Fatahland
Southern Lebanon area controlled by Fatah and PLO
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fatahland (Arabic: فتح لاند Fatḥ Lānd or أرض فتح ʼArḍ Fatḥ; Hebrew: פתחלנד Fateḥland) is an informal term used to refer to the areas of Lebanon which were under the control of the Palestine Liberation Organization (Fatah being its largest faction) during the Palestinian insurgency in South Lebanon.[1] At its height described as a "state-within-a-state", it was one of many militia-controlled "cantons" — such as "Maronistan" and the Civil Administration of the Mountain — which supplanted the authority of the Lebanese central government as it collapsed during the Lebanese Civil War.
Christianity
Druze faith
Fatahland | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969–1982 | |||||||||||||
Flag of the Palestine Liberation Organization | |||||||||||||
 Map of Lebanon in 1976 during the Lebanese Civil War. Lands controlled by the PLO and its allies are shown in light green. | |||||||||||||
| Status | Militia-controlled territory | ||||||||||||
| Capital | West Beirut | ||||||||||||
| Common languages | Arabic | ||||||||||||
| Religion | Islam Christianity Druze faith | ||||||||||||
| Chairman of the Executive Committee of the PLO | |||||||||||||
• 1969–2004 | Yasser Arafat | ||||||||||||
| Historical era | Lebanese Civil War | ||||||||||||
| 1969 | |||||||||||||
| 1970–1971 | |||||||||||||
• Start of the Lebanese Civil War | 1975 | ||||||||||||
| 1976 | |||||||||||||
| 1978 | |||||||||||||
| 1982 | |||||||||||||
| 1982 | |||||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||||
• Refugee population in 1969 | 235,000 | ||||||||||||
• Refugee population in 1982 | 375,000 | ||||||||||||
| Currency | Lebanese Pound | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| Today part of |  Lebanon | ||||||||||||
The term is sometimes employed today to refer to Fatah's governance over the Palestinian enclaves in the West Bank, as opposed to Hamastan, in the context of the Fatah–Hamas conflict that has been ongoing since 2006.[2][3]
History
The term "Fatahland" emerged following the Six-Day War in 1967, after which the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) relocated to southern Lebanon and established a semi-autonomous region there. This effort gained momentum with the complete relocation of PLO leadership from Jordan to Lebanon following Black September from 1970 to 1971, which led to the PLO being expelled from Jordan.[4] With its own army operating freely in Lebanon, the PLO had effectively created a state within a state in Lebanon.[5] The 1969 Cairo agreement, signed by PLO chairman Yasser Arafat and Lebanese Armed Forces commander Emile Boustany, established that the presence and activities of Palestinian guerrillas in southern Lebanon would be tolerated and regulated by the Lebanese authorities.[6]
Israel regarded "Fatahland" as a serious threat, as Palestinian fedayeen used the area as a base for launching artillery shells and guerrilla operations into Galilee. Fatah grew in power in Lebanon during the Lebanese Civil War.[7] In March 1978, Israel invaded southern Lebanon up to the Litani River in an effort to drive the PLO away from the Israeli border. Control of the area near the Israeli border was subsequently transferred to the South Lebanon Army. In 1982, Israel launched another invasion of Lebanon with the goal of eliminating the PLO. Following the Israeli siege of Beirut, the PLO evacuated and relocated to Tunisia.[4]
Aftermath
Following the escalation of the Fatah–Hamas conflict into a civil war, Fatah and Hamas respectively seized control of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Consequently, the West Bank was described as a new Fatahland.[8][2] According to Riyad al-Maliki, instead of a two-state solution with a united State of Palestine and Israel as neighbors, the new map of the region may feature Gaza as a country and the West Bank as another, with Israel situated in between.[9] Scholars note that Israel, the United States, and the European Union viewed the split favorably as it allowed for the Islamist government in Gaza to be isolated while the Fatah government in the West Bank could engage in agreements more amenable to Israel.[2]