Page 40 - Encyclopedia Of Terrorism

A-Kushner.qxd 29-10-02 3:18 PM Page 13

Al Fatah———13

forming a new terrorist group, which has operated undertook no further attacks against Jordanian targets.
under several names but is most widely known as the By the early 1990s, the Jordanian threats combined
Abu Nidal Organization (ANO). In November 1974, with the previous defections and his own declining
the PLO sentenced him to death in absentia; several health seriously incapacitated al-Banna and with him
commentators have suggested that the death sentence the ANO. The last major attack attributed to the orga-
was decided on after the discovery of a plot to assassi- nization was the 1991 assassination of Abu Iyad, a
nate Arafat. PLO leader and al-Banna’s former colleague. In the
From 1974 to 1983, the ANO operated from Iraq. late 1990s, Libya’s policy toward terrorism changed
In return for the protection of Hussein, al-Banna and significantly, and al-Banna was no longer welcome. In
the ANO carried out attacks against Saddam’s ene- 1999, he was reported to have received medical treat-
mies, particularly the Syrian Ba’th Party, which had a ment in Cairo, possibly for leukemia. In August 2002,
long-standing rivalry with Saddam’s Iraqi Ba’th. at-Banna was found dead of multiple gunshot wounds
During these years, the group engaged in several in an apartment in Baghdad.
high-profile attacks, including the attempted assassi-
See also ABU NIDAL ORGANIZATION; AL FATAH; YASIR
nation of the Israeli ambassador to England, Shlomo
ARAFAT; SADDAM HUSSEIN; PALESTINE LIBERATION
Argov, in June 1982. That attack provoked Israel to
ORGANIZATION
invade Lebanon, the country where the PLO had its
headquarters. Further Reading
By 1983, Iraq was deeply involved in a war against
“Abu Nidal Organization (ANO).” Patterns of Global
Iran, and, in an attempt to curry favor with the West,
Terrorism, 2000. U.S. Department of State, April 2001.
Saddam Hussein expelled al-Banna and the ANO.
http://web.nps.navy.mil/~library/tgp/abu.htm.
Al-Banna moved the ANO to Syria, where he remained
International Policy Institute for Counter Terrorism. Fatah-
until 1985; he then moved to Libya. In 1985, while
Revolutionary Council (Abu Nidal Organization) Profile.
based in Libya, the ANO executed some of its most dar- http://www.ict.org.il/inter_ter/orgdet.cfm?orgid=2.
ing and despicable attacks, including the machine- Melman, Yossi. The Master Terrorist: The True Story of
gunning of El Al Airlines counters at the Rome Abu-Nidal. New York: Adama Books, 1986.
and Vienna airports; these attacks killed 17 people. Nasr, Kameel B. Arab and Israeli Terrorism: The Causes
Al-Banna became the world’s most wanted terrorist. and Effects of Political Violence, 1936-1993. Jefferson,
While in Libya, al-Banna began to recruit seri- NC: McFarland, 1997.
ously. The ANO had long-established front offices in Seale, Patrick. Abu Nidal: A Gun for Hire. New York:
most Arab countries, and its operatives had proven Random House, 1992.
their ability to strike successfully almost anywhere
in the world. Al-Banna wanted to increase ANO’s
number of operations. By the late 1980s, however, AL-FARUQ, OMAR. See ABU ZUBAYDAH.
al-Banna’s suspicions were overtaking his judgment.
Long famous for his caution—he would only eat food
prepared by his personal chef and continually cir-
culated rumors of his own death to confuse his AL FATAH
enemies—he began to suspect that his underlings
might be plotting to replace him with the support of
the new members. Al-Banna is reported to have Formed by Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat during
responded to this threat with a brutal internal purge, his youth, Al Fatah is the biggest and most influential
killing as many 150 members of ANO. This action group within the Palestine Liberation Organization
temporarily quieted dissent but caused many senior (PLO).
commanders to defect in the late 1980s, leaving the Arafat and his colleague Khalil Wazir (later known
ANO seriously crippled. by the nom de guerre Abu Jihad) founded Al Fatah
Al-Banna soon faced another danger; Jordanian after leaving Egypt for Kuwait in 1957. Fatah’s plat-
security forces, tiring of his threats against King form departed from the pan-Arabism of the day and
Hussein, reportedly arrested several members of his instead called on the Palestinians themselves to led
family and threatened to execute them. The ANO an armed struggle for Palestine. The group began as