THE PALESTINE LIBERATION ORGANIZATION - ORGANIZATION AND LEADERSHIP

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP86T00608R000200010018-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 14
• Document Creation Date: November 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 2, 2000
• Sequence Number: 18
• Publication Date: April 1, 1975
• Content Type: BR

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Confidential
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The Palestine Liberation Organization
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Confidential
BR 75-18
April 1975
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NATIONAL SECURITY INFORMATION
Unauthorized Disclosure Subject to Criminal Sanctions
F
0
Classified by 001030
Exempt from General Declassiflcallon Schedule
of E.O. 11631 exemption cateporyt
?%(1), (2), and (3)
Automatically, d.classifried ont
date impossile to determine
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CONFIDENTIAL
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Historical Background
Meeting in'Jerusalem from 28 May to 2 June 1964, over 400 delegates
from Palestinian communities throughout the Arab world voted to create the
PLO as "... the only organization to represent the Palestinian people, to
organize them and to speak in their name." More than 10 years later, at the
October 1974 Rabat Arab Summit Conference, the PLO won the endorse-
ment of the assembled Heads of State as tie sole legitimate representative of
the Palestinian people. In the intervening years, it went through many changes
as the result of almost perpetual feuding between factions of the diverse
Palestinian community; it remains deeply divided on several issues.
By early 1969, control of the PLO, initially under a group of middle-class
Palestinians with backgrounds in law, science and diplomacy, had passed into
the hands of the enormously popular fedayeen (commando) groups. After
Yasir `Arafat was elected chairman of the PLO Executive Committee
(PLO/EC) in 1969, the fedayeen groups, particularly Fatah, consolidated
their hold.
At present, the PLO is led by a moderate wing composed of `Arafat and
his Fatah backers; Zuhayr Muhsin, head of the Syrian-supported Sa'iqa
forces; and Nayif Hawatmah, secretary general of the Marxist Popular
Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (FDFLP). The use of the
term "moderate" to describe this PLO faction is pot meant to imply that the
leaders or groups described have abandoned their radical pasts or disavowed
terrorist activities. "Moderate" is used throughout this publication to describe
those leaders who seek a Palestinian role in a negotiated peace settlement,
who would probably agree to the establishment of a national authority in the
West Bank-Gaza Strip area, and who privately admit that the PLO will even-
This report was prepared by the Central Reference Service and was coor-
dinated within CIA as appropriate. Comments and questions may be directed
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tually have to come to some kind of terms with the State of Israel. Some men
who are moderate in this sense are clearly radical in others: For example,
Hawatmah is a leading v..1rxist ideologue and a strong Soviet supporter.
Furthermore, there is no guarantee that this moderate stance will be main-
tained; the pressure of events could easily topple the Fatah-Sa`iga-PDFLP
coalition and bring a resumption of terrorist activities. '
Opposition to the moderate grouping comes from the Rejection Front, a
coalition of activists of the Popular Front for the Liberat:,,;i of Palestine
(PFLP), the Arab Liberation Front (ALF) and the PFLP/General Command
(PFLP/GC), aided by the Popular Struggle Front (PSF), which does not
belong to the PLO. The Rejectionists are unwilling to settle for any goal short
of the repiucement of the State of Israel by a democratic, secular state, and
they oppose any efforts to admit the PLO into the Middle East negotiating
process.
The basic political structure of the PLO has remained the same since its
creation. Lines of authority are not always clear. The location and subordina-
tion of some elements is often a matter of guesswork, and many structures are
created and disbanded in short periods of time.
PLO headquarters were originally in Amman but were moved to
Damascus after the bitter righting between Jordanian army units and the
fedaveen in 1971. Much of the PLO's information and research activity is un-
dertaken in Beirut, where several of the leaders live. The meetings of the
Palestine National Council (PNC) are usually held in Cairo, often at Arab
League headquarters; the most recent meeting was in June 1974.
Theoretically the highest authority in the PLO, the PNC is composed of
about 180 members, selected according to a set (specifics are currently un-
available) formula from among the guerrilla groups, the popular
organizations and Palestinian communities in the Arab world. Delegates serve
3-year terms. PLO statutes call for the PNC to be popularly elected; in reality,
however, delegates are'appointed by their organizations or communities. This
is at least in part because to hold elections among Palestinians living in
countries that do not themselves permit elections might prove embarrassing.
The PNC originally had 100 members, but it was expanded to 115 in
1969, to 155 in 1971 and to its present size in 1973. About 85 members repre-
sent guerrilla groups; Fatah is dominant here as elsewhere in the PLO. The
PNC is headed by a Speaker, Khalid a'-Fahum, and is organized into com-
mittees.
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Any important political step that the PLO takes must be endorsed by the
PNC; should the PLO decide to attend the Geneva Conference, the PNC
would probably have to approve such a move. The PNC must also approve
any amendment to the PLO's constitution, the Palestine National Charter, by
a two-thirds vote,
The Central Council
Composed of 30 to 40 members (neither the exact number nor all the
names o;' its members are known), the Central Council includes all members
of the PLO/EC, as well as representatives of the fedayeen,groups. The Central
Council is theoretically the PLO's supreme authority when the PNC is not in
session.
The Executive Committee
The PLO/EC, whose members are selected by the PNC, is the PLO's
highest executive authority. It is the actual center of power in the PLO, and its
chairman is in effect the Palestinian chief of state. The PLO/EC has existed
since 1964; from late 1970 to July 1971 it was absorbed by an ad hoc Central
Committee created to enable the PLO to coordinate all efforts in its struggle
with the Jordanian army; the committee was later di solved.
The PLO/EC has varied in size since its creation: 14 members were
selected in June 1974, but the PFLP representative withdrew in September.
(The PFLY also withdrew from the Central Council but kept its seats, thought
to be about 15, in the FN:--.) The PLO/EC is organized into departments,
headed by PLO/EC mem5e;::, which correspond roughly to Cabinet
positions.
Political and International
Affairs Department
The Political and International Affairs Department, headed by Fatah
member Faruq Qaddurni, is in effect the PLO's foreign ministry. Head-
quarte'ed in Beirut, it also has a representative in Cairo, deputy director Said
Kamal. The Political Department probably directs the Higher Political Com-
mittee for Lebanon, which Is responsible for the PLO's political relations with
the Leba,,ese Government.
The department also supervises the offices that the PLO maintains
abroad. The status of a PLO office in any given country is often confused:
Many operate as information offices, some are subsumed under an overseas
Arab League office, and others are simply self-proclaimed and grudgingly
toleraied by the host country. The PLO does appear in the diplomatic lists of
some countries, however-Uganda and the People's Republic of China are ex-
amples-and in early 1975 the PLO announced that the Indian Government
had granted it full diplomatic status. In November 1974 the United Nations
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granted it observer status. The PLO sends representatives to international
conferences, usually as observers, and has a "designated representative" at
UNESCO. Several countries have recently announced their willingness to
accept PLO offices, and it is expected that the second half of 1975 will see an
upsurge in the PLO's attempts to establish offices throughout the world. A list
of PLO representatives abroad as of March 1975 appears on page xi.
Military Department
The PLO's Military Department, headed by Sa'iqa chief Zuhayr Muhsin,
has long been plagued by feuding for control. Theoretically, it supervises the
Palestine Liberation Army (PLA). In fact, the PLA and the PLO/EC have a
long history of controversy, and the PLA has often act:.J contrary to the
PLO's wishes.
The PLA is composed of three brigades-'Ain Jallut, Hittin and Qad-
disiyya. All are stationed in Arab countries and are tightly controlled by the
host governments. The PLA founded a commando-type group called the
Popular Liberation Forces in early 1968, but it was never very large.
Another military instrument of the PLO is the Popular Armed Struggle
Comrnarcd. Originally established to coordinate military policy among
fedayeen groups, it is now confined mostly to military police duties in refugee
camps, The General Command of the Palestine Revolution, headed by
`Arafat, is a coordinating body designed to control and integrate the activities
of all fedayeen groups. Each of the six major fedayeen groups under the PLO
(PFLP, PFLP/GC, Sa`iga, ALF, Fatah and PDFLP) has its own military
arm, independent of the PLA, but each is expected to coordinate military ac-
tivity through the General Ct;mmand.
Popular Organizations Department
The so-called "popular organizations" include labor unions and student
groups with membership in Palestinian communities throughout the Middle
East and Europe. The most prominent are the General Union of Palestine
Students, which has offices in many European and Middle Eastern countries,
and the General Union of Palestine Workers, headquartered in Damascus.
The organizations also include the Writers and Journalists Union, women's
groups and professional associations (such as engineers and doctors). The
Popular Organizations Department was headed by Ahmad Yamani, PFLP
representative on the PLO/EC, but he withdrew from the PLO/EC in
September 1974 and has not been replaced.
Information Department
The PLO has at least two information arms. The "official spokesman,"
`Abd ai-Muhsin Abu Mayzar, often gives the PLO/EC's reaction to political
events and summarizes the outcome of PLO/EC and Central Council
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meets`iigs. The Information Department of the PLO/EC is headed by Yasir
`Abd Rabbu, PDFLP representative on the PLO/EC. The department ap-
parently supervises the Unified Information Command, led by Fatah member
Majid Abu Sharrar. It publishes a weekly, Filistin al-Thawra, and an
English-language journal, Palestine Information Bulletin; and it includes the
PLO news agency, WAFA, and the Voice of Palestine radio station located in
Cairo. The individual guerrilla groups also publish information bulletins:
al-Hadaf (PFLP), Hurriyyah (PDFLP), al-Tha'ir al-Arabi (ALF) and Hal
al-Amman (PFLP/GC).
Several independent organizations report directly to the PLO/EC. The
Palestine Planning Center, now under the direction of Nabil Sha'th, conducts
in-depth studies on subjects of interest to the PLO leaders. It has published
studies on Palestinian population and manpower and is now at work on a
study of the economic and social viability of a West Bank state.
The Palestine National Fund (PNF) is the PLO's treasury. Contributions
to the PLO come directly from Arab governments and through a variety of
taxes on Palestinians living in Arab countries. Other sources of income in-
clude a tax on PLO employees and fundraising drives such as the Joint
Palestine Appeal. The PNF director is a member of the PLO/EC.
Information on the structure and composition of other PLO departments
is not available at present. Offices such as the Occupied Homelands Depart-
ment and the Cultural and Educational Department have no clearly defined
functions. Readers with information on these or other departments are en-
couraged to forward it to the Central Reference Service.
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ALF .......................... Arab Liberation Front
ANM ......................... Arab Nationalists Movement; a group founded by
George Habbash and some fellow students at the
American University of Beirut circa 1950. In late
1967 the group's paramilitary wing-the Vengeance
Youth-merged with two other groups to become
the PFLP. After a number of other splits, the PFLP
stabilized under the leadership of Habbash.
Fatah .......................... Numerically the largest and politically the most influ-
ential of the resistance groups. The name is a reverse
acronym for Harakat Tahrir Filisrin (Palestine Na-
tional Liberation Movement).
National authority ............... Term used by PLO to indicate a possible Palestinian
state or entity that would be set up on West Bank-
Gaza Strip territory vacated by the Israelis. It is
contrasted with "democratic, secular state"-the
avowed goal of the PLO-which is taken to mean
the dismantling of the state of Israel and its replace-
ment by a state in which Muslims, Jews and Chris-
tians would have equal religious rights, but that would
be run according to majority rule. Theoretically, the
national authority is not an end in itself but a step to-
ward the realization of the "democratic, secular state."
PDFLP ........................ Popular Democratic Front for the Liberation of
Palestine
PFLP ......................... Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
PFLP/GC ..................... Popular Front for the Liber?''!;on of Palestine/Gen-
eral Command.
PLO .......................... Palestine Liberation Organization
PLO/EC ....................... Palestine Liberation Organization/ Executive Com-
mittee
PNC .......................... Palestine National Council
PNF .......................... Palestine National Front
PSF ........................... Popular Struggle Front (This group does not belong to
the PLO)
Rejection Front ................. A coalition of PSF, PFLP/GC, PFLP and AL.F activists
who oppose PLO negotiations of any kind with Israel.
Sa'iga ......................... The Ba'th Party of Syria representatives in the Pales-
tine resistance. Supported and in some cases led by
the Syrian Army, it is the second largest commando
group.
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CONFIDENTIAL
PLO REPRESENTATIVES ABROAD (March 1975)
Gambia
Guinea (Conakry)
Senegal
Tanzania
Uganda
India
Malaysia
Pakistan
People's Republic of China
EASTERN EUROPE*
German Democratic Republic
Romania
Yugoslavia
NEAR EAST/NORTH AFRICA
Algeria
Bahrain/Qatar
Egypt
Iraq
Kuwait
Jordan
Lebanon
Libya
Morocco
Saudi Arabia
Somalia
Sudan
Syria
Tunisia
United Arab Emirates
Yemen Arab Republic
Yemen, People's Democratic Republic of
'Abd al-Hamid Azzam
Abu Fahid
'Abd aI-Rahman Abassi
Fu'ad Bitar
Khalid al-Shayk
Fathi 'Abd al-Hamid
Yusif'Abd al-Karim Abu Hantash
'Ali Hajjaj
Munir Ibrahim Hamud
Nabil Kulalat
'Imad'Abdin
'Atif Abu Bakr
Ahmad Waft
Yasin al-Sharif
Jamal Surani
Vacant**
'Ali Yasin
'Abd al-Latif Abu Jabrarah***
Shafiq al-Hut
Abu Tariq
Abu Marwan
Abu Hisharn
Ibrahim al-Khatib
Khayr al-Din 'Abd al-Rahman
Mahmud al-Khalidi
Kamal al-Din al-Sarraj
Ibrahim al-Zarrad
Faruq Yunis
'On 24 August 1974 the PLO Political Department announced that the PLO would soon open offices in
Czechoslovakia. Poland, Hungary and Bulgaria. No public announcement of the rcpresentutivcs assigned to these
orficcs has yet been made.
"Abu Nidal. PLO representative in Iraq, was suspended in lite 1974 and has not been replaced.
"'Probably representative of the Occupied Homelands Department of the PLO/EC but rcfcrrcd as PLO
representative in Jordan.
-***In February 1975 the PLO announced that an oM(c in the People's Democratic Republic of Ycmen would
open soon.
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WESTERN EUROPE
France
Italy
Netherlands
Switzerland
United Kingdom
WESTERN HEMISPHERE
`lzz al-Din al-Qalaq
Nimr Hammad
Mahmud Rabbani
Da'ud Barakat
Said Hammami
United Nations Sa'adat Hasan*
*Also heads PLO Information Office, New York City.
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CONFIDENTIAL
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PALESTINE L
PALE
Sp
Palestine
Liberation Army
Hlttln Brigade
'AIn Jalut Brigade
Qadlslyya Brigade
Yasir 'Arafat
Faruq Quddumi
Zuhayr Muhsin
Yasir 'Abd Rabbu
Ahmad Yamani*
'Abd al-Wahhob Ka
Talal Naji
POLITICAL AND
INTERNATIONAL AFF
Faruq Qaddumi, Direc
Said Kornai, Deputy((
GENERAL COMMAND
OF THE PALESTINE REVOLUTION
PALESTINE NATIONAL FUND
Walld Qomhowi, Director
Higher Political 1
Popular Armed PoHc1nr
Struggle Command Liberation Fon.,s
WWO
NATIONAL, PAN-ARAB
& RETURNEES AFFAIRS
'Abd al-Muhsin Abu Mayzar, Director
565577 4-75
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for Lebanot
Overseas Reprei
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E LIBERATION. ORGANIZATION
PALESTINE NATIONAL COUNCIL
Speaker: Khalid al-FAHUM
L AND
\L AFFAIRS
Muhammad Nashashlbi
Abd al-Aziz Wallih
Abd al-Muhsin Abu Mayzar
Abd al-Jawad Salah
Walld Qamhawl
Ella Khury
Hamid Abu Slttah
General Union c.F Palestine Students
General Union of Palestine Workers
Palestine Writer and kurnalhts Union
General Union of Palestine Women
`Union of Palestinian Jurists.
Palestine Doctors League
PALESTINE PLANNING CENTER
Dr. Nabil Sha'th, Director
L Palestine Red Crescent
Dr. Fathl 'Arafat,. Director
OCCUPIED HOMELANDS
Hamid Abu Sittah, Director
Amman Office
Unified Information Command
Maiid Abu Sharrar
WAFA
Zlad 'Abd al-Fattah
Filistin al-Thawra
Voice of Palestine
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