Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)
![]() Founder: George Habash
Founded: 1967 Location: Gaza/West Bank |
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) was founded on December 11, 1967, with the union of two left-wing Palestinian organizations. Its leaders were Wadi’ Haddad (who later became responsible for terrorist operations) and George Habash, the general secretary. Egyptian President Gamal Abdul Nasser originally backed the group.
The PFLP is guided by Marxism-Leninism and, together with other left-wing Palestinian organizations, claims to be struggling to build a working-class party. Habash viewed Palestineh’s “liberation” as an integral part of the world Communist revolution.
The PFLP charter lists six main sections and ideologies: (1) Revolutionary War is People’s War; (2) Guerrilla War to Pressure for the "Peaceful Solution"; (3) No Revolutionary War Without a Revolutionary Theory; (4) The War of Liberation Is a Class War Guided by a Revolutionary Ideology; (5) The Main Field of Our Revolution Struggle is Palestine; and, (6) Revolution in Both Regions of Jordan.
The PFLP advocates armed insurrection and perpetrates media-oriented attacks, particularly the hijacking of planes, to bring the Palestinian cause to public attention. The PFLP hijacked an Israeli aircraft in 1968. It abducted and threatened four American journalists in Beirut in 1981 (two from the New York Times, one from the Washington Post, and one from Newsweek). PFLP members have continued to perpetrate terrorist acts through the years.
In 1971, the organization took a more pragmatic line under Habash’s leadership. Nevertheless, the PFLP never agreed to recognize Israel and left the PLO after the acceptance of the “Stage Strategy” (June 1974) as adopted in Cairo by the Palestinian National Council. The PFLP opposed the Oslo Accords and is critical of the Palestinian Authority despite making peace with Arafat and returning to the ranks of the PLO.
In May 2000, George Habash resigned as general secretary because of failing health and was replaced by Abu Ali Mustafa. Mustafa directed the organization to perpetrate terrorist attacks against Israel. He was killed in a targeted attack on August 21, 2001, in Ramallah and replaced by Ahmad Sadat. Sadat directed the assassination of Rehavam Ze’evi, Israeli Minister of Tourism (October 17, 2001). In the wake of Israeli and international pressure, Sa’adat was arrested by the Palestinian Authority and is today in “custody” in Jericho.
The PFLP’s political leadership resides in the PA-administered territories, and a small operational-terrorist wing is based in the PA-administered territories (the Shaheed Abu ‘Ali Mustafa Battalions). PFLP officials and operatives were also living in Syria before the civil war,
The PFLP’s operational terrorist wing is smaller than those of the other Palestinian terrorist organizations. It is a party to the inter-organizational dialogues but refused to participate in the hudna when Abu Mazen was prime minister.
“The PFLP aims to mobilize and lead the struggle of the Palestinian masses for the return to Palestine, self-determination, and the establishment of a Palestinian state. These, in turn, are steps along the path of defeating the Zionist entity, liberating all of Palestine, and establishing a democratic Palestinian state where all citizens enjoy equal rights, free from discrimination on the basis of race, sex, or religious belief. Beyond this, the PFLP aims at the establishment of a democratic socialist society.”
Some of its more prominent attacks include:
- In the hijacking of an El Al plane (July 23, 1968), 16 prisoners were released.
- Hijacking of five commercial airliners belonging to Western countries in September 1970.
- The assassination of Rehavam Ze’evi (October 17, 2001).
- In a suicide bombing attack at the West Bank village of Karnei Shomrom (February 16, 2002), 3 Israeli civilians were murdered and 25 wounded.
- A suicide bombing attack at a bus station at the Geha junction in Tel Aviv (December 25, 2003); 3 Israelis murdered.
- The murder of Rina Shnerb while hiking with her father by a roadside bomb planted by the PFLP (August 23, 2019).
The PFLP is recognized as a terrorist organization by Israel, the EU, the United States, and other countries.
On October 22, 2021, Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz designated six Palestinian NGOs as terror organizations because of their links to the PFLP. The decision was an outgrowth of investigations before and after the 2019 publication of a report by Israel’s Ministry of Strategic Affairs, which found:
One Union of Health Work Committees (UHWC) employee told police that “the PFLP-affiliated institutions are inter-connected and serve as the organization’s lifeline financially and organizationally, i.e., money laundering and financing PFLP activity.” Matthew Levitt states, “In the arrangement, one NGO would learn how to conduct various types of fraud and money laundering, then pass this knowledge on to the others.” One way NGOs raise money for the PFLP is to forge documents and receipts they present to their donors with inflated costs. The difference between the amount they receive and the real cost is forwarded to the PFLP.
In 2024, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned the Vancouver-based Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network (Samidoun). “Organizations like Samidoun masquerade as charitable actors that claim to provide humanitarian support to those in need, yet in reality divert funds for much-needed assistance to support terrorist groups,” said Acting Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley T. Smith. “While the organization ostensibly supports Palestinian prisoners and their family members, in practice Samidoun provides financial support to the sanctioned PFLP. In addition to today’s joint action with Canada, Samidoun was also banned by Germany in a separate November 2023 action.”
The Department also sanctioned Khaled Barakat, a Canadian citizen and a member of the PFLP. “His fundraising and recruitment efforts support the PFLP’s terrorist activity against Israel.”
Sources: Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center at the Center for Special Studies (C.S.S).
“Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine,” Democratic Palestine.
IRIS.
Jerusalem Post, (October 4, 2001).
“Terrorists in Suits,” Ministry of Strategic Affairs, (February 2019).
Elisha Ben Kimon, “Israel arrests terrorists behind murder of Israeli teen Rina Shnerb,” Ynet, (September 28, 2019).
Matthew Levitt, “A Blurred Line Between Civil Society and Terrorism,” Policy Notes, No. 112, Washington Institute for Near East Policy, (November 2021).
“United States and Canada Target Key International Fundraiser for Foreign Terrorist Organization PFLP,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, (October 15, 2024).