FTOs (Foreign Terrorist Organizations) are foreign groups that the Secretary of State designates “in accordance with section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA)” (“Chapter 6,” 2012). The designation of FTOs is crucial to fighting terrorism and helps to curtail support for terror activities. Accordingly, section 219 provides criteria for the legal designation of FTOs. First, an organization must be foreign-based in order to be labeled as an FTO. Secondly, the group must be involved in terrorist operations or maintain “the capability and intent to engage in terrorist activity or terrorism” (“Chapter 6,” 2012). Thirdly, the terror activity associated with the organization must pose a threat to “the security of U.S. nationals or the national security (national defense, foreign relations, or the economic interests) of the United States” (“Chapter 6,” 2012). While the Secretary of State has designated several groups as FTOs, the ongoing conflict between Palestinians and Israelis has motivated the present study on FTOs to concentrate on Palestine Liberation Front (PLF).
Palestine Liberation Front (PLF)
Palestine Liberation Front is also known as PLF or PLF-Abu Abbas. The group’s alternative name is FLP (Front for the Liberation of Palestine).
Goals and Objective
The principal goals of the organization are the establishment of a Palestinian state and the destruction of Israel. The group’s objective is to make Jerusalem the capital of an independent Palestine.
Brief History
In 1977, PLF seceded from the group called “Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC), and then later split into pro-PLO, pro-Syrian, and pro-Libyan factions” (“Chapter 6,” 2012). Abu Abbas, also known as Muhammad Zaydan, was the leader of the pro-PLO cabal and operated from Baghdad before Operation Iraqi Freedom. Talat Yaakub joined Abu Abbas to establish PLF after their split from PFLP – GC because the group supported Syria during Lebanon’s civil war. PLF, which Abbas led until his death in 2004 while in captivity, is well-known for its 1985’s hijacking of “Achille Lauro cruise ship, during which the hijackers killed wheelchair-bound Jewish passenger Leon Klinghoffer” (Anti-Defamation League (ADL), 2013). Towards the end of the 1980s, Abbas merged his group with Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) following his election to the executive committee of the PLO. Subsequently, his support for Oslo Accords led him to renounce terror activities. Nevertheless, PLF resumed violence during Palestine’s second intifada participating in the killing of an Israeli juvenile and a bombing attempt near Haifa.
Favored Tactics
The group’s favored techniques include paramilitary attacks and hostage-taking against military or civilian targets. In particular, PLF first became widely-known for employing hot air balloons and hang gliders in eccentric terror attacks against Israelis (Mannes, 2003). Moreover, the organization has used small rockets and arms to attack Israel and undermine peace negotiations between Israel and PLO.
Anti-American Activities
PLF agents captured Achille Lauro cruise ship in the Mediterranean on 7th October 1985. After holding passengers and the crew for nearly two days, PLF terrorists killed a “disabled American passenger Leon Klinghoffer and threw him overboard” (ADL, 2013). A short standoff followed the incident, but Egypt soon resolved to grant the hijackers free passage on condition that the terrorists released the remaining hostages and the ship. Later, US Navy jets intercepted the plane that was moving the terrorists to safety in Tunisia and diverted it to Italy (“Palestine Liberation,” 2004). Although the coconspirators involved in the hijacking were quickly convicted and imprisoned, Italian authorities freed Abbas arguing that they lacked adequate evidence to confine him. Nonetheless, Abbas was eventually “convicted in absentia of masterminding the hijacking” (“Palestine Liberation,” 2004). During Operation Iraqi Freedom, US Marines captured Abbas in Baghdad and detained him. The marines also found a weapons cache that included gas masks, explosives, and bomb-making materials at a PLF training camp in the east of Baghdad. Subsequently, President George W. Bush cited Abbas as one of the major terrorists sheltered by the regime of Saddam Hussein (“Palestine Liberation,” 2004).
Primary Area of Operation
PLF’s focus of operation is Egypt, Lebanon, and Israel (ADL, 2013). While PLF’s size has remained unknown, reports indicate that the pro-PLO faction based its operations in Tunisia before the Achille Lauro hijacking. Following the incident, the group relocated to Iraq, where its activities were halted by the Operation Iraqi Freedom (Martin, 2011). In numerous interviews, Abbas insisted that his group made a mistake when it hijacked the cruise ship. He explained that he intended “his men to travel incognito aboard the Achille Lauro and then invade Israel” after docking at Ashdod (Martin, 2011, p. 460).
Strength and Composition
In addition to Talat Yaakub and Abu Abbas who are now deceased, the leaders of PLF have included Lebanon’s Omar Shibli, also known as Abu Ahmed Halab. Although PLF operates cells in Gaza and the West Bank, Abbas death and Israeli raids have eroded the group’s strength significantly. Estimates carried out by the US Department of State in 2008 suggest that the organization’s membership ranges between fifty and five-hundred. Although the group has remained largely inactive since the 1990s, PLF claimed responsibility for two major “attacks on Israeli targets in March 2008” (Martin, 2011, p. 460).
Connections with other Groups
PLF’s ideological views were initially communist but became nationalist and secular after the Soviet Union fell in 1991(ADL, 2013). In the past, PLF made attempts to establish connections with PLO but the relationship failed to succeed. After a period of inactivity following the Achille Lauro hijacking, PLF disrupted the 1990’s diplomatic discussions between the US and the PLO (Martin, 2011). During the negotiations, a seventeen-member squad of the PLF made an attempt to invade Israeli territory by sea. Using five speedboats, the operatives arrived at beaches near Ashdod and Tel Aviv, but the defense forces of Israel stopped the intended attack. The forces killed four of the PLF agents and arrested twelve others (Martin, 2011). Immediately after the raid, Arafat asserted that he was not involved in the attempted attack, but Washington decided to terminate its eighteen-month negotiation with PLO. The US also applied pressure on Libya forcing the country to expel over 100 members of the PLF and close down the organization’s training camps (Marin, 2011). Abbas stated that he initiated the attempted raid to retaliate for the murder of Palestinians in Tel Aviv. However, Israeli authorities countered that Abbas had planned the attack long before the purported Palestinian deaths. Subsequently, a military court in Israel tried the captives and imprisoned them for possessing illegal firearms, belonging to a terrorist organization, and attempting to commit murder. Following the aborted raid, Abbas left PLO and steered the PLF towards mainstream activities by supporting Oslo Accords (Martin, 2011). In addition, he publicly declared his support for peace negotiations in 1996. After two years, Abbas was allowed to enter Israel and visit “the Gaza Strip, where, in a Palestinian National Council meeting, he voted to revoke the parts of the PLO’s charter that call for Israel’s destruction” (Martin, 2011, p. 460). Later, he returned from exile and instituted his organization in Gaza City, where he commuted between his Baghdad base and Gaza. Although Abbas declared that PLF’s new path would be political, Israeli forces arrested nearly fifteen PLF members for plotting various attacks in Israel in 2001 (Martin, 2011). The subsequent breakdown of the peace process between PLF and Israeli authorities forced Abbas to return to his previous base in Baghdad, where US forces arrested him in 2003. Abbas later suffered a cardiac arrest and died in custody in 2004.
Although the Palestinian Authority partly funded the PLF, the organization’s primary benefactor was the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. Saddam provided Abbas with shelter in Baghdad after the hijacking of Achille Lauro ship and supplied financial aid, logistical support, and military training to the PLF (ADL, 2013). Like Arafat, the PLF’s leader supported Saddam during the early 1990’s Gulf War. Saddam had made numerous threats to attack Israel stating that his country had the capacity to “burn half of Israel” (Martin, 2011, p. 460). Such threats pleased Abbas who declared “my enemy’s enemy is my friend” in support of the Iraqi dictator (Martin, 2011, p. 460). Other funding sources for the organization have included Libya. In addition, Martin (2011) speculated that PLO and sympathetic Palestinians provide substantial funding for PLF’s activities.
The Secretary of State designated PLF as an FTO “on October 8, 1997” (“Chapter 6,” 2012). The designation was attributed to several minor and major attacks on Israeli targets for which the organization openly took credit. For instance, the group’s 1985 attack on an Italian cruise ship led to the death of an American citizen. The organization also claimed responsibility for a major attack on Nizanim beach in Israel during the early 1990s. Thus, the group poses a significant threat to both the US and its allies. Nevertheless, Global Security (2012) noted that PLF has not demonstrated considerable intent to participate in terrorism since 2008. Evidence also suggests that the group currently lacks the means and resources to undertake significant terror operations (Global Security, 2012). However, the organization’s past terror activities and its prevailing goal of destroying Israel prove that the group continues to pose a threat to the US interests in Israel.
Conclusion
FTOs are foreign groups that the Secretary of State designates in accordance with the Immigration and Nationality Act with the aim of strengthening the fight against terrorism and curtailing financial or logistic support for terror activities. The present study has concentrated on PLF because of its significant role in the ongoing conflict between Palestinians and Israelis. The group was designated as an FTO in 1997 following a series of attacks on Israeli targets, which were attributed to the organization. In one of the raids, the group claimed responsibility for the hijacking of an Italian cruise ship that led to the death of a disabled US citizen, Leon Klinghoffer, in 1985. Although the PLF has not demonstrated considerable intention or capacity to carry out major terrorist operations in the recent years, Washington continues to designate the group as an FTO because of its potential threat to US nationals in Israel and peace negotiations between Israel and Palestine.
References
Anti-Defamation League (ADL). (2013). Palestinian Liberation Front. Retrieved from http://archive.adl.org/terrorism/symbols/palestinian_liberation_front.html
Chapter 6: Foreign Terrorist Organizations. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.state.gov/j/ct/rls/crt/2011/195553.htm#PLF
Global Security. (2012). Palestine Liberation Front (PLF). Retrieved from http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/plf.htm
Mannes, A. (2003). Profiles in terror: The guide to Middle East Terrorist Organizations. Lanham. MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
Martin, G. (Ed.). (2011). The SAGE Encyclopedia of Terrorism (2nd ed). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Palestine Liberation Front (PLF). (2004). Retrieved from http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3403300579.html
