top4/30/2013
Terrorist Organization Profile: |
|
| حركة التحرير الوطني الفلسطيني فتح | |
| al-Asifa, Fateh, Harekat at-Tahrir al-Wataniyyeh al-Filastiniyyeh | |
| Israel, West Bank/Gaza | |
| Late 1950s | |
| Greater than 10,000 members | |
| Nationalist/Separatist | |
| The Palestinian Authority deducts 1.5% to 2.0% from the salaries of security forces for Fatah membership fees. The close connection between the Palestinian Authority and Fatah allows the PA to redistribute this money to Fatah activities. Fatah has also ha | |
| Fatah is a secular, Palestinian nationalist organization that has played and continues to play a pivotal role in Palestinian politics. Fatah was founded in the late 1950s by five Palestinian activists operating out of Kuwait: Yasser Arafat, Khalil El-Wazir, Salah Khalaf, Khalid al-Hasan, and Faruk Qaddumi. The original ideology of Fatah utterly rejected the legitimacy of Israel and espoused violence as a means to drive Israel out of greater Palestine. Initially, Fatah operated in secret, organizing Palestinian commando attacks against Israel. Fatah distanced itself from the broader Arab nationalist movement which focused on Arab intervention on behalf of the Palestinian cause. Fatah stressed Palestinian self-sufficiency as the key to defeating Israel and creating an independent Palestinian state. Fatah emerged from the underground in the mid-1960s, and, in the power vacuum that followed the Arab defeat in the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Fatah aligned itself with the PLO, establishing itself as the dominant faction within the PLO. By 1969, Arafat was serving as the PLO's Chairman. Fatah and the PLO operated out of Jordan, but were expelled violently during 1970-71 (the expulsion began in September 1970, referred to as Black September). Following the expulsion, Fatah and the PLO operated out of Lebanon until they were forced to disperse throughout the Middle East and North Africa after the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982. Despite Fatah's shifting bases, it consistently carried out attacks against Israeli targets in the Middle East and Western Europe. Fatah members also played important roles in driving the first Palestinian intifada in the late 1980s. |
|
| As part of the 1993 Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestinians, all PLO factions, including Fatah, recognized the state of Israel and renounced terrorism and acts of violence. Since 1993, the PLO has transformed itself into a quasi-government, the Palestinian Authority (PA) with Arafat and Fatah still playing the dominant roles. While Fatah and Arafat have formally committed themselves to working with Israel towards peace, the reality has been much more complicated. Many Fatah members are actively engaged in legitimate Palestinian Authority governmental activities. However, certain factions within Fatah have recommitted themselves to violence. Notably, the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and the Fatah-Tanzim have been implicated in terrorist activities against Israeli targets. Fatah leaders maintain that these factions operate autonomously, outside the control of the mainstream Fatah movement. Israel maintains that the Fatah leadership continues to control and support these terrorist activities. Fatah therefore appears split between its role as the leader of the Palestinian Authority and its traditional role as the leader of the Palestinian resistance.
|
|
Key Leaders
Related Groups
- Abu al-Rish Brigades -- Splinter Group
- al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades -- Splinter Group
- Asbat al-Ansar -- Enemy
- Black Panthers (West Bank/Gaza) -- Splinter Group
- Black September -- Splinter Group
- Hamas -- Rival and Ally
- Jund al-Sham -- Enemy
- Knights of the Tempest -- Splinter Group
- Mujahadi Bayt al-Maqdis Brigades -- Shared Members
- Omar bin al-Khattab Brigades -- Faction
- Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) -- Rival and Ally
- Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) -- Rival
- Palestinian Popular Struggle Front (PSF) -- Rival and Ally
- Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine -- General Command (PFLP-GC) -- Rival
- Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) -- Rival and Ally
- Popular Resistance Committees -- Shared Members
- Sami al-Ghul Brigades -- Armed Wing
- Tanzim -- Splinter Group
U.S. Government Designations
| No | |
| No | |
|
Learn more about these U.S. Department of State classifications: Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) Terrorist Exclusion List (TEL) |
|
Other Governments' Designations
| No | |
| No | |
| No | |
| No | |
| No |
Global Terrorism Database
4/3/2013
3/27/2013
3/25/2013
3/25/2013
Education’s impact on attitudes about terrorism: Former START TRA takes on new policy-relevant study
1/31/2013
1/29/2013
1/29/2013
1/29/2013
11/21/2012
10/16/2012
9/13/2012
8/27/2012
7/17/2012
5/16/2012
3/28/2012
START investigator and former TRA recipient publish book on the mobilization of right-wing extremism
3/21/2012
2/15/2012
10/7/2011
9/30/2011
8/20/2011
9/15/2010
