Fatah
Fatah (or Al-Fatah) - a Palestinian radical movement founded in Kuwait informally in 1957, but officially founded about 1965. It
has the declared aim of destroying Israel and replacing it with a 'secular democratic state.' 'Fatah' means victory in
Arabic. The name is also a reverse acronym for Harakat Tahrir el Wataniyeha Filistiniyeh - Palestine Liberation
Movement. It represents the moderate end of the Palestinian political spectrum. Their slogan is "Revolution
until Victory."
Fatah was founded by
Yasser Arafat,
Khalil Al Wazir (Abu Jihad) Farouq Kadumi, Mahmoud Abbas,
Khalid al-Hassan and other Palestinian refugeees in Kuwait. Many, like Arafat,
had a background in Ikhwan (fedayoun) groups (a tag which stuck until ‘68) drawn from refugees in Gaza, which
provided military training to Palestinian youth. Ikhwan military bodies eg Revenge Youth and Battalion of Right (led by
Khalil al Wazir); launched small sabotage attacks on Israel from late 1954 and pulled away from disapproving Ikhwan.
They also refused to get involved in Ikhwan-Egypt conflict, which resulted in Wazir's expulsion from Egypt. Wazir later
moved to Saudi Arabia, then joined Arafat in Kuwai). Yasser Arafat at this stage was working through Palestinian
Students Union in Cairo; formed alliance with youth leaders (especially Khalaf) and Palestinian activists in Syria
(especially ‘Adil ‘Abd al-Karim and ‘Abdullah al-Dannan). In 1957, after university, activists
including Yasser Arafat
and
Mahmoud Abbas
formed a clandestine
organization in Kuwait, taking the name Fatah in 1959 or 1960 or according to other accounts, at the foundation meeting. Fatah was to be modeled on the Algerian FLN as a
"National Liberation Movement" that would win support of the Palestinian masses for armed liberation of Palestine. This
was opposed to the traditional terror-only strategy that relied on Arab countries to liberate Palestine. Fatah achieved
popularity through the Filastinuna magazine edited by Yasser Arafat. However, it did not have any effective military
cadres until Syria began recruiting and training terrorists for Fatah in 1964. The first Fatah raids on Israel were
conducted in 1965.
The organizational structures
were established at a Kuwait meeting on 10.10.59.
Organization - Fatah
tripartite organizational structure:
General conference, the
ruling body, which is supposed to meet every 5 years, but has not met since its fifth session on 8 Aug 89: made up of
members of regional congresses, military forces, mass orgaanizations and Fatah-RC. At the last meeting, it had 1200
members. Earlier meetings: 4th General Conference (Damascus, 31 May 80);
The Fatah Revolutionary
Council, decides policy when GC is not in session;
Central Committee (al-lajna
al-markaziyya), which acts according to the principle of collective leadership. Members are largely elected by
secret ballot from the GC, but RC can appoint 3 other members by a two-thirds majority, and others from the occupied
territories.
Prominent founders include
Yasser Arafat, Salah Khalaf,
Khalil al-Wazir,
Muhammed Yusif al-Najjar,
Kamal ‘Udwan. Joined in ‘59 by
Khalid al-Hasan, a civil servant
who'd been in Kuwait since 1952; and Tawfiq al-Huri, who gave his magazine Nida’ al-Hayat-Filastinuna (The Call
of Life - Our Palestine) to use as a mouthpiece: largely written by Wazir, but also ‘Arafat. Main centers were Kuwait
(Arafat, Wazir, later Qaddumi) and Qatar (Najjar, ‘Udwan, ‘Abd al-Fattah Hammud). Fatah's main platform was the 'liberation' of
all of Palestine for Arabs (not necessarily Palestinian Nationalist) which could be achieved only through relentless
armed struggle. Fatah believed that the Arab governments were not to be trusted (had prevented victory in 1948 war since
they were concerned only with their own interests; also shown in treatment of refugees) and that therefore it must
remain independent of all Arab governments, including Nasserism; also stress upon own distinctiveness as a people, ‘Palestinianness’.
They also disapproved of ideological debates and party politics, which they viewed as a distraction from the sole goal of
liberating Palestine, and therefore portrayed itself as a movement rather than an organization. .
The publication Filastinuna,
appearing from 1959 until Nov 64, served to publicize the group, and won recruits from Ikhwan (Muslim Brotherhood
in Gaza) (eg
Ahmad Quray;
Muhammad Ghnaym, who opposed Ikhwan loyalty
to the Hashemite throne), Ba'ths, especially after the dissolution of the UAR (especially
Faruq al-Qaddumi; a West Bank resident),
and student groups (especially Mahmud ‘Abbas,
then working in Qatari civil service). Acted to unify various groups formed by Palestinian refugees in Kuwait, Saudi,
Qatar. Acted in Eu through Hani al-Hasan
(b.1937, Haifa) who was studying in W.Germany. In 1963, extensively reorganized, with a Central Committee formed. By
1962-4, was winning support from Arab States, especially Syria, which sought a counterfoil to Egyptian designs and a
means to discredit Nasser and the PLO.
Damascus became ‘Arafat’s
base; and Algeria (through ‘Arafat’s elder brother, Jamal ‘Abd al-Ra’uf). The Palestine Office was created by Fatah in
Algiers, and through these connections met Vietnamese, Chinese and Portuguese African leaders, and Che Guevara.
Arab states, and in particular Syria, pushed for armed attacks on Israel. Such attacks were also supported by ‘Arafat and Wazir, to opposition of ‘Abd
al-Karim and Dannan; the former view won out, especially with formation of the Palestinian Liberation Army in
September 1964 and because of the view that a military
confrontation between the
PLO
and Israel, and in fact, involvement of Arab states, could be precipitated by Fatah actions, thus bringing about a popular struggle.
Arafat and Fatah
strove for al-tawrit al-wa’i (‘conscious entanglement’) of the masses in a liberation war (as opposed to
conventional warfare of Arab armies invading Israel: Fatah indicated at times that this would not be able to liberate
Palestine, in part due to Israel’s NWs, and its promotion would prevent mass mobilization): believed that mass
mobilization would be triggered by engaging in highly visible armed attacks, which would also propel Fatah to the
leadership of PLO institutions, and therefore carried out terror attacks with the aid of Syrian recruited commands.
Rifts started emerging in
Fatah in ‘65/6, with the Higher Central Committee in Kuwait (‘Abd al-Karim, Dannan) opposing Field Command in Damascus (Wazir,
‘Arafat): former (probably also with Syrian pressure) imposed merger with Ba'thist Revulutionary Front for the
Liberation of Palestine, under Yusif al-‘Urabi, and Palestinian Liberation Front, under Ahmad Jibril, in order both to
control ‘Arafat and to bring in professional military expertise. Arafat and his allies assassinated Urabi, and the
Syrians then arrested Arafat. tensions led to attempted putsch of Mar-May 66; but resolution left Fatah with
strengthened links with Syrian forces (especially Asad), the removal of ‘Abd al-Karim and Dannan from HCC, and
domination of Fatah by commando groups in Syria led to a crackdown, with mass imprisonment, especially in Jordan and
Lebanon. Syrians released Arafat and other leaders only after they agreed to cooperate with Syria. Once released, they
escaped to Lebanon and attempted to establish an organization independent of Syrian control. Following the ‘67 war,
‘Arafat and Wazir urged the immediate relaunching of the struggle from within the occupied territories, despite
opposition of Khalid al-Hasan and Khalaf (and Syrian government); ‘Arafat formally became field commander and set up
clandestine HQ in Nablus from Aug 67. Fatah actions in late’67 killed approx 97 IDF, but caused mass imprisonment of
West Bank supporters and therefore by ‘68 Fatah sought a base outside occupied territories, and chose Jordan. Gained
unofficial support from many Jordanian soldiers, but tensions with government, especially intelligence chief Muhammed
Rasul al-Kaylani. Also sought leadership within PLO: formed a Permanent Bureau for Guerrilla Actions in Cairo, Jan’68,
with 7 minor guerrilla groups, so as to form a bloc within PLO; PFLP, with similar ambitions, boycotted it.
However, Fatah gained
popularity with battle of Karameh, in which they gained a partial victory over Israeli forces, bringing extensive
publicity and recruits. ‘Arafat now became the leader and spokesperson of Fatah in April 1968, possibly on Khalaf’s
unilateral initiative. Fatah gained support from King Faysal of Saudi (financially), Hussein of Jordan, USSR (after
‘Arafat’s visit to Moscow in Feb70) and Gamal Abdel Nasser who met the Fatah leadership in 1968, following Karameh. This
resulted in increased arms deliveries, military training and intelligence facilities, which Nasser saw as a complement
to diplomacy. China (after ‘Arafat and Khalaf visited in Feb70) and Algeria (both major weapons suppliers) both became
Fatah supporters.
By late 1968, though, Israel
had forced Fatah out of the Jordan valley, and guerrilla movement into Jordan’s cities brought increased tensions and
armed conflicts (especially Nov’68). Karameh also allowed Fatah to take over PLO, taking many seats in the PNC from May
68, and 33/105 seats in Feb 69 as the largest single bloc. Thereupon ‘Arafat was elected chairman of PLO, with 4/11
seats on Executive Committee. Fatah’s statist ambitions led it to create the organizational norms for its mass party in
traditional guise, and adopt populist political rhetoric; but tensions due to rapid expansion, with founding elite
largely drawn from Islamist parties, producing a paternalistic style of leadership, using the Islami notion of
consensus, whilst new recruits came up through Jordanian Ba'thist and communist parties. Statist ambitions also led it
to set up social welfare provisions, such as the Palestinian Red Crescent Society and schooling program; as well as
expansion of autonomous intelligence apparatus, the Rasd (briefly under Qaddumi, but under Khalaf from ‘68, when it
became a rival power base to ‘Arafat). At first it encouraged fragmentation of Palestinian groups to ensure its own
dominance; but rivalry and the sense that Arab States, particularly Syria, were creating groups to further their own
causes led to calls to impose a unified political front on Palestinian groups. This was rejected as impossible by
‘Arafat, who rejecting internal violence because of what it had done in 1936-9. He instead offered posts within PLO to
other groups (including unions and other mass organization) on a fixed quota while expanding PNC so that more seats could be
allocated.
The PLO attempted to take over the
Jordanian government in September of 1970, with Syrian backing. This forced a showdown with the Jordanian Legion, called "Black
September. Fatah members were largely forced to flee, eventually setting up shop in Lebanon. A sense of siege overtook Fatah
after Black September because of Syrian pressure, successful Israeli purges in Gaza, Israel and Jordan attempted to
cultivate an alternative leadership in occupied territories, and owing as well to a Lebanese crackdown on all guerrilla
activity, there were contradictory tendencies within Fatah. On the one hand, it saw the ‘adventurism’ of PFLP as
responsible for Black September, and therefore the September 1971 conference condemned ‘extremism’ within PFLP for their
problems. PLO under Fatah also sought to consolidate the movement and incorporated ‘Isam Sartawi's Active Organization
for the Liberation of Palestine (AOLP) and Ahmad Za‘rur’s Org of Arab Palestine at the July 1971 PNC session. But also
strove for revenge. Thus, a breakaway faction from the Rasd, which was extensively criticized for its role in Jordan,
became the ‘Black Sept Organization’ (Khalaf’s role unclear, but he supported and promoted its activities); much sympathy in Fatah
for their activities, including PFLP / Red Army strikes, and various Fatah members took the "Black September" name in the September 1972
Munich Olympic attack. It is apparent that
Yasser Arafat both authorized and organized the Munich strike, while carefully
attempting to disown it, without condemning it.
Following international
condemnation, loss of public support and Israeli reprisals (especially the death of Najjar and ‘Udwan in Apr73
raid), Fatah condemned further hijackings and airport attacks by Sabri al-Banna and Haddad’s PFLP faction in 1973,
and ‘Arafat ordered the assassination of al-Banna’s sponsor, Muhammed ‘Abd al-Ghafur (12Sept 74). In October 1972,
a Fatah congress of 300 delegates elected the leadership, and a new policy formulated, viewing guerrilla warfare as only
one of the means of struggle. Increasing leftward shift within Fatah after 1973 war, with ‘the Soviet Group’ ( Nimr Salh,
Fatah-CC member; Majid Abu-Sharar, director of news department; Ahmad ‘Abd al-Rahman, ed-in-chief of Filastin al-Thawra)
strong; though opposed by various other leftist factions, eg ‘Vietnamese line’ under Hanna Mikha’il and ‘Maoist
tendency’ under Munir Shafiq, as Soviet group was moving t/w supporting SCR242 and which gained considerable popularity
among Fatah rank-and -file, which saw interests of 1948 refugees as vital. This led to internal factionalist, and the
formation of the rejectionist front and Abu Nidal group. These came into open conflict in South Lebanon in April of
1977 when a leftist group under Abu Daud (Muhammed Daud Awda) tried to break the ceasefire in S.Lebanon, resulting in
open clashes with Fatah mainstream forces. ‘Arafat sought to, gain personal control. Amidst increasing accusations of
autocracy, Arafat did not convene a general Fatah conference after Sept 1971 until pressure led to the May 1980
conference.
Fatah’s success was due to its
lack of emphasis on ideology as well as to the unique personality of Yasser Arafat, leading to support from all sectors
of society, and its principle of non-interference in affairs of other Arab States resulting in support from most of
them. It generally opposed violent attacks outside the Middle East, especially after 1974. Main splits in Fatah in 1983
and Nov 1993 occurred, when half of Fatah-Revolutionary Council, including Farouk Qaddumi (as Secretary-General),
boycotted the meeting to protest the Oslo accords. Fateh began to disintegrate after the death of founder Yasser Arafat.
In January of 2006, it lost Palestinian Legislative Council elections to candidates representing the
Hamas
movement. Voters were unhappy with corruption and nepotism in the Fateh and chaos in the Palestinian authority. Mahmoud
Abbas, who succeeded Arafat was not an effective leader of either Fatah or the PLO. The Hamas promised to end chaos and
corruption. In June of 2007, the Fatah were violently deposed by Hamas in Gaza, leading in effect to two separate
Palestinian governments.
Synonyms and alternate spellings:
Fateh
Further Information: The
Fateh Constitution
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