Palestine Liberation Front
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Palestinian Liberation Front
جبهة التحرير الفلسطينية |
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| Leader | Wasel Abu Yousef |
| Founded | 1961 |
| Headquarters | Ramallah, Palestine |
| Ideology | Arab nationalism |
| National affiliation | Palestine Liberation Organization |
The Palestinian Liberation Front (PLF) (جبهة التحرير الفلسطينية) is a Palestinian political faction.
The PLF was founded by Ahmed Jibril and Shafiq al-Hout in 1961, and enjoyed strong Syrian backing. In 1967 the PLF merged with two other groups, the Arab Nationalist Movement-affiliated Heroes of the Return (abtal al-awda) and the Young Avengers, to form the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
The PFLP was led by former ANM-leader George Habash, but in April 1968 Jibril split from this group to form the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command (PFLP-GC), which returned to the strongly pro-Syrian position of the former PLF.
This eventually led to a reestablishment of the PLF, as the organization broke apart after Jibril's PFLP-GC had followed Syria into battle against the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1976, during the Lebanese Civil War. Open fighting between the rival factions ensued, and only after mediation by Yassir Arafat did their relationship stabilize. On April 24, 1977, the PFLP-GC deserters formed the new PLF, under the leadership of Muhammad Zaidan (Abu Abbas) and Tal'at Ya'qub. Sporadic fighting continued between PFLP-GC and PLF, and included an August 1977 bombing of the PLF headquarters, which killed 200 people.
The leaders of the PLF were active in the PLO with Abu Abbas acting as PLF representative in the PLO's executive committee. During the years after the PLO signed the 1993 Oslo Accords, which the PLF opposes, Abu Abbas agreed to abandon terrorism and acknowledged Israel's right to exist. The movement maintained offices in the Palestinian Territories, Lebanon and Iraq, but its activities dwindled. It has a low level of support in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and its main strength lies in the Lebanese refugee camps, where it is reported to have coordinated with Fatah against various Syrian-backed factions.
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