Palestinian Popular Struggle Front

The Palestinian Popular Struggle Front (PPSF, occasionally abbr. PSF), (Arabic, "jabhat al-nidal al-sha'biyya al-filastini"), a militant Palestinian organization. The group is led by Dr. Samir Ghawshah. Despite holding a seat in the executive council seat in the PLO, PPSF is generally considered to have a very limited influence over Palestinian politics.

Initial history

The PPSF was founded as the Palestinian Popular Struggle Organization (PPSO) in the West Bank in 1967, following a split from the PFLP. [ [http://www.broadleft.org/ps.htm Leftist Parties of Palestine ] ] It had close ties to Fatah, and in 1971 it officially became a Fatah-affiliated organization. It fell out with the Arafat leadership in Fatah in 1973, and left the organization to act independently. In 1974 it took a further step, leaving the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to become a founding member of the Rejectionist Front, in protest of the increasingly moderate politics of Arafat.

In the 1970s the PPSF hijacked airplanes, and also attacked civilian Israeli passengers in Athens Airport in 1969.

Initially close to Egypt after its break with Fatah, it eventually slipped into decline. In 1982 it was revived jointly by Syria and Libya, in an attempt to bolster hardliner and anti-Arafat forces in the PLO (Syria was simultaneously fighting the PLO in Lebanon).

Members of the PPSF were mentioned as possible suspects in the 1988 Lockerbie Bombing, believed to have been orchestrated by the Libyan regime, but Samir Ghawshah denied the charges. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/735886.stm BBC News | WORLD | Palestinian radicals deny bomb link ] ]

Reconciliation with PLO and PNA politics

In 1991 was allowed to rejoin the PLO after accepting Security Council resolution 242 and the concept of negotiations with Israel. Ghawshah gained a seat on the PLO executive committee. The PPSF was however divided into two, the main group led by Ghawshah which accepted the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), and Khalid ‘Abd al-Majid's parallel PPSF opposing it from exile in Damascus, Syria.

PPSF took part in the 1996 Palestinian legislative elections with 12 candidates. Together they got 0.76% of the national vote. [ [http://www.broadleft.org/ps.htm Leftist Parties of Palestine ] ]

It took part in the 2006 Palestine elections under the label Freedom and Social Justice, but failed to win a seat. In total their list got 7 127 votes (0.72%).

Front organizations

The PPSF maintains four front organizations; the Workers Struggle Bloc, Palestinian Struggle Youth Union, Students Struggle Bloc, Womens Struggle Bloc and Teachers Struggle Bloc.

PPSF publishes "Sawt an-Nidhal" (Voice of the Struggle).

References

ee also

* List of political parties in the Palestinian National Authority

External links

* [http://www.nedalshabi.org/ PPSF homepage] (Arabic)