Major Political Players In Palestine

The recent conflict in Israel has brought several groups in Palestine into focus. These include Hamas, Fatah, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), and the Palestinian Authority (PA). This article gives an overview of these groups. It discusses their history, their goals, and their role in the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Fatah

Fatah, founded by Yasser Arafat and others like Mahmoud Abbas, aimed for an armed struggle against Israel to liberate Palestine.
The group started its military operations in Jordan and Lebanon in 1965.
By 1968, Fatah joined the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), an umbrella group for various Arab groups seeking statehood for Palestine through armed resistance.
Fatah’s armed struggle ceased in the 1970s as Jordan and Lebanon expelled its military wing.
Transformed, Fatah began negotiations with Israel.
In the 1990s, the PLO under Fatah’s leadership announced to renounce armed resistance and later signed the Oslo Accords.
The Oslo Accords gave birth to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), or Palestinian Authority (PA), an interim self-governing body aimed at an independent Palestinian State.
Today, Fatah leads the PA, governing about 40% of the occupied West Bank.
Fatah lost control of the Gaza Strip to Hamas’ political wing in the 2006 Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) elections.

Hamas

Hamas is a Sunni Islamist political group.
It controls the Gaza Strip and governs over 2 million people.
The organisation does not acknowledge Israel’s existence.
It supports armed resistance against Israel.
The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades is Hamas’s military wing.
The group has been responsible for numerous terrorist attacks and missile barrages against Israel, including recent ones.
Hamas is a Palestinian organisation, established in 1987 by religious leaders and activists from the Muslim Brotherhood.
The Muslim Brotherhood is a Sunni Islamist group.
The First Intifada, a Palestinian uprising, influenced the formation of Hamas.
The term “Hamas” is an abbreviation for Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya, translating to the Islamic Resistance Movement.
Hamas serves dual roles as a militant organisation and a primary Palestinian political party.
Hamas competes with Fatah, another dominant Palestinian political party.
The Palestinian Authority, controlled mostly by Fatah, governs the West Bank with Israel.
Contrary to Hamas, Fatah officially rejects the use of violence against Israel.
Hamas gained popularity among Palestinians due to its social services and charity work.
In 2005, Israel took its forces out of the Gaza Strip.
The following year, Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections against Fatah.
A clash between Hamas and Fatah ensued, with the former completely taking over Gaza by 2007.
Many Western nations and entities, like the US, UK, Canada, and the EU, label Hamas as a terrorist organisation.
Egypt aids Israel in maintaining a blockade on Gaza, restricting the movement of goods and people for 16 years.
Different nations offer different levels of support to Hamas.
Iran is the largest supporter, providing funding, weapons, and training to Hamas.

Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ)

The Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ) is Palestine’s second-largest militant group.
Its mission is to eliminate Israel and replace it with an Islamic Palestinian state using force and military actions.
Established in 1981, the PIJ has roots in Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood.
It is suspected to receive financial support from Iran, which is also believed to fund Hamas.
The PIJ drew inspiration from Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.
While allied with Hamas, PIJ and Hamas are distinct entities with divergent characteristics.
PIJ is a smaller, secretive, elite militia focused on armed conflict.
In contrast, Hamas is a larger community-based organisation that assumes governmental responsibilities in Gaza, as reported by Haaretz newspaper.
PIJ avoids mainstream politics but has a history in student politics.
Since the 1980s, PIJ has been active in Palestinian university elections and participated in the 1996 legislative elections.

Palestine Liberation Organization

The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was established in 1964.
It is a group of several political parties.
The PLO represents Palestinians at the United Nations and other global institutions.
Fatah members hold the majority in the PLO.
Other parties in the PLO include the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and the Palestinian People’s Party.
Militant groups like Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad are not part of the PLO.
These groups criticise the PLO’s close ties with the Palestinian Authority.
The Palestinian Authority and Israeli officials cooperatively manage security in the West Bank.
The Palestine Liberation Army (PLA) is considered the military wing of the PLO.
However, the operations of the PLA are managed by the governments of the countries they are based in, not the PLO.
Presently, Syria is the only country actively housing PLA forces.
Syria has a known history of supporting militant Islamist goals.

Palestinian Authority

The Palestinian Authority (PA) was formed in 1994. This happened after secret talks between the PLO and Israel’s government in Norway in 1993.
These talks brought about the Oslo Accords. The Accords proposed a two-state solution, with the PA governing the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Arafat, from the Fatah party, became PA president in 1996. He led the PA and the PLO until he died in 2004.
After Arafat’s death, Abbas, a co-founder of Fatah, took over. He still leads the PLO and the PA.
Many Palestinians don’t trust the PA. They see it as helping the occupation because it works with the Israel Defense Forces to keep peace in the West Bank. This view is promoted by Hamas, the PA’s rival.
In 2006, Hamas won the PLC elections and took control of the Gaza Strip from the PA.
The PA now only governs parts of the West Bank. It is headed by Mahmoud Abbas, who also leads the PLO and Fatah.

Hezbollah

Hezbollah is a militant group based in Lebanon.
It was established in 1982.
It played a significant role in the 2000 expulsion of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon after a 22-year occupation.
The group was involved in a 2006 kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers, leading to a 34-day war with Israel.
Hezbollah strongly supports the Palestinian cause and advocates for the destruction of Israel.
Iran backs Hezbollah, with the IRGC using it to propagate their ideology.
Hezbollah is closely allied with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and played a significant role in the Syrian civil war.
The group has substantial military capabilities and experience, positioning it as a strong enemy of Israel.
Hezbollah participates in politics, with eight members elected to Lebanon’s parliament in 1992 and 13 members as of the 2022 national elections.
The group governs areas of Beirut, southern Lebanon, and the Bekaa Valley region, significantly influencing Lebanese government policy.
Countries like the U.S., U.K., the Arab League, and Germany label Hezbollah as an international terrorist group. The European Union only labels its military arm as such.