To what extent did PLO action from 1968 represent a shift in terrorist activity?

“When we hijack a plane it has more it has more effect than if we killed a hundred Israelis in battle,”. This encouraged other terrorist groups such as the ASALA, the JCAG and left-wing groups such as the German Red Army Faction to “internationalize” their political struggles. This showed the shift in terrorism from older previous terrorist groups. Terrorist groups such as the People’s will acted on “propaganda by deed” and thought committing acts of tyrannacide would attract public attention and ultimately weaken the state giving them a chance to attack. This was not so much different from the PLO’s actions in that they also wanted attention to their cause showing the process of a slow evolution of terrorism. By killing the head of state the media would attract people and spread propaganda, similar to the objectives of the PLO. However, the difference between the two terrorist groups was the PLO realized involving random innocent parties would infringe more terror upon the people thus causing a psychological effect where the individual has his own safety on mind as well as the terrorist group. "The first several hijackings accomplished more for our cause than twenty years of pleading at the UN". This illustrated that involving innocent people had caused the world to awake and this turning point gave terrorism an international stage.

Terrorism had evolved such that modern day terror was influenced by the likes of the IRA and FLN. The Irish nationalist cause through many years of violence against their British colonizers was finally recognized and they were given their independence through acts of destruction as well as political recognition later on something the PLO also followed which suggests a process of evolution was happening.

The primary tactics used by the FLN, IRA and PLO were similar in that they involved hijackings, kidnappings, and embassy raids with the intention to obtaining publicity. Although the PLO used slightly different tactics in that they gained ransoms and imprisoned political figures of power exchanged for hostages; which is a prime example of the evolution of terrorism. Such terrorists blackmail forced governments to respond accordingly. While acts of terrorism at this time killed relatively few people, such publicity stunts put tremendous pressure on governments to respond responsibly since a wrong decision during a hostage crisis could have disastrous consequences and the blame was likely to land on the government. An example of this was the German response to the attack on Israeli athletes at the Olympic Games in Munich on September 5, 1972: eleven Israeli athletes (and eight members of the Palestinian Black September) were killed after a hostage standoff that ended in a shootout.  While the West German government was not the primary target of the attack, the scene of crime was on German soil and the government was forced to act.  This was an eye-opener as not only Germany but many other governments realized how insufficient their response capabilities were. . This clearly shows that terrorism was a process of evolution because previously groups such as the People’s will and the IRA were less likely to involve innocent citizens, whereas more recent terrorist groups were more willing. They saw the deaths of innocent civilians as martyrs in their cause. Although terrorism was a process of evolution there were differences that showed a shift in terrorism an example would be the IRA was given weapons and money to assist in their struggle. Independently wealthy individuals could also provide them with support. With the terrorists need for support, terrorism became a completely political effort and therefore it became a tool for political means. In this case media coverage may have been helpful in their success, but it was not needed as much as the raw resources required for warfare. The media would instead have its uses in recruitment and was more essential for groups like the PLO which suggests a radical shift in terrorism.

It is clear from past events the year 1968 was in fact a watershed year but we cannot dismiss the fact that there are many similarities between previous terrorist groups and the PLO which shows evidently there is an evolution of terrorism. The PLO was influenced by groups like the FLN and IRA in that they shared similar tactics but the process of evolution had transformed the speed and ease of publicity. An example would be technological advances which made it easier for people to be aware of major terrorist activity. It is clear that the hijacking of 1968 enlightened many terrorist groups of pivotal factors in succeeding in objectives; such as creating major media events, symbolic targeting and international attention. This in turn influenced groups such as JACG and ASLA, which shows the importance of 1968 and the shift it caused in terrorist activity. All evidence suggests the Palestinians pioneered the networking dimension of International terrorism and this is still in evidence among many groups today through a process of evolution and enlightenment of important tools for propaganda.