Joshua Dale
How successful were PLO in promoting its cause between 1960-1980?
Palestinians hoped that cooperating Arab states would destroy the state of Israel. People looked up to and were inspired by Nasser of Egypt, there was much expectation of a successful campaign to destroy Israeli power and establish the state of Palestine as their own. In 1964 an organisation named PLO (the Palestine Liberation Organisation) was setup by governments to represent the Palestinian people and their cause.
However, soon in 1968, Fatah fighters accompanied by the Jordanian army managed to resist an attack on a village in Jordan. The success and reputation of the Fatah, lead by Yasser Arafat, soon encouraged more recruits and was later dominant in the PLO. The PLO was now no longer controlled by Arab governments but by the independent voice of the Palestinian people. This in affect helped the Palestinians in getting their point across about by the Israelis. However, this taking over of the PLO was soon to be put to the test and the outcome was negative. Since the PLO was now run by the Palestinian people, the structure was somewhat disconnected. This was due to other smaller organisations such as the PFLP (the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine) not being run as well by Arafat. This often meant that were a difference in opinion over policies. Fragility started to appear amongst the PLO which was not a good aspect towards promoting its cause.