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Popular Struggle Front |
Jabhat al-Kifah al-Sha'bi
| The PSF, known also as the Palestinian Popular Struggle Front, is a Palestinian organization led by Dr. Samir Ghosheh and Bahjat Abu Gharbiah that was set up before the Six Day War of 1967 in the West Bank. In the 1970s, the PSF moved closer to Fatah and moved its headquarters to Jordan and then to Lebanon. The organization attempted to mediate between the PLO/Fatah and Syria and the Palestinian organizations under its patronage, without much success. The PSF has no real weight or supporters in the Territories. The organization's headquarters and its terror apparatus, called "Occupied Lands", are situated in the Bekaa valley in Lebanon. The PSF staged terrorist attacks against Israel through the Lebanese border and in other countries. |
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The PSF was set up in 1967 in the West Bank as a split organization from Fatah.
It merged again with Fatah in 1971 but broke away in 1974 against the background
of its leaders' rejection of PLO's "staged program" to liberate Palestine.
The PSF joined the Rejection Front and came under the influence of Iraq, Syria and later on Libya. After the war Lebanon in 1982, its headquarters moved to Damascus and with Syrian assistance intensified its terrorist activities against Israel through the borders.
At the end of the 1980s, Dr. Samir Ghosheh softened his opposition to Arafat and supported the PLO's acceptance of the UN resolution 242 at the 19th
Palestinian National Council (PNC) in Algiers. Against this background, he successfully coped with an attempt by another leader, Naji Issa, to organize an internal revolt. The organization continues to enjoy good relations both with Fatah and Syria.
November 27, 1969: Two members of the organization threw a grenade at the El
Al offices in Athens. A child was killed and 14 civilians injured.
April 24, 1970: Six members of the Organization concealed explosive devices next to the El AL offices in Istanbul and next to the Pan Am offices in Izmir, Turkey.
3. July 22, 1970: Six members of the organization hijacked an Olympic Airways plane on a flight from Beirut to Athens. The terrorists obtained the release from the Greek government of one of the two terrorists jailed in Athens as a result of the 1969 grenade attack. This terrorist - Mansour Murad - was elected to the Jordanian parliament in November 1989.
May 4, 1975: A PSF squad exploded a bomb in Jerusalem killing one civilian and injuring three others.
June 28, 1975: The PSF kidnapped U.S. Army Col. Ernest Morgan in Beirut, Lebanon and passed him on to the PFLP-GC. He was later released under pressure from the PLO.
May 1975: Bombing of the Ain Fashha resort on the Dead Sea, Israel.
March 1979: Bombing of a tourist bus in Jerusalem, Israel.
October 30, 1984: The IDF killed all six terrorists of a squad trying to penetrate to Israel from Lebanon.
August 30, 1988: A four member squad, on its way to a hostage-taking operation in Israel, was intercepted by the Southern Lebanese Army in the security zone. Two terrorists were caught and the remaining two escaped.
December 1989: A seaborne squad tried to penetrate into Israel from Lebanon and drowned when their vessel sank in front of the Saida shores.
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