When examining whether the PLO is terrorism or not, it is
important to take several factors into account such as the groups actions and whether
a state actor can be a terrorist organization. Despite the PLO being a governing
group and softening its stances., it should still be considered a terrorist
organization based on its actions and charter.
In the PLO
charter, one of the reoccurring themes is liberation. It talks about the
illegitimacy of the Israeli government and state, and that the Palestinians
have the right to rule not the Jews. Article 15 of the charter states, “The liberation of Palestine, from an Arab
viewpoint, is a national (qawmi) duty and it attempts to repel
the Zionist and imperialist aggression against the Arab homeland, and aims at
the elimination of Zionism in Palestine”. This article discusses the liberation
of the Palestinians from Zionist imperialists which sounds very familiar to one
of Rapport’s categories of terrorism, anti-colonialism. The language of the PLO
is very anti-colonial using imperialism, because they believe they have illegally
occupied their home and that Jews are oppressing their people.
The
Charter of the PLO is also very violent, and openly states that they will fight
and go to war with Israel. Article 27 calls it a war for independence, one that
they will gain at any cost. The sheer willingness to use violence over
diplomacy is typically a trait of terrorist organizations, who would rather
achieve their means by violence than compromise. For the PLO, there is very
little compromise when it comes to their own state. However, recently the PLO
has adopted a two-state policy where they would get an independent Palestinian
state with the territories that they choose.
Despite
this, some may believe that the PLO is not a terrorist organization because
they are largely a political faction in recent years. The Arab league
represents the PLO as the official Palestinian representation, and this gives
the group a platform for international recognition. The PLO also runs a limited
government in Gaza and the West Bank, where they get semi-autonomy from the
Israeli government. The PLO is also trying to actively settle issues of
independence and borders with Israel. Many would point to all of this as PLO
not being a terrorist organization because they are a governing body and they
also have international recognition because Israel works with them. However, just
because the PLO is more into governance now does not mean that it is suddenly
not a terrorist group. For example, Arafat
the leader of the PLO often uses HAMAS for deal making to get what he wants. He
will say that he cannot control HAMAS unless he gets X, Y, Z which usually are
one-sided deals. While the PLO itself might not be actively committing
terrorism, they are very willing to use a terrorist organization as a bargaining
chip. A group that is not terroristic would not use a terrorist group as
leverage unless it was itself a terrorist organization. Just because they are
more into governance now, does not mean that they stop being a terrorist organization.
Governments can also commit terrorism.
- Andrew Gillis
In this post I really like how you examine the PLO's actions and statements examining whether it should be considered terrorism. I agree with you in the fact that their liberation looks like terrorism because of the charter resembling anti-colonialism. Like we had talked about in class, the PLO is looked at as a more credible organization because of forming into the government of Palestine and isn't a group formed like the HAMAS for example. I disagree with the fact that them wanting to go to war should be terrorism. If the PLO is a legitimate organization and government of Palestine then declaring war can be acceptable for them to do.
ReplyDelete- Stephen Agnatovech
I think the problem with the last part of your comment about them wanting to go to war. The PLO is not the government of Palestine, because it is not an independent state. Therefore, they cannot declare war on another nation. Since they are not a government of Palestine because it is not a legitimate state, war is not acceptable.
Delete-Andrew
I thought that your post was very informative. I liked how you examined the charges of the PLO in trying to examine them to see if they would be considered terrorists or not. I also liked how you examined the unwillingness for compromise from the PLO and HAMAS. This is one of the sections that I have thought about when considering the a terrorist group as well. I think that if any actor at all has the unwillingness to compromise to reach peach then there willingness for violence and death is a strong consideration for considering them a possible terrorist actor.
ReplyDelete-Christopher Bouchard
Chris, I agree with you. It is important to factor in if they are willing to compromise (which is why I said it). I believe that if a group or government is not willing to compromise and only solve problems through violence, we should examine their actions as possibly terroristic.
DeleteBefore reading your post I was leaning more towards PLO not being a terrorist organization. But after you pointed out how they use their control (or lack of) over HAMAS to get what they want, I started to question my stance. Although I believe that PLO has achieved more than other similar terrorist organization because they have a seat at the table, they might be perceived as a terrorist organization with how you portrayed them in this paper.
ReplyDeleteDivine