The Palestine Liberation Army (PLA; Arabic: جيش التحرير الفلسطيني, romanized: Jaysh at-Taḥrīr al-Filasṭīnī) is ostensibly the military wing of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), set up at the 1964 Arab League summit held in Alexandria, Egypt, with the mission of fighting Israel.

Formally, the PLA fell under the command of the PLO's Military Department, but in practice, none of the governments involved relinquished control of the brigades.

[7] The PLA was never deployed in the form of a single fighting unit for the PLO, but instead elements were utilized as an auxiliary and support force by its controller governments.

Generally the PLA refrained from this kind of underground action, having been built up as something of a conventional military parade showpiece complete with bands and guards of honor.

[9] Although the initial invasion was successful, with PLA forces capturing Irbid and declaring it a "liberated" city,[9] the Jordanian military eventually managed to stall the attack in course of heavy fighting.

[15][16] Led by Major General Muhammad Tariq al-Khadra,[2][3] the PLA has taken part in campaigns in the Rif Dimashq, Daraa, and Quneitra Governorates.

In early 2015, a number of PLA fighters led by Major Khaldoun Al Nader were allegedly executed for refusing to fight against rebels in Daraa.

[19] After the fall of the Assad regime in late 2024, the Syrian transitional government demanded that all Palestinian armed groups in Syria disarm themselves, dissolve their military formations, and instead focus on political and charitable work.

[20] Meanwhile, the PLA and other Palestinian armed factions met at the Damascus headquarters of the PLO where they expressed support for Syrian unity and the removal of Assad as well as condemned the 2024 Israeli invasion of Syria.