totach7
BANNED
- Joined
- Jan 24, 2009
- Messages
- 139
- Reaction score
- 0
September 1970 is known as the Black September (Arabic: أيلول الأسود
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 the autonomy of Palestinian organizations and restore his monarchy's rule over the country.[2] The violence resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of people, the vast majority Palestinian.[1] Armed conflict lasted until July 1971 with the expulsion of the PLO and thousands of Palestinian fighters to Lebanon.
Background
In the late 1960s, the Fatah faction of the PLO had set up a state within a state, inside Jordan. Increasing numbers of armed, uniformed Palestinians set up checkpoints, collected taxes, and refused to travel with Jordanian license plates on their cars. In the southern zone, bordering on Israel, they demanded and seized autonomous control, rejecting the king's authority in Jordan. The aligned Palestinian organizations carried out a series of deadly attacks against Israel, from Jordanian territory. Guerrilla raids against Israel, were mounted from bases in the West Bank, Lebanon and Jordan. King Hussein who became increasingly devoted to the promotion of peace in the region, made various peaceful attempts to re-establish his authority in Jordan, attempting a seven-point agreement with the PLO in November 1968, along with fostering peace between Israel and Egypt.
Ultimately, Palestinian fighters aimed to control increasing amounts of territory, and Fatah were gaining volunteers. At the beginning of September 1970, the activities of the leftist Palestinian organizations in Jordan turned into open defiance of King Hussein himself. On September 1, a failed attempt on Hussein's life was made while he was on his way to the Amman airport. Within a few days, Palestinian groups hijacked planes on multiple international flights. The Jordanian king quickly lost control of his kingdom. At the height of the drama of the hijacked planes, the Palestinians declared the area of Irbid in the north of the country a "liberated region," and announced that they were preparing for "the showdown."
The Jordanian army began plans to expel the Fedayeen and PLO. On the morning of September 16, Hussein declared martial law. On September 17, the military attack began. Patton tanks from the 60th armored brigade, accompanied by armored vehicles, entered Amman from all sides, and attacked the headquarters of the Palestinian organizations.
Due to an internal split within the Jordanian government, many of King Husseins orders were not obeyed. Contrary to Husseins commands, many Jordanian commanders along the Israel/Jordanian border started to give the Palestinian guerrillas passive assistance.[3] The Palestinian section of Jordanian society augmented by displaced Palestinians constituted a large internal population of Jordan, and King Hussein feared an independent West Bank under PLO administration would threaten the autonomy of his Hashemite kingdom.[4][5] The Palestinian factions were supported by many Arab regimes, most notably Egypt's President Nasser, who gave political support; and Saudi Arabia, who gave financial support.[citation needed] Israel was repeatedly hit with cross-border attacks by Palestinian fedayeen guerrillas[citation needed] and these usually drew bloody reprisals that killed and injured Jordanians [6]. The Palestinian nationalist organization Fatah had been organizing such attacks since January 1965, but received much broader support following the 1967 defeat.[citation needed]
Jordanian forces killed several thousand Palestinians in the battles of September 1970, according to estimates. The PLO's independent military might suffered a major blow. Those were the circumstances which gave the name "Black September" to the events of the bloody month.
[edit] Jordanian army attacks
On September 15, 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,Baq'aa, Wehdat and Zarqa. 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.[2] [3] In addition, the Iraqi army in Jordan after 1967 war serving as a reserve forces supported the Jordanian army.[4]
Arafat later claim that the Jordanian army killed between 10,000 and 25,000 Palestinians, although more conservative estimates put the number between 1000 and 2000. [5] [6]
Hostage David Raab described the initial military actions in Black September this way:
"We were in the middle of the shelling since Ashrafiyeh was among the Jordanian Army's primary targets. Electricity was cut off, and again we had little food or water. Friday afternoon, we heard the metal tracks of a tank clanking on the pavement. We were quickly herded into one room, and the guerrillas threw open the doors to make the building appear abandoned so it wouldn't attract fire. Suddenly, the shelling stopped."
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 Palestinian fighters.
Amman experienced the heaviest fighting in the Black September uprising. The American backed Jordanian army shelled the PLO headquarters in Amman and battled with Palestinian guerillas in the narrow streets of the capital. Syrian tanks rolled across the Yarmouk River into northern Jordan and began shelling Amman and other northern urban areas. Outdated missiles fired by the PLO struck Amman for more than a week. Jordanian infantry pushed the Palestinian Fedayeen out of Amman after weeks of bitter fighting.
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 the autonomy of Palestinian organizations and restore his monarchy's rule over the country.[2] The violence resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of people, the vast majority Palestinian.[1] Armed conflict lasted until July 1971 with the expulsion of the PLO and thousands of Palestinian fighters to Lebanon.Background
In the late 1960s, the Fatah faction of the PLO had set up a state within a state, inside Jordan. Increasing numbers of armed, uniformed Palestinians set up checkpoints, collected taxes, and refused to travel with Jordanian license plates on their cars. In the southern zone, bordering on Israel, they demanded and seized autonomous control, rejecting the king's authority in Jordan. The aligned Palestinian organizations carried out a series of deadly attacks against Israel, from Jordanian territory. Guerrilla raids against Israel, were mounted from bases in the West Bank, Lebanon and Jordan. King Hussein who became increasingly devoted to the promotion of peace in the region, made various peaceful attempts to re-establish his authority in Jordan, attempting a seven-point agreement with the PLO in November 1968, along with fostering peace between Israel and Egypt.
Ultimately, Palestinian fighters aimed to control increasing amounts of territory, and Fatah were gaining volunteers. At the beginning of September 1970, the activities of the leftist Palestinian organizations in Jordan turned into open defiance of King Hussein himself. On September 1, a failed attempt on Hussein's life was made while he was on his way to the Amman airport. Within a few days, Palestinian groups hijacked planes on multiple international flights. The Jordanian king quickly lost control of his kingdom. At the height of the drama of the hijacked planes, the Palestinians declared the area of Irbid in the north of the country a "liberated region," and announced that they were preparing for "the showdown."
The Jordanian army began plans to expel the Fedayeen and PLO. On the morning of September 16, Hussein declared martial law. On September 17, the military attack began. Patton tanks from the 60th armored brigade, accompanied by armored vehicles, entered Amman from all sides, and attacked the headquarters of the Palestinian organizations.
Due to an internal split within the Jordanian government, many of King Husseins orders were not obeyed. Contrary to Husseins commands, many Jordanian commanders along the Israel/Jordanian border started to give the Palestinian guerrillas passive assistance.[3] The Palestinian section of Jordanian society augmented by displaced Palestinians constituted a large internal population of Jordan, and King Hussein feared an independent West Bank under PLO administration would threaten the autonomy of his Hashemite kingdom.[4][5] The Palestinian factions were supported by many Arab regimes, most notably Egypt's President Nasser, who gave political support; and Saudi Arabia, who gave financial support.[citation needed] Israel was repeatedly hit with cross-border attacks by Palestinian fedayeen guerrillas[citation needed] and these usually drew bloody reprisals that killed and injured Jordanians [6]. The Palestinian nationalist organization Fatah had been organizing such attacks since January 1965, but received much broader support following the 1967 defeat.[citation needed]
Jordanian forces killed several thousand Palestinians in the battles of September 1970, according to estimates. The PLO's independent military might suffered a major blow. Those were the circumstances which gave the name "Black September" to the events of the bloody month.
[edit] Jordanian army attacks
On September 15, 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,Baq'aa, Wehdat and Zarqa. 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.[2] [3] In addition, the Iraqi army in Jordan after 1967 war serving as a reserve forces supported the Jordanian army.[4]
Arafat later claim that the Jordanian army killed between 10,000 and 25,000 Palestinians, although more conservative estimates put the number between 1000 and 2000. [5] [6]
Hostage David Raab described the initial military actions in Black September this way:
"We were in the middle of the shelling since Ashrafiyeh was among the Jordanian Army's primary targets. Electricity was cut off, and again we had little food or water. Friday afternoon, we heard the metal tracks of a tank clanking on the pavement. We were quickly herded into one room, and the guerrillas threw open the doors to make the building appear abandoned so it wouldn't attract fire. Suddenly, the shelling stopped."
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 Palestinian fighters.
Amman experienced the heaviest fighting in the Black September uprising. The American backed Jordanian army shelled the PLO headquarters in Amman and battled with Palestinian guerillas in the narrow streets of the capital. Syrian tanks rolled across the Yarmouk River into northern Jordan and began shelling Amman and other northern urban areas. Outdated missiles fired by the PLO struck Amman for more than a week. Jordanian infantry pushed the Palestinian Fedayeen out of Amman after weeks of bitter fighting.
Last edited:
