Black September

Black September
أيلول الأسود

Part of the Arab Cold War

Date

6 September 1970–June 1971
(main phase 16–29 September 1970)

Location

Jordan

Result

Jordanian military victory:

PLO driven out to Lebanon
Syrian raid repelled
Escalation in Lebanon, eventually leading to Lebanese Civil War

Belligerents

PLO

Syria

Jordan

Commanders and leaders

Field Marshal Habis al-Majali

General Zaid ibn Shaker

Brigadier Zia-ul-Haq

Strength

30,000–40,000

10,000

74,000

Casualties and losses

3,400
600+ Syrians killed

82 killed

Jordanian military victory:

Black September (Arabic: أيلول الأسود‎‎; aylūl al-aswad) refers to the conflict that was fought between the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), under the leadership of Yasser Arafat, and the Jordanian Armed Forces, under the leadership of King Hussein primarily between 16 and 27 September 1970, with certain actions continuing until July 1971.

The civil war determined if Jordan would be ruled by the Palestine Liberation Organisation or the Hashemite monarchy. The war resulted in the deaths of thousands of people, the vast majority Palestinian. Armed conflict ended with the expulsion of the PLO leadership and thousands of Palestinian fighters to Lebanon.

The United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine in late 1947 led to civil war, the end of British Mandate, and the Israeli Declaration of Independence on 14 May 1948. With nationhood, the ongoing civil war was transformed into a state conflict between Israel and the Arab states. Egypt, Jordan and Syria, together with expeditionary forces from Iraq, invaded former areas of Mandatory Palestine. They took control of the Arab areas, and immediately attacked Israeli forces and several Jewish settlements. The fighting was halted with the UN-mediated 1949 Armistice Agreements, as the remaining areas of former Mandatory Palestine came under the control of Egypt and Transjordan. In 1949, Transjordan officially changed its name to Jordan; in 1950, it annexed the West Bank of the Jordan River, and brought Palestinian representation into Jordanian government. In Egyptian-dominated Gaza Strip, there was an attempt to establish the All-Palestine Government in September 1948, partially recognized by the Arab League (except Transjordan), but its authority was limited, and it was legally brought under Egyptian full protectorate in 1952 and effectively abolished by Nasser in 1959.

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Wikipedia