Editing Yasser Arafat (section)

===Battle of Karameh===
{{Main|Battle of Karameh}}

Throughout 1968, Fatah and other Palestinian armed groups were the target of a major Israeli army operation in the Jordanian village of [[Karameh]], where the Fatah headquarters—as well as a mid-sized [[Palestinian refugee camps|Palestinian refugee camp]]—were located. The town's name is the [[Arabic language|Arabic]] word for 'dignity', which elevated its [[symbol]]ism in the eyes of the [[Arab|Arab people]], especially after the collective Arab defeat in 1967. The operation was in response to attacks, including rockets strikes from Fatah and other Palestinian militias, within the Israeli-occupied West Bank. According to [[Said Aburish]], the government of Jordan and a number of Fatah commandos informed Arafat that large-scale Israeli military preparations for an attack on the town were underway, prompting fedayeen groups, such as George Habash's newly formed [[Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine]] (PFLP) and [[Nayef Hawatmeh]]'s breakaway organization the [[Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine]] (DFLP), to withdraw their forces from the town. Though advised by a sympathetic [[Royal Jordanian Land Force|Jordanian Army]] divisional commander to withdraw his men and headquarters to the nearby hills, Arafat refused,<ref name="Consolidation of Power"/> stating, "We want to convince the world that there are those in the Arab world who will not withdraw or flee."<ref name="Sayigh">{{cite book|last=Sayigh|first=Yezid|title=Armed Struggle and the Search for State, the Palestinian National Movement, 1949–1993|year=1997|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-829643-0}}</ref> Aburish writes that it was on Arafat's orders that Fatah remained, and that the Jordanian Army agreed to back them if heavy fighting ensued.<ref name="Consolidation of Power"/>

In response to persistent PLO raids against Israeli civilian targets, Israel [[Battle of Karameh|attacked]] the town of [[Karameh]], Jordan, the site of a major PLO camp. The goal of the invasion was to destroy Karameh camp and capture Yasser Arafat in reprisal for the attacks by the PLO against Israeli civilians, which culminated in an Israeli school bus hitting a mine in the Negev, killing two children.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hI844N9leNUC&q=karameh+battle&pg=PA45|access-date=25 October 2015|title=The Arab-Israeli Conflict|author=Cath Senker|year=2004|publisher=Black Rabbit Books|isbn=9781583404416}}{{Dead link|date=June 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> However, plans for the two operations were prepared in 1967, one year before the bus attack.<ref name="Debacle in the desert">
{{Cite news| title = Debacle in the desert| work = Haaretz| access-date = 13 May 2011| date = 29 March 1968| url = http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/week-s-end/debacle-in-the-desert-1.361453 |first=Amir |last=Oren}}</ref> The size of the Israeli forces entering Karameh made the Jordanians assume that Israel was also planning to occupy the eastern bank of the Jordan River, including the [[Balqa Governorate]], to create a situation similar to the [[Golan Heights]], which Israel had captured just 10 months prior, to be used a bargaining chip.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nQXtz41f-kcC&q=Israel+assumed+that+the+Jordanian+Army+would+ignore+the+invasion&pg=PT242|title=Fortress Israel: The Inside Story of the Military Elite Who Run the Country—and Why They Can't Make Peace|publisher=Macmillan|first=Patrick |last=Tyler|date=18 September 2012|access-date=25 October 2015|isbn=9781429944472}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ammonnews.net/article.aspx?articleno=83073|script-title=ar:الذكرى الثالثة والأربعون لمعركة الكرامة الخالدة|date=20 March 2011|access-date=16 June 2024|publisher=Ammon News|work=Petra News Agency|language=ar|archive-date=18 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160418232224/http://www.ammonnews.net/article.aspx?articleno=83073|url-status=dead}}</ref> Israel assumed that the Jordanian Army would ignore the invasion, but the latter fought alongside the [[Palestinians]], opening heavy fire that inflicted losses upon the Israeli forces.<ref name="telegraph">{{cite news
| title = 1968: Karameh and the Palestinian revolt
| work = The Telegraph
| access-date = 16 June 2024
| date = 1 May 2002
| url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1400177/1968-Karameh-and-the-Palestinian-revolt.html
}}</ref> This engagement marked the first known deployment of [[Suicide attack|suicide bombers]] by Palestinian forces.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Saada, Tass |author2= Merrill, Dean |title=Once an Arafat Man: The True Story of How a PLO Sniper Found a New Life |location=Illinois |date=2008 |pages=4–6 |isbn=978-1-4143-2361-9 |publisher=Tyndale House Publishers}}</ref> The Israelis were repelled at the end of a day's battle, having destroyed most of the Karameh camp and taken around 141 PLO prisoners.<ref name="GUERRILLAS">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1968/03/23/archives/guerrillas-back-at-jordan-camp-attack-by-israelis-failed-to-destroy.htmlE|access-date=14 June 2024|title=GUERRILLAS BACK AT JORDAN CAMP; Attack by Israelis Failed to Destroy Base at Karameh or Wipe Out Commandos|work=The New York Times|date=23 March 1968 |first=Thomas F. |last=Brady}}{{subscription required}}</ref> Both sides declared victory. On a tactical level, the battle went in Israel's favor<ref name="Zeev Maoz page 246">{{cite book |first=Zeev |last=Maoz |title=Defending the Holy Land: A Critical Analysis of Israel's Security and Foreign Policy |publisher=University of Michigan Press |date=2006 |pages=244–246}}</ref> and the destruction of the Karameh camp was achieved.<ref name="Herzog, The Arab-Israeli Wars page 205">{{cite book |author=Herzog |title=The Arab-Israeli Wars |page=205}}</ref> However, the relatively high casualties were a considerable surprise for the Israel Defense Forces and was stunning to the Israelis.<ref name="tuckerS" /> Although the Palestinians were not victorious on their own, King Hussein let the Palestinians take credit.<ref name="tuckerS">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YAd8efHdVzIC&q=karameh+battle&pg=PA569|title=Encyclopedia of the Arab-Israeli Conflict, The: A Political, Social, and Military History: A Political, Social, and Military History|author=Spencer C. Tucker, Priscilla Roberts|publisher=ABC-CLIO|access-date=25 October 2015|date=12 May 2005|isbn=9781851098422}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-bXMBQAAQBAJ&q=Israel+assumed+that+the+Jordanian+Army+would+ignore+the+invasion|title=Aviation and Airport Security: Terrorism and Safety Concerns, Second Edition|access-date=27 October 2015|author=Kathleen Sweet|publisher=CRC Press|date=23 December 2008|isbn=9781439894736}}</ref><ref name="assessment">{{cite magazine
| issn = 0040-781X
| title = The Israeli Assessment
| magazine = Time
| access-date = 3 September 2008
| date = 13 December 1968
| url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,839651,00.html
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081123100239/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,839651,00.html
| url-status = dead
| archive-date = 23 November 2008
}}{{subscription required}}</ref> Some have alleged that Arafat himself was on the battlefield, but the details of his involvement are unclear. However, his allies–as well as [[Mossad|Israeli intelligence]]–confirm that he urged his men throughout the battle to hold their ground and continue fighting.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Livingstone|first1=Neil|first2=David |last2=Halevy|title=Inside the PLO|year=1990|publisher=Reader's Digest Association|page=80|isbn=978-0-7090-4548-9}}</ref> The battle was covered in detail by ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'', and Arafat's face appeared on the cover of the 13 December 1968 issue, bringing his image to the world for the first time.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,839649,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070208225932/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,839649,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=8 February 2007|title=The Guerrilla Threat In the Middle East|access-date=24 August 2007|date=13 December 1968|magazine=Time}}</ref> Amid the post-war environment, the profiles of Arafat and Fatah were raised by this important turning point, and he came to be regarded as a national hero who dared to confront Israel. With mass applause from the [[Arab world]], financial donations increased significantly, and Fatah's weaponry and equipment improved. The group's numbers swelled as many young Arabs, including thousands of non-Palestinians, joined the ranks of Fatah.<ref>{{cite book|last=Cobban|first=Helena|title=The Palestine Liberation Organisation: People, Power and Politics|url=https://archive.org/details/palestinianliber0000cobb|url-access=registration|year=1984|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|location=Cambridge|isbn=978-0-521-27216-2}}</ref>

When the [[Palestinian National Council]] (PNC) convened in Cairo on 3 February 1969, [[Yahya Hammuda]] stepped down from his chairmanship of the PLO. Arafat was elected chairman on 4 February.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=HAJIAAAAIBAJ&pg=2064,4351664&dq=arafat&hl=en|work=The Morning Record |via= Google News Archive Search|title=A Fatah Chief To Lead Palestinian Liberation |date=6 February 1969 |page=9}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/international/19690205arafat.pdf| title=Fatah Wins Control of Palestine Group| work=The New York Times| date=5 February 1969| access-date=17 June 2024}}</ref> He became [[Commander-in-Chief]] of the Palestinian Revolutionary Forces two years later, and in 1973, became the head of the PLO's political department.<ref name="Consolidation of Power"/>