Fatahland or Fatah land was a term used by

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

to refer to the areas in Southern Lebanon controlled by the

Palestine Liberation Organization The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ) is a Palestinian nationalism, Palestinian nationalist coalition that is internationally recognized as the official representative of the Palestinians, Palestinian people in both the occupied Pale ...

(PLO) and its largest faction,

Fatah Fatah ( ; ), formally the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (), is a Palestinian nationalist and Arab socialist political party. It is the largest faction of the confederated multi-party Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and ...

, during the

Palestinian insurgency in South Lebanon The Palestinian insurgency in South Lebanon was a multi-sided armed conflict initiated by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) against Israel in 1968 and against Lebanese Front, Lebanese Christian militias in the mid-1970s. PLO's goal ...

from 1968 to 1982. Today, the term is used to refer to Fatah's governance over the

Palestinian enclaves The Palestinian enclaves are areas in the West Bank designated for Palestinians under a variety of unsuccessful Israeli–Palestinian peace process, U.S. and Israeli-led proposals to end the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The enclaves are Is ...

in the

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

, as opposed to Hamastan, in the context of the Fatah–Hamas conflict that has been ongoing since 2006.

History

The term "Fatahland" emerged following the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states, primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...

in 1967, after which the

(PLO) relocated to southern

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

and established a semi-autonomous region there. This effort gained momentum with the complete relocation of PLO leadership from

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

to Lebanon following

Black September Black September (), also known as the Jordanian Civil War, was an armed conflict between Jordan, led by Hussein of Jordan, King Hussein, and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), led by chairman Yasser Arafat. The main phase of the fight ...

from 1970 to 1971, which led to the PLO being expelled from Jordan. With its own army operating freely in Lebanon, the PLO had effectively created a state within a state in Lebanon. The 1969 Cairo agreement, signed by PLO chairman

Yasser Arafat Yasser Arafat (4 or 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), also popularly known by his Kunya (Arabic), kunya Abu Ammar, was a Palestinian political leader. He was chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from 1969 to 2004, Presid ...

and Lebanese Armed Forces commander Emile Boustany, established that the presence and activities of Palestinian

guerrillas Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, Partisan (military), partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include Children in the military, recruite ...

in southern Lebanon would be tolerated and regulated by the Lebanese authorities.Cobban, 1984, p. 47.

regarded "Fatahland" as a serious threat, as

Palestinian fedayeen Palestinian fedayeen () are militants or guerrillas of a nationalist orientation from among the Palestinian people. Most Palestinians consider the fedayeen to be Resistance movement, freedom fighters, while most Israelis consider them to be Pa ...

used the area as a base for launching artillery shells and guerrilla operations into

Galilee Galilee (; ; ; ) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon consisting of two parts: the Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and the Lower Galilee (, ; , ). ''Galilee'' encompasses the area north of the Mount Carmel-Mount Gilboa ridge and ...

. Fatah grew in power in Lebanon during the

Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 150,000 fatalities and led to the exodus of almost one million people from Lebanon. The religious diversity of the ...

. In March 1978, Israel invaded southern Lebanon up to the

Litani River The Litani River (), the classical Leontes (), is an important water resource in southern Lebanon. The river rises in the fertile Beqaa Valley, west of Baalbek, and empties into the Mediterranean Sea north of Tyre. Exceeding in length, the ...

in an effort to drive the PLO away from the Israeli border. Control of the area near the Israeli border was subsequently transferred to the

South Lebanon Army The South Lebanon Army or South Lebanese Army (SLA; , ), also known as the Lahad Army () or as the De Facto Forces (DFF), was a Christianity in Lebanon, Christian-dominated militia in Lebanon. It was founded by Lebanese military officer Saad H ...

. In 1982, Israel launched another invasion of Lebanon with the goal of eliminating the PLO. Following the Israeli

siege of Beirut During the 1982 Lebanon War, the city of Beirut was besieged by Israel following the breakdown of the ceasefire that had been imposed by the United Nations amidst the Lebanese Civil War. Beginning in mid-June, the two-month-long siege resulted in ...

, the PLO evacuated and relocated to

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

. Following the escalation of the Fatah–Hamas conflict into a civil war, Fatah and Hamas respectively seized control of the

and the Gaza Strip. Consequently, the West Bank was described as a new Fatahland. According to Riyad al-Maliki, instead of a two-state solution with a united

State of Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

and Israel as neighbors, the new map of the region may feature Gaza as a country and the West Bank as another, with Israel situated in between. Scholars note that Israel, the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, and the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

viewed the split favorably as it allowed for the Islamist government in Gaza to be isolated while the Fatah government in the West Bank could engage in agreements more amenable to Israel.

References

{{reflist

Sources

*Cobban, Helena (1984). ''The Palestinian Liberation Organisation: People, Power, and Politics''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521272165 *Rubenberg, Cheryl A. (1986). ''Israel and the American National Interest: A Critical Examination''. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0252060741 Palestinian insurgency in South Lebanon fr:Fatah land he:פתחלנד History of Fatah Fatah–Hamas conflict Political pejoratives Political terminology in Israel Political terminology in Lebanon Phrases related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict 1960s neologisms

History

See also

References

Sources