Liquidation of the Palestine Liberation Organization

Here, we discuss the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) not merely as an administrative structure or a party among the Palestinian parties, but as the "moral and legal home" that gathers Palestinians from both inside and the diaspora under one umbrella. We also do not refer here to the attempts by Israel to liquidate its existence and end its symbolism as a representative of a people and a national liberation movement, nor do we mean the political and moral liquidation in favor of the Palestinian Authority and the State of Palestine, which has been ongoing since the establishment of the Authority in 1994, something we have written about extensively. Rather, we also refer to the material liquidation of its institutions, headquarters, and properties abroad; as is happening in Lebanon, where the organization’s main headquarters was sold in 2009, and other properties were sold before and after that.

We will not delve here into who sold, or where the proceeds amounting to hundreds of millions went, whether they entered the accounts of the "Fatah Movement" - regarding the properties of the movement - or in the "National Fund" - regarding the properties of the organization - knowing that both funds are nearly bankrupt and rely on what the also bankrupt Authority allocates to them? We will also set aside the recent scandals surrounding the sale of properties of the Fatah Movement and the organization in Lebanon.

All forms of liquidation of the organization, whether politically or materially, before the establishment of an independent Palestinian state is considered the greatest danger to the future of the national cause and our struggle with an enemy that appears not to stop at the point of international recognition of a Palestinian state.

While we wish for the establishment of the Palestinian state soon, this state will remain, for some time, under military and economic occupation, and it will also particularly serve the Palestinians of the West Bank and Gaza; in this case, more than half of the people will remain outside the equation, which justifies the importance of the existence of the PLO that represents all Palestinian people. On the other hand, if the failure of the two-state solution is confirmed due to the Israeli and American obstinacy, and the pressures being practiced on the ground against the Authority with attempts to liquidate it or strip it of its national function and role, who will then lead the national situation?

The existence of the Palestine Liberation Organization is a strategic national necessity and an alternative plan in the event of the failure of the Authority and the two-state solution; its liquidation before the establishment of the state means cutting off the Palestinian people’s path to continue their national struggle and undermining their presence in the regional and international political scene.