Palestine Liberation Organization

The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; Arabic: منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية Munaẓẓamat at-Taḥrīr al-Filasṭīniyyah) is a Palestinian nationalist coalition that is internationally recognized as the official representative of the Palestinian people. Founded in 1964, it initially sought to establish an Arab state over the entire territory of the former Mandatory Palestine, advocating the elimination of the State of Israel. However, in 1993, the PLO recognized Israeli sovereignty with the Oslo I Accord, and now only seeks Arab statehood in the Palestinian territories (the West Bank and the Gaza Strip) that have been militarily occupied by Israel since the 1967 Arab–Israeli War.

It is headquartered in Al-Bireh, a city in the West Bank. As the officially recognized government of the de jure State of Palestine, it has enjoyed United Nations observer status since 1974. Prior to the Oslo Accords, the PLO's militant wings openly engaged in acts of violence against Israeli civilians, both within Israel and outside of Israel. Consequently, the United States designated it as a terrorist group in 1987, though a presidential waiver has permitted American–PLO contact since 1988. Mediated talks between the Israeli government and the PLO in 1993 (the Oslo I Accord) resulted in the PLO recognizing Israel's right to exist in peace and accepting United Nations Security Council Resolution 242, while Israel recognized the PLO as a legitimate authority representing the Palestinian people. Despite the Israel–PLO Letters of Mutual Recognition, in which PLO leader Yasser Arafat renounced "terrorism and other acts of violence" against Israel, the PLO continued to engage in militant activities, particularly during the Second Intifada (2000–2005). On 29 October 2018, the PLO Central Council suspended the Palestinian recognition of Israel, and subsequently halted all forms of security and economic cooperation with Israeli authorities until Israel recognizes a Palestinian state on the pre-1967 borders.