| Palestine Liberation Army | |
|---|---|
| جيش التحرير الفلسطيني Jaysh at-Tahrir al-Filastini | |
 PLA Emblem | |
| Leader | Brig. Gen. Akram Muhammad al-Salti[1] |
| Dates of operation | 1964–present |
| Allegiance |  PLO (de jure) Ba'athist Syria (de facto;c. 1973–2024)[2] |
| Active regions | Syria Historically:Gaza Strip,Jordan,Iraq |
| Ideology | Palestinian nationalism[3] Anti-Zionism[4] |
| Size | 6,000(2017)[5] |
| Allies |  As-Sa'iqa PFLP-GC Fatah al-IntifadaBa'athist Syria(until 2024)  Hezbollah |
| Opponents |  Israel Defense Forces (1967, 1982) Jordan (1970–71)PLO (1976) Free Syrian Army Ahrar al-Sham Jaysh al-Islam Tahrir al-Sham Al-Nusra Front[6] Islamic State |
| Battles and wars | |
ThePalestine Liberation Army (PLA;Arabic:جيش التحرير الفلسطيني,romanized: Jaysh at-Taḥrīr al-Filasṭīnī) is thede jure military wing of thePalestine Liberation Organization (PLO), set up at the1964 Arab League summit held inAlexandria,Egypt, with the mission of fighting Israel. However, it has never been under effective PLO control, but rather it has been controlled by its various host governments, usuallySyria. Even though it initially operated in several countries, in 2015 the PLA was only active in Syria and recruited malePalestinian refugees.[4]
Immediately after its creation at the 1964 Arab League summit in Alexandria, the PLO (then headed byAhmad Shukeiri) was effectively under the control of theArab states, especiallyNasser'sEgypt. ThePalestinians would not gain independent control of the organization untilYasser Arafat'sFatah faction wrested it from Nasser-backed Palestinians in 1968–69.
Accordingly, the PLA was officially set up in 1964 as the PLO's armed wing[7] despite lacking an actual operation link to the PLO. In reality, the PLA was created by Nasser as an "auxiliary formation".[2] It was staffed by Palestinianrefugees under the control of the host countries, who would perform theirmilitary service in these units instead of in their host countries' regular armed forces. 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. From an early point, the PLA became especially influenced by Syria.[7]
The PLA was originally organized into threebrigades, named after historic battles:[2]
The PLA was relatively well equipped and trained, and even fielded armour.[2] Itsmateriel mostly originated in theSoviet Union.[8] However, the three PLA brigades remained under-strength until the 1980s.[2] The PLA was never deployed in the form of a single fighting unit for the PLO, but instead elements were utilized as anauxiliary and support force by its controller governments.[2][7] PLA brigades fought in theSix-Day War of 1967 as part of the Egyptian and Syrian militaries.[8] In 1968, the Popular Liberation Forces (Arabic:quwwat at-tahrir ash-sha'biyya), better known as the "Yarmouk Brigade", were established within the framework of the PLA to performcommando actions against Israeli forces in theGaza Strip, occupied by Israeli forces the year before. Generally the PLA refrained from this kind of underground action, having been built up as something of a conventional military parade showpiece complete withbands andguards of honor.
After its foundation, the PLA came to be used as political cover by its host governments, especially Syria. In course of theBlack September of 1970, hastily repaintedSyrian Armytanks under the command of the PLA were sent into Jordan to aid the Palestinianguerrillas against theJordanian Armed Forces,[7] probably with the ultimate aim to overthrow the Jordanianmonarchy.[9] Although the initial invasion was successful, with PLA forces capturingIrbid and declaring it a "liberated" city,[9] the Jordanian military eventually managed to stall the attack in course of heavy fighting.[10] After international pressure, and threats of intervention from both Israel and the United States, the combined PLA-Syrian forces were forced to turn back; an embarrassment which would contribute greatly to the overthrow of the government ofSalah Jadid byHafez al-Assad. The failure of the invasion has also attributed to the fact that theSyrian Air Force under al-Assad had refused to enter the fighting in the first place.[11]
PLA units saw action during theYom Kippur War in 1973, fighting both at the Syrian and Egyptian fronts.[8] From 1973, the PLA effectively became part of the Syrian Army.[2]
During theLebanese Civil War, Syria likewise made extensive use of the PLA as aproxy force, including against the PLO (the PLA however proved unreliable when ordered to fight other Palestinians, and suffered from mass defections).[12] In this conflict, it acted alongside theas-Sa'iqa faction of the PLO to support Syrian interests.[13] Already deployed from 1975 in Lebanon, the PLA acted as cover for the Syrian Armed Forces during the start of theSyrian occupation of Lebanon in 1976, as invading Syrian soldiers were dressed in PLA uniforms.[7] The PLA and as-Sa'iqa offered protection during the1976 Lebanese presidential election, helpingÉlias Sarkis in getting elected asPresident of Lebanon.[13] Overall, the PLA proved to be relatively ineffective in Lebanon.[12] The PLA was largely destroyed as a fighting force during the 1982 Israeli invasion of southernLebanon that started the1982 Lebanon War. Its fighters in Lebanon left forTunis when the PLO evacuatedBeirut that year, in a US-sponsoredcease fire agreement. The Egyptian PLA was also deployed in Lebanon in 1976, after Palestinian leaderYassir Arafat had approached the EgyptianpresidentAnwar Sadat, to mend relations damaged by Sadat's peacemaking attempts with Israel. Still, the Egyptian units never proved as important as the fully deployed Syrian PLA. In 1991, the first commander-in-chief of the PLA Maj. Gen.Wajih Al Madani died.
Many PLA soldiers in Egypt and Jordan later became the core of thePalestinian Authority's (PNA)National Guard, after the signing of the 1993Oslo Accords, when they were allowed to enter thePalestinian Territories to take up positions in the PNA security services.[14]
The Syrian PLA remains active, closely coordinated with as-Sa'iqa, although the importance of both had diminished over the years. The PLA has been rebuilt and Palestinians in Syria are still drafted to perform their military service in its ranks. Though completely staffed by Palestinians, it remains outside of the PLO's control, and is in effect integrated into the Syrian Army. Nevertheless, it poses as an independent entity, and occasionally organizes pro-government rallies celebrating Syrian commitment to the Palestinian cause.[15]
With the outbreak of theSyrian Civil War, the PLA sided with the government and began to fight against theSyrian opposition.[15][16] Led by Major GeneralMuhammad Tariq al-Khadra,[3][4] the PLA has taken part in campaigns in theRif Dimashq,Daraa, andQuneitra Governorates. In early 2015, a number of PLA fighters led by Major Khaldoun Al Nader were allegedlyexecuted for refusing to fight against rebels in Daraa.[17][18]
Around 228 PLA fighters have been killed in action by September 2017;[5] one of the highest ranking fatalities being a brigadier general Anwar al-Saqa.[15]
On 5 August 2020, commander of the PLA Maj. Gen.Muhammad Tariq al-Khadra[3] died in Damascus due toCOVID-19.[19]
After thefall of the Assad regime in late 2024, theSyrian 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 the2024 Israeli invasion of Syria.[21] By late January 2025, the Syrian transitional government had abolished the compulsory conscription for Syrian Palestinians into the PLA and begun to reorganize the entire Syrian military.General Intelligence Service director Majed Faraj of thePalestinian Authority indicated that the PLA would be dissolved into the reorganized Syrian army.[22]
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