Palestine Liberation Organization Research Articles

Building a Proto-State on Quicksand: The Rise and Fall of the Palestinian State-in-Exile in Lebanon

In the wake of its relocation to Lebanon, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) transformed from a guerrilla force into a state-builder. This article explores this transition and argues that the creation of the Palestinian protostate in Lebanon was largely guided by the country's civil war–induced state collapse after 1975, which created both opportunities and needs that forced the Palestinian movement to engage in state-building. Enticed by new opportunities and constrained by the Lebanese Civil War's volatility, the Palestinian movement shifted its strategic priorities from cross-border campaigns against Israel to fighting within Lebanon. These new opportunities and needs also encouraged the PLO to transform itself into a semi-conventional force, which led to its defeat in 1982 and the collapse of the Palestinian proto-state.

Romania and the Palestine Liberation Organization, 1972–1974

ABSTRACT This article reassesses Nicolae Ceaușescu’s relations with Yasser Arafat and the Palestine Liberation Organization in the first years after their first contact in 1972. Romania pursued an active policy in the Middle East conflict from 1967 onwards, trying to help establish contacts and carry messages between the parties involved, motivated by its anti-hegemonic foreign policy which considered that the conflict was the product of superpower rivalries in the region. In what concerned the Palestinian problem, Romanian decision-makers believed that the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, regardless of its territory, was the key to solving the conflict. In Ceaușescu’s view, both the PLO’s close ties to the USSR and its terrorist activities derived from the absence of statehood and once a Palestinian state was created, its struggle would have moved to a different level, facilitating negotiations and peace arrangements. Ceaușescu strongly advocated in favor of this vision during its contacts with Arabs, Israelis and Americans, trying to convince all sides of the advantages of such a scenario. This way, Romania contributed – as small as that contribution may had been – to the transformation of the PLO from a virtually terrorist organization into a future political actor in the region.

Brief Synopses of New Arabic Language Publications

Brief Synopses of New Arabic Language Publications

Mapping of Solar Energy Potential in the West Bank, Palestine Using Geographic Information Systems

Palestine currently suffers a serious shortage in crucial energy supplies. Nearly 90% of electricity needs come directly from Israel, or through Palestinian electricity distribution companies. This situation puts the Palestinian population under continuous pressure, mainly due to the current unstable political situation in the region. The Palestinians have started to explore local alternatives to reduce the impact of Israeli control of this vital sector. Palestine receives about 3,000 hours of sunshine every year, making up an average of 8.2 hours daily, which makes it suitable for investing in solar energy. In this research land-use/land-cover data and a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) are used in a GIS environment while employing land-use/land-cover criteria and topography to produce a site suitability map for harnessing solar energy. The results of the study show that the eastern and southern parts of the West Bank are the most suitable areas for this purpose. The study also finds that the suitable areas for solar energy investment remain under full control of the Israeli Authorities. These areas are categorized as “Area C” according to the Oslo Interim Agreement signed by Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). This means that the Palestinians need to obtain permission from Israel to work in these areas. Putting an end to the Palestinian- Israeli conflict according to the United Nations resolutions may remove the imposed restrictions to invest efficiently in the solar energy sector.

Review: Promoting Democracy: The Force of Political Settlements in Uncertain Times, by Manal A. Jamal

Review: <i>Promoting Democracy: The Force of Political Settlements in Uncertain Times</i>, by Manal A. Jamal

THE PALESTINIAN CASE AND ITS PLACE ON RUSSIA’S FOREIGN POLICY AGENDA

The events of the “Arab spring” and its consequences as well as the “Iranian threat”, which became a key security challenge for the Gulf States, not without the efforts of Benjamin Netanyahu and supported by the pro-Israel Trump administration (2016-2020), seemed to have removed the Palestinian case from the priority list of Middle East issues. The role of Russia, the traditional partner of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) since Soviet times, also looked more low- key after the collapse of the Soviet Empire, especially amid resolution of the military-political crisis in Syria. Russian diplomacy on the Palestinian track remained unnoticed compared to the activity in the region of Donald Trump’s envoys, who promoted a peace plan for settling the Palestinian-Israeli conflict known as the “deal of the century”. Having failed to achieve the main goal, the White House contributed to the signing of the “The Abraham Accords”, which was a breakthrough given that the Arab states declared the solution of the Palestinian issue as precondition for formal relations with the Jewish state. If Arab-Israeli normalization continues, Israel will have peace treaties with more than half of the Arab and Muslim states despite the deadlock in the peace process with the Palestinians. Based on the analysis of political processes amid the unresolved Palestinian problem, and above all, Russia’s attempts as a mediator to achieve a settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the author suggests that the Palestinian issue has not lost its political significance and relevance as much as the Israeli government under Netanyahu tries to sell it.

1988 – Palestinian Declaration of Independence: A Tale of Poetry and Statehood

In 2018 Palestine instituted proceedings against the United States of America before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for an alleged breach of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (VCDR) after the US administration had relocated its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. Palestine argues that Jerusalem is outside Israeli state territory and thus outside the ‘receiving state’ of the diplomatic mission. The US, however, had already stated in 2014, when Palestine acceded to the VCDR that Palestine did not qualify as a sovereign state and thus was not capable of acceding to the VCDR. Thus, the background to this dispute is the question of Palestinian statehood and the territorial boundaries of that state. 30 years prior to the start of the proceedings before the ICJ, the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) had declared the independence of Palestine. As part of a series on “100 Years in Review: 10 Stories of International law”, this article revisits the Declaration of independence of 1988 and analyzes whether a Palestinian state has emerged under international law. First, this article provides a brief historical background to the territorial dispute that eventually ushered in the Declaration of Independence. Secondly, it highlights the relevant passages of the Declaration of Independence. Thirdly, it addresses the relevant theoretical legal underpinnings of the Declaration of Independence (self-determination and statehood). Finally, the article addresses whether Palestine fulfilled the criteria of statehood in 1988 or at a later stage.

Review

Review

عملیة میونخ (أقریت وکفر برعم*) سبتمبر 1972م

عملیة میونخ (أقریت وکفر برعم*) سبتمبر 1972م

Sokolow v. Palestine Liberation Organization [U.S.], August 31, 2016

Sokolow v. Palestine Liberation Organization [U.S.], August 31, 2016

Statement Issued by the Central Council of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)

Statement Issued by the Central Council of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)

The Road Not Taken: The Amirav-Husayni Peace Initiative of 1987

In the summer of 1987, Israeli citizens Moshe Amirav and David Ish Shalom initiated a secret unofficial negotiation channel with Palestinian leaders Faysal al-Husayni and Sari Nusseibeh, with the approval of the Palestine Liberation Organization leadership and the acknowledgment of senior members of Israel's ruling Likud party. But the attempt to turn the Amirav-Husayni initiative into official negotiations failed. This article analyzes the negotiations, examines the actors involved and the agreement, and discusses the historical importance of the initiative and the reasons for its failure.

1988 – Palestinian Declaration of Independence: A Tale of Poetry and Statehood

In 2018 Palestine instituted proceedings against the United States of America before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for an alleged breach of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (VCDR) after the US administration had relocated its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. Palestine argues that Jerusalem is outside Israeli state territory and thus outside the ‘receiving state’ of the diplomatic mission. The US, however, had already stated in 2014, when Palestine acceded to the VCDR that Palestine did not qualify as a sovereign state and thus was not capable of acceding to the VCDR. Thus, the background to this dispute is the question of Palestinian statehood and the territorial boundaries of that state. 30 years prior to the start of the proceedings before the ICJ, the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) had declared the independence of Palestine. As part of a series on “100 Years in Review: 10 Stories of International law”, this article revisits the Declaration of independence of 1988 and analyzes whether a Palestinian state has emerged under international law. First, this article provides a brief historical background to the territorial dispute that eventually ushered in the Declaration of Independence. Secondly, it highlights the relevant passages of the Declaration of Independence. Thirdly, it addresses the relevant theoretical legal underpinnings of the Declaration of Independence (self-determination and statehood). Finally, the article addresses whether Palestine fulfilled the criteria of statehood in 1988 or at a later stage.

Palestine at the UN: The PLO and UNRWA in the 1970s

This article examines the relationship of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) during the 1970s, the period when the PLO reached the zenith of its power in Palestinian refugee camps throughout the Levant. Based on archival United Nations (UN) and UNRWA documents, as well as the PLO's own communications and publications, the article argues that the organization approached its relationship with UNRWA as part of a broader strategy to gain international legitimacy at the UN. That approach resulted in a complex set of tensions, specifically over which of the two institutions truly served and represented Palestinian refugees. In exploring these tensions, this article also demonstrates how the “question of Palestine” was in many ways an international issue.

The Cold War and Chinese Policy toward the Arab-Israeli Conflict, 1963–1975

This article explores the key issues in China's changing relations with the Arab countries and Israel from 1963 to 1975. Based on interviews, archival sources, and other materials, the article shows Beijing's attempts to justify its self-portrait as the only genuine patron of “national liberation movements” and to help foster the conditions for revolution in the Middle East by supporting a “people's war” against Israel. Although this radical design failed after the liquidation of Palestinian guerrillas in Jordan in the 1970s and the U.S.-Chinese rapprochement soon thereafter, the Sino-Soviet competition in the 1970s still gave enormous impetus to the visibility of the Palestine Liberation Organization in the international arena. The article discusses the roles of Chinese Communist leaders and diplomats in formulating Beijing's policy toward the Arab-Israeli conflict, which also served Mao Zedong's domestic mobilization before and during the Cultural Revolution. The article thus highlights a special connection across the international and domestic dimensions of China's Cold War experience.

الشغور المفاجئ في منصب الرئيس: المعضلة والسيناريوهات المتوقعة (Sudden Vacancy in the office of the President: Dilemmas and Expected Scenarios)

Arabic Abstract: يشغل السيد محمود عباس حاليا ثلاثة مناصب: رئيس اللجنة التنفيذية لمنظمة التحرير الفلسطينية ورئيس دولة فلسطين ورئيس السلطة الفلسطينية. وفي حال يسهل إشغال المنصبين الأولين حال شغورهما المفاجئ، فإن هنالك إشكالية في شغل المنصب الثالث، بحكم حل المجلس التشريعي، الذي يتولى رئيسه رئاسة السلطة في حالة الشغور المفاجئ. تتناول الورقة هذه المشكلة، وتحاول توقع السيناريوهات التي قد يجري العمل بها لسد الشغور، وبعض الإشكاليات المترتبة عليها، دون أن توصي بأي منها. English Abstract: Mahmoud Abbas is currently the chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s (PLO) Executive Committee and president of the State of Palestine and the Palestinian Authority (PA). If he were to no longer be able to fulfil these roles, then the Executive Committee would appoint one of its members and the Central Council would nominate/appoint a president of the State of Palestine – it would most likely be the same person, as was also the case under Yasser Arafat. However, this leaves the question of who would become president of the PA if this office was suddenly vacated. The Basic Law (BL) suggests that the speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) would became president on an interim basis, which only opens up a further question as the Council has been dissolved and no new elections are currently scheduled to take place. Scenario One: Aziz Dweik, who was the speaker of the PLC when it was dissolved, would assume the presidency on an interim basis. The 2005 amendment to the Basic Law (BL) establishes that the mandate of incumbent PLC representatives ends when new members take their oath of office. The mandate of ‘incumbent’ members is therefore still in effect. Scenario Two: The PLO Central Council may repeat its actions of 1993, and would therefore select the PA’s president and instruct the PLO Executive Committee to appoint the PA’s Council, which would henceforth apply executive and legislative powers. Scenario Three: The PLO Central Council would officially replace the PLC. Salim Zanon, the speaker of the PLO Central Council, would henceforth serve as the PA’s interim president. Scenario Four: It is possible that the Draft Constitution of Palestine will be officially endorsed. If/When this occurs, it will stipulate that the vice-president should replace the president – if the vice-presidency is unoccupied, the chairman of the Constitutional Court will be asked to fill the role. Scenario Five: The State of Palestine has now replaced the PA, and its president could therefore be appointed/selected. In the absence of an incumbent president, the Central Council would elect/appoint the Head of State. Scenario Six: The PA president may declare a state of emergency, which would suspend the interim BL provisions related to the presidency, and would task the vice-president with fulfilling the mandate of the president. This paper recognizes that both Palestinians and the international community are closely preoccupied with the question of who will be the next president of the PA and the State of Palestine, and it therefore outlines six different scenarios, without indicating a specific preference for any one. But this overlooks what is perhaps the central question, which is the fragmentation of the Palestinian political agency without any real central Palestinian authority, and regardless of who will be the next president. Whereas the preceding scenarios operate within a de jure framework of reference, this question instead orientates towards a series of de facto considerations.

The Legal Consequences of Recognizing Israel as a Jewish State

The aim of this short article is to explain the consequences of the Israeli government’s demand of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to recognize Israel as a state. I will discuss how over the years Israeli law has relied on national reasoning to exercise its ethnic hegemony. I will argue that the Israeli legal meaning of the doctrine of a Jewish and democratic state came later to replace some aspects of the role of security reasoning, while keeping a strong mutuality with the wide concept of security. I will conclude that the Israeli demand of the PLO to recognize Israel as a state is really about compelling the Palestinians to accept Israel’s military achievements in the 1948-49 war, and that this acceptance may negate the legal remedies for the consequences of the Nakba.

La influencia del poscolonialismo en el estudio de Israel/Palestina: de la perspectiva anticolonial al marco decolonial, pasando por el colonialismo de asentamiento

Aunque la presentación del denominado “conflicto palestino-israelí” o “árabe-israelí” como consecuencia del fenómeno sionista como una ideología colonialista se remonta a principios del siglo XX, con una mayor relevancia y profundidad intelectual en los años 1960-1970 gracias en particular al apoyo de estudios al respecto por parte de la Organización para la Liberación de Palestina, no es menos cierto que estos últimos años el estudio del conflicto ha sido testigo de un resurgimiento del marco conceptual del colonialismo. Este resurgimiento se inscribe dentro de la cada vez más concienzuda aplicación del marco de los estudios postcoloniales tanto en las relaciones internacionales en general como en Oriente Próximo en particular, para lo cual las aportaciones de Edward Said representaron un punto de inflexión clave, y muy particularmente dentro de una nueva subdisciplina como es la teoría del colonialismo de asentamientos. La utilización de este último marco epistemológico arroja sin embargo luz sobre varias de las diferencias en el estudio de la situación en la Palestina histórica a lo largo de las últimas décadas, como son la relevancia del elemento etnonacional, el peso cada vez mayor de los estudios indígenas y la importancia de las redes transnacionales y la interseccionalidad, además de un peso cada vez mayor de la perspectiva decolonial.

Emergency Urbanism in Sabra, Beirut

Since the mid-1980s, generations of displaced people have sought refuge in the ramshackle buildings that were once the Gaza-Ramallah Hospital, a multi-story hospital complex built by the Palestinian Liberation Organization (plo). Damaged during the civil war, today the buildings blend in with the run-down Sabra-Shatila neighbourhood in Beirut’s “misery belt.” This paper charts the buildings’ history and main characters: the lodgers, landlords, and gatekeepers who respectively lease, rent, and control the dilapidated buildings’ dark corridors, cramped flats, and garbage-strewn stairways. The multi-story buildings are examples of emergency urbanism whereby displaced people seek refuge in cities, and their story can be read as a vertical migration history of people escaping conflict, displacement, and destitution. Examining the buildings as archives of spatial and political histories provides a genealogy of displacement and emplacement that can inform the study of emergency urbanism and point to solutions in cities for refugees lacking access to affordable housing.

Smokescreen Diplomacy: Excluding the Palestinians by Self-Rule

For the United States and the Palestinians, 1977 was a diplomatic opportunity due to the election of President Jimmy Carter and changes within the Palestine Liberation Organization. While Carter aimed for a comprehensive peace to solve the entire Arab-Israeli conflict, Israel balked. Instead of blocking the process entirely, however, Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin proposed Palestinian self-rule. While it enabled a separate Egyptian-Israeli peace process, the self-rule proposal was an obfuscation intended to continue Palestinian political exclusion and prevent Palestinian statehood.