Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command
| Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command | |
|---|---|
| الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير فلسطين – القيادة العامة | |
| Founding leader | Ahmed Jibril # |
| General Secretary | Talal Naji |
| Secretary of the Political Bureau | Anwar Raja |
| Dates of operation | 1968–present |
| Split from | Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine |
| Headquarters | Damascus, Syria |
| Ideology | Arab nationalism Palestinian nationalism Anti-Zionism |
| Political position | Left-wing to right-wing |
| Size | 500-1,000 (2004) 800 (2019) |
| Part of | National affiliation: Palestine Liberation Organization Alliance of Palestinian Forces International affiliation: Axis of Resistance |
| Battles and wars | Palestinian insurgency in South Lebanon South Lebanon conflict (1985–2000) Iran–Israel proxy conflict Syrian civil war Syrian civil war spillover in Lebanon Gaza war |
| Organization(s) | Jihad Jibril Brigades (paramilitary wing) |
| Designated as a terrorist group by | United States United Kingdom European Union Canada Japan |
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command (Arabic: الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير فلسطين – القيادة العامة) or PFLP-GC is a Palestinian nationalist militant organisation based in Syria. It is a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
It was founded in 1968 by Ahmed Jibril after splitting from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) based on ideological and internal disputes. In the 1970s and 1980s it was involved in the Palestinian insurgency in South Lebanon and launched a number of attacks against Israeli soldiers and civilians; including the Avivim school bus massacre (1970), the bombing of Swissair Flight 330 (1970), the Kiryat Shmona massacre (1974) and the Night of the Gliders (1987).
Since the late 1980s PFLP-GC had been largely inactive in military activities, but re-emerged during the Syrian Civil War (2011-present) fighting on the side of the Ba'athist Syrian Arab Republic.
The group has a paramilitary wing called the Jihad Jibril Brigades. It has been designated a terrorist organization by Canada, United Kingdom, Japan, United States, and European Union.