jordan the next day. Jordanian officials also suspected the PLF
of having perpetrated that incident, and they had begun a search for
those responsible at the time Israel attacked. Little is known about
the PLF. Like Fatah, it apparently aims at provoking a general Arab-Israeli
war, but it is reputed to be more skilled in its operations. PLF members
are said to regard Fatah as an organization of publicity seekers.
10. Some "terrorism" in Israel is more or less spontaneous.
For years, Arab smugglers and crossborder operators have occasionally
clashed with Israeli security forces. Incidents of this sort have been
much reduced as the Israelis' security measures have been tightened.
The organized, professional terrorism of the Fatah, the PLF, and of
the PLO's new arm, poses problems for Israeli authorities that have
no easy solution.
Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Country File, Jordan,
Vol. III. Secret; No Foreign Dissem. A note on the memorandum states
that it was produced solely by CIA and was prepared by the Office of
Current Intelligence.
Sources: Foreign
Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, V. 18, Arab-Israeli
Dispute 1964-1967. DC: GPO,
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