PLO in Lebanon

Arguably, the Lebanon period was the most significant time in the PLO's existence, both for reasons of political gain and international recognition – though it also involved a great deal of violence, displacement of civilians and economic instability.

[1] The PLO was able to maintain a strong presence, particularly in Southern Lebanon for a number of years and was often the cause of dissatisfaction and fear amongst Lebanese citizens due to religious tensions and a confusion of structure.

Nevertheless, guerrilla networks were increasingly active throughout the late 1960s and were given even more freedom after the Cairo agreement in 1969, in which refugee camps in Lebanon were placed under the command of Palestinian forces, instead of the heavy-handed Deuxième Bureau.

Much of 1970s Lebanon exists in history under the shadow of the lead-up to and subsequent bloody realization of the civil war, which the PLO became embroiled in after initial reluctance of any involvement.

Over time, the PLO was able to gain almost complete control over areas of Lebanon using their own police force, military and economic infrastructure although organizationally, this was said to be sporadic in terms of efficiency.

According to one journalistic endeavour from the Jerusalem Post, there was "little or no substantive proof for many of the atrocity stories making the rounds", which suggests that there was generally a deal of hearsay and over-inflated reporting about PLO mistreatment of civilians.

Senior journalists were known to have been bought off by receiving generously detailed files about an imminent strike against Israel in order that maximum coverage might be ensured.

The time in Lebanon also afforded the PLO space and resources with which to plan activities in support of the wider cause, including the Munich massacre.

Throughout this period in time, the PLO was beginning to accept the concept of a two-state solution and move towards the kind of agreements that would mark the Oslo I Accord, but diplomatic processes were hindered by the conflict.