Palestinian Arab Front ( ''Al-Jabhet Al-'Arabiya Al-Falestiniyeh'', PAF) is a minor

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

Arab nationalist faction. PAF is a member of 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 ...

History

The PAF has its roots in the Arab Liberation Front (ALF). This group had been created in 1968 by the Iraqi-based Ba'ath Party as its wing inside the

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 ...

movement, and to serve as a counter-weight to the rivalling Syrian-based Ba'athist faction, al-Sa'iqa, within the PLO and Palestinian politics. The PAF itself was founded in 1993, after a split in the ALF. The split had been provoked by the decision of the ALF to freeze its PLO membership in protest of the

Oslo Accords The Oslo Accords are a pair of interim agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO): the Oslo I Accord, signed in Washington, D.C., in 1993; and the Oslo II Accord, signed in Taba, Egypt, in 1995. They marked the st ...

, as per Iraqi policy. The organization held its first conference inside Palestine on May 15-May 17, 1997, and eventually drifted closer to

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 ...

and the

Palestinian National Authority The Palestinian Authority (PA), officially known as the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), is the Fatah-controlled government body that exercises partial civil control over the Palestinian enclaves in the Israeli-occupied West Bank as a c ...

, while the ALF remained staunchly loyal to

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

. The PAF, a very minor faction within PNA politics, has verbally supported the 2000 uprising against the Israeli regime's occupation, but it is unclear whether it performed any actual military activity. The group supported the candidature of

Mahmoud Abbas Mahmoud Abbas (; born 15 November 1935), also known by the Kunya (Arabic), kunya Abu Mazen (, ), is a Palestinian politician who has been serving as the second president of Palestine and the President of the Palestinian National Authority, P ...

in the 2005 presidential elections. PAF also took part in the 2006 legislative election with the list 'Freedom and Independence' (الحرية والاستقلال) in the national constituency. The list had 10 candidatures, 8 from 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 ...

and 2 from Gaza. Two candidates were women. The list was headed by Salim al-Bardeni. In total the list got 4,398 votes (0.44%), which was far below the 2%-barrier to gain parliamentary representation. The group had one candidate in one of the provincial constituencies, Ishak Mahmoud Ishak Bahis in the Hebron Governorate. He got 3,446 votes.

Policies

According to its own proclamations, PAF supports the right of Palestinian refugees "wishing to return to their homes olive at peace with their neighbours," in accordance with UN General Assembly Resolution 194; formation of an independent Palestinian state within the borders of 1967 with

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

as its capital, releasing Palestinian hostages from the Israeli regime, dismantlement of the

Israeli West Bank barrier The West Bank barrier, West Bank wall or the West Bank separation barrier, is a separation barrier built by Israel along the Green Line (Israel), Green Line and inside parts of the West Bank. Israel describes the wall as a necessary securi ...

; and evacuation of

Israeli settlement Israeli settlements, also called Israeli colonies, are the civilian communities built by Israel throughout the Israeli-occupied territories. They are populated by Israeli citizens, almost exclusively of Israeli Jews, Jewish identity or ethni ...

s from the

. Its long-term goals include Arab unity, political integration of the Arab nation of all current Arab states. It promotes strengthening of the

Arab League The Arab League (, ' ), officially the League of Arab States (, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world. The Arab League was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945, initially with seven members: Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt, Kingdom of Iraq, ...

and increased Arab economic cooperation. The front promotes increased cooperation amongst Muslim majority countries. The front vows to fight against all forms of financial and administrative corruption and the elimination of favoritism. It claims to strive to increase participation of women in Palestinian society.Palestinian National Information Centre - Palestinian Arab Front
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Organization

The organization is led by a Central Committee and a

Politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the highest organ of the central committee in communist parties. The term is also sometimes used to refer to similar organs in socialist and Islamist parties, such as the UK Labour Party's NEC or the Poli ...

. The General Secretary of the Front is Jameel Shihadeh ('Abu Khaled') and the Secretary of the Central Committee of Salim al-Bardeni, formerly the director of the Palestinian police. The group is a member of the

(PLO), and of the Palestinian National and Islamic Forces, which includes both PLO and non-PLO factions. It publishes the magazine ''Al-Jamahir'' (الجماهير, 'The Masses') and the bulletin ''At-Tajdid'' (التجديد, 'Renewal').

Mass organizations

PAF has a network of front organizations, including *Palestinian Union of Students Struggle Committees (اتحاد لجان كفاح الطلبة الفلسطيني) *Union of Teachers Struggle Committees (اتحاد لجان كفاح المعلمين) *Society for the Promotion of the Family (جمعية النهوض بالاسرة) *Settlement Committee (لجنة الاستيطان) *Palestinian Union of Women's Struggle Committees (اتحاد لجان كفاح المرأة الفلسطيني) *Palestinian Union of Workers Struggle Committees (اتحاد لجان كفاح العمال الفلسطيني) *Al-Quds Charitable Society (جمعية القدس الخيرية) *Land and Charity Society (جمعية البر والاحسان)

References

External links

37th anniversary declaration of PAFNewsarticle on the 37th PAF anniversary meeting in Khan Younis
{{Palestinian political parties Arab nationalism in Palestine Arab socialist political parties Ba'ath Party breakaway groups Factions of the Palestine Liberation Organization Palestinian nationalist parties Political parties established in 1968 Socialist parties in Palestine