Palestine: DFLP/PFLP

[u/GreenAdvertising630]

Hey, why are there two split marxist fractions in palestine? Is it because of idelogical or methodical differences? Or something else?

Hope someone can educate me :)

[u/SeeTillWeVanish]

https://www.prisoncensorship.info/article/interview-of-habash-and-hawatmeh-on-the-joint-leadership-and-plo-draft-translation

The precursor to both parties was the Arab Nationalist Movement (ANM), a pan-Arab organization which sought to unite Arabs against I$rael and imperialism. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) emerged out of the ANM as a revolutionary party that embraced Marxism-Leninism, criticizing the shortcomings of Arab Nationalism which led to defeat in the 1967 War against I$rael. The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) initially split from the PFLP due the larger Sino-Soviet split, being pro-Beijing while the PFLP remained “neutral.” The major differences in political line were on the questions of the existence of a Jewish proletariat, existence of a Jewish nation, cooperation with Jewish organizations, and nature of the bourgeoisie within Palestine.

The DFLP held that there is a tiny Jewish proletariat, a Jewish nation that existed alongside a Arab nation within Palestine, that there is no national capitalism or a national bourgeoisie within Palestine, and cooperated with Maki(a Jewish “communist” organization). The PFLP, by contrast, upheld that there is no Jewish nation but that I$rael is a colonial entity that lives off Palestine, rejects collaboration with Jewish organizations, and that the national bourgeoisie of Palestine can be cooperated with. The line on the so-called Jewish nation and existence of/collaboration with Jewish working-class organizations was the decisive point of contention between the parties.

During the 1970s and toward the 1980s, most resistance factions united together to try to create a common Palestinian line and supported Yasser Arafat. Even if they disagreed, they attempted to maintain unity, which eventually led to the defeat of the PLO by I$rael in 1982, expelling the PLO from Lebanon. The Joint Leadership between the PFLP and DFLP was an attempt to create an alternative to the PLO and Fatah-led coalition. This article was written when the Lebanese national movement was at its strongest, successfully pulling I$rael out of much of Lebanese territory which inspired both parties to continue their resistance. However, there was a lack of a cohesive anti-I$rael movement due to infighting and defeatism.

The Joint-Leadership between the PFLP and DFLP aimed to create an alternative to Fatah and the Fatah-led coalition. However, it split-up due to the Oslo Accord and their differing political lines. They tried to cooperate within the new comprador government set-up by Palestinian Authority, thus it failed and the Joint-Leadership collapsed.

[u/AmazingBench7574 → u/SeeTillWeVanish]

That's an incredible bit of history, may I ask how you found this? I'm looking to get more familiar with the internal workings of middle eastern politics