Black September in Jordan

This article, Black September in Jordan, describes the events surrounding September, 1970 in Jordan. For the terrorist organization, see Black September (group).

September 1970 is known as the Black September in Arab history and sometimes is referred to as the "era of regrettable events". It was a month when Hashemite King Hussein of Jordan moved to quash an attempt by Palestinian organizations to overthrow his monarchy. The violence resulted in heavy civilian Palestinian casualties. Armed conflict lasted until July 1971 with the expulsion of the PLO and thousands of Palestinians to Lebanon.

Background

Following the shock of Israel's overwhelming victory in the 1967 Six Day War, a number of Arab groups were looking for ways to "restore honor" or advance their causes. Palestinians constituted a majority of Jordan's population and had support from many Arab regimes, most notably Egypt's President Nasser. Israel was repeatedly hit with cross-border attacks by fedayeen guerrillas.

Battle of Karameh

In response to a series of attacks originated from Jordanian territory, the Israel Defense Forces entered the village of Karameh on March 21 1968. 1968: Karameh and the Palestinian revolt (Telegraph) The village was said to be the guerrilla capital. The Israelis, who aimed to destroy Fatah in their assault, were unsuccessful and quickly withdrew. Arafat managed to leave Karameh at night after being informed of the impending attack. In the battle some 300 PLO militants were rounded up by Israeli forces by mid-morning. The arrival of Jordanian troops in full-force shifted the tide of the battle and managed to inflict serious damage on the IDF. An estimated 28 Israeli soldiers were killed and 80 wounded; the IDF also lost four tanks. Although the Jordanian Army had done all the fighting, the incident was a public relations coup for the PLO and Arafat in particular. The Karameh battle boosted Palestinian morale and gave the PLO instant prestige within the Arab community.

Yasser Arafat claimed this as a victory (in Arabic language, "karameh" means "honor") and quickly became a national hero who dared to confront Israel. Masses of young Arabs joined the ranks of his group Fatah. Under pressure, Ahmad Shukeiri resigned from the PLO leadership and in July 1968, Fatah joined and soon controlled the PLO.

Seven-point agreement

In Palestinian enclaves and refugee camps in Jordan, the police and army were losing their authority. Uniformed PLO militants openly carried weapons, set up checkpoints and attempted to collect what they called "taxes". During the November 1968 negotiations, a seven-point agreement was reached between King Hussein and Palestinian organizations:

Members of these organizations were forbidden from walking around cities armed and in uniform
They were forbidden from stopping civilian vehicles in order to conduct searches
They were forbidden from competing with the Jordanian Army for recruits
They were required to carry Jordanian identity papers
Their vehicles were required to bear Jordanian license plates
Crimes committed by members of the Palestinian organizations would be investigated by the Jordanian authorities
Disputes between the Palestinian organizations and the government would be settled by a joint council of representatives of the king and of the PLO.

The PLO, reneging on this agreement, acted like a state within a state in Jordan. Between mid-1968 and the end of 1969, no fewer than five hundred violent clashes occurred between the Palestinian guerrillas and Jordanian security forces. Acts of violence against civilians and kidnappings frequently took place. Chief of the Jordanian royal court (and subsequently a Prime Minister) Zaid al-Rifai claimed that "the fedayeen killed a soldier, beheaded him, and played soccer with his head in the area where he used to live." Arafat's War by Efraim Karsh, p.28

Many elements in the PLO extorted money from merchants at gunpoint under the claim that they were donations to the Palestinian cause. Jordanian security forces would typically round them up and send them to the front where they could be more useful to the Palestinian cause. Outbreaks of violence however were continuously on the rise. As long as both parties maintained the condition that they would not enter or remain in the capital a large scale crash could have been avoided.

The PLO also continued attacking Israel from Jordanian territory without regard to Jordanian authority, resulting in heavy Israeli reprisals which resulted in high Jordanian civilian and military casualties. Jordanian soldiers who were on weekend leave were continuously attacked by Palestinians. After some Jordanian soldiers were ritualistically murdered by hammering nine-inch nails in their heads, the troops were prevented from leaving their camps.

Ten-point edict

King Hussein visited U.S. President Richard Nixon, and the Egyptian President Nasser in February 1970. Upon his return, King Hussein published a ten-point edict, restricting activities of the Palestinian organizations. On February 11, fighting broke out between Jordanian security forces and the Palestinian groups in the streets of Amman, resulting in about 300 deaths. Trying to prevent the violence spinning out of control, King Hussein announced "We are all fedayeen" and fired the interior minister who was hostile towards the Palestinians.

Armed Palestinians set up a parallel system of visa controls, customs checks and checkpoints in Jordanian cities and added more tensions to already polarized Jordanian society and the army.

In July, Egypt and Jordan accepted the U.S.-backed Rogers Plan that called for a cease fire in the War of Attrition between Israel and Egypt and for Israel's negotiated withdrawal from territories occupied in 1967, according to the United Nations Security Council Resolution 242. The more radical organizations in the PLO, George Habash's Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), Naif Hawatmeh's Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), and Ahmed Jibril's Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command, decided to undermine Hussein's pro-Western regime. Arafat did not stop the radicals.

Between February and June of 1970, about a thousand lives were lost in Jordan alone due to the conflict.

Events of September, 1970

Airplane hijackings

On September 1 1970, several attempts to kill the king failed. On September 6, in the series of Dawson's Field hijackings, three planes were hijacked by PFLP: a SwissAir and a TWA in Zarqa and a BOAC in Cairo, on September 9, a British Airways plane at Amman, the passengers were held hostage. The PFLP announced that the hijackings were designed "to teach the Americans a lesson because of their long-standing support of Israel". After all hostages were removed, the planes were demonstratively blown up in front of TV cameras. Directly confronting and angering the King, the rebels declared Irbid area a "liberated region".

Jordanian army attacks

On September 16, King Hussein declared martial law. The next day, Jordanian tanks (the 60th armored brigade) attacked the headquarters of Palestinian organizations in Amman; the army also attacked camps in Irbid, Salt, Sweileh and Zarqa making no distinction between civilians and the guerrillas. Then the head of Pakistani training mission to Jordan, Brigadier Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq (later Chief of Army Staff and President of Pakistan), took command of the 2nd division.

The armored troops were inefficient in narrow city streets and thus the Jordanian army conducted house to house sweeps for Palestinian fighters and got immersed in heavy urban warfare with the inexperienced and undisciplined Palestinian fighters.

Hussein is often criticised because of the ordering of 'random' attacks, however, many people justify Hussein's decisions, saying he didn't have another choice. For example, Queen Noor, Hussein's wife, described in her bestseller book title Leap of Faith how serious things were, how many people were killed by the Palestinian groups, and the fact that Hussein didn't actually want to do anything violent, but he was "forced" to.

PLA intervention attempt

On September 18, Syria, through the Palestine Liberation Army (PLA) branch, whose headquarters were located in Damascus and which was very close to the Syrian regime, tried to intervene on the behalf of the Palestinian guerrillas. The PLA size was equivalent to a division and was met by the 40th armored brigade of the Jordanian army.

American and Israeli involvement

The Jordanian king asked for American support to prevent the Syrian-backed attack which could ultimately result in a victory of the Palestinians and an end to his pro-western government. In order to protect their vital Arab ally, the American government requested Israeli help. Israel Air Force planes made low overflights over the PLA tanks as a sign of warning. Soon the PLA began to withdraw. Israel had successfully intervened in an internal Arabic conflict on behalf of the American government through the mere threat of violence.

President Nixon sent an additional carrier task force and the Marine Assault ship GUAM to supplement the 6th fleet. The U.S. Navy positioned itself off the coast of Israel and Jordan to protect American interests and citizens. U.S. Forces remained on alert in the area throughout September and October.

Hussein-Arafat Cairo agreement

Meanwhile, both Hussein and Arafat attended the meeting of leaders of Arab countries in Cairo and on September 27 Hussein signed an agreement that treated both sides as equals and acknowledged the right of the Palestinian organizations to operate in Jordan.

On September 28, Egypt's Nasser died of a sudden heart attack.

Casualties

Estimates of the number of the people killed in the ten days of Black September range from three thousand to more than five thousand, although exact numbers are unknown. The Western reporters were concentrated at the Intercontinental Hotel, away from the action. Nasser's state controlled Voice of the Arabs from Cairo reported genocide.

Events after September

The situation in Syria became unstable and soon Hafez al-Assad became the ruler of Syria in a coup d'état.

On October 31, Arafat, whose position was weakened, had to sign another agreement (similar to one of November 1968) that returned control over Jordan to the King, requiring the dismantlement of Palestinian militant bases and banning their members from carrying unconcealed weapons. At a meeting of the Palestinian National Council that followed, both PFLP and DFLP groups refused to accept this agreement and instead, accepted the proposal that Jordan would be a part of a Palestinian state to replace both Jordan and Israel.

The violations continued and on November 9, Jordanian prime minister Wasfi al-Tal signed an order to confiscate illegal weapons. By January 1971, the army strengthened its control over the cities. Another agreement regarding surrendering weapons was signed and broken. After the discovery of illegal arms warehouse in Irbid in the Spring, the army placed a curfew and began arresting the rebels. On June 5, several leading Palestinian organizations including Arafat's Fatah, called on Radio Baghdad to overthrow King Hussein who was regarded as a "puppet separatist authority."

The army regained control over the last remaining PLO strongholds, mountainous cities of Jerash and Ajloun. As King Hussein declared "absolute quiet" in the kingdom, Fatah members announced that they prefer to die rather than surrender.

Aftermath

The number of casualties in what resembled a civil war is estimated at tens of thousands, and both sides were involved in intentional killing of civilians. It was a turning point for Jordanian identity, as the kingdom embarked on the program of "Jordanization" of the society.

Palestinian militants were driven out to Lebanon as a result of the Cairo Agreement. See Lebanon Civil War.

The group Black September was established by Fatah members. On November 28 1971, in Cairo, four of its members assassinated Wasfi al-Tal. See also Munich massacre.

References

Bregman, Ahron (2002). Israel's Wars: A History Since 1947. London: Routledge. ISBN 0415287162

External links

Jordanian Removal of the PLO (globalsecurity.org)

Hussein - the Guerrilla Crisis Country Studies at the U.S. Library of Congress, alt. ^*
Black September: Tough negotiations 1 January 2001 (BBC)
1970 - Black September (HistoryCentral)
Black September, The PLO's attempt to take over Jordan in 1970 (Uria Shavit, Ha'aretz Newspaper, May 28 2002)
Why did Jordan expel the PLO in 1970? (palestinefacts.org)
Black September in Jordan 1970-1971 (onwar.com)
Hussein of Jordan: The Bloody King of Black September (Revolutionary Worker #995, February 21 1999)

Arab-Israeli conflict | Black months | History of Jordan | Palestinian history

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