Origins
The PLF was originally founded by Ahmed Jibril and Shafiq al-Hout in 1961, and enjoyed strong Syrian backing. In 1967 the PLF merged with two other groups, the Arab Nationalist Movement-affiliated Heroes of the Return (abtal al-awda) and The Young Avengers, to form the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
The PFLP was led by former ANM-leader George Habash, but in April 1968 Jibril split from this group to form the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command (PFLP-GC), which returned to the strongly pro-Syrian position of the former PLF.
This eventually led to a reestablishment of the PLF, as the organization broke apart after Jibril's PFLP-GC had followed Syria into battle against the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1976, during the Lebanese Civil War. Open fighting between the rival factions ensued, and only after mediation by Yassir Arafat did their relationship stabilize. On April 24, 1977, the PFLP-GC deserters formed the new PLF, under the leadership of Muhammad Zaidan (Abu Abbas) and Tal'at Ya'qub. Sporadic fighting continued between PFLP-GC and PLF, and included an August 1977 bombing of the PLF headquarters, which killed some 200 people.
Read more about this topic: Palestine Liberation Front
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