ABSTRACT
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command (PFLP-GC) is a Palestinian terrorist organization founded in 1968 as a breakaway faction of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) by a former Syrian army captain and demolitions expert Ahmed Jibril.246 The group’s operations, which reached their peak between 1970 and 1988, were characterized by daring attempts to introduce new forms of attack, emphasis on technology, innovation and high lethality. Overall, the PFLP-GC’s terrorist activity resulted in the deaths of at least 300 civilians and injuries to hundreds more, a staggering number considering that the group was one of the smallest factions of the Palestinian struggle. Among the main 13 Palestinian groups the PFLP-GC was characterized by several unique elements, among them the lack of any distinct political ideology, the emphasis on both tactical and technological innovation and military strength, and a virtually unconditional allegiance to Syria. Along with Jibril’s shyness toward the media and absence of a foothold in Gaza or the West Bank, the group’s relationship with Syria was a key factor why Jibril never achieved the level of prominence that one might expect based on his military excellence and a touch for spectacular attacks. Nevertheless, the PFLP-GC serves as an excellent example of a highly innovative terrorist organization, which has pioneered tactics such as the use of barometric pressure devices to detonate bombs on-board civilian aircraft in mid-course flight, the use of modern communication technologies, booby-trapping the equipment of fighters in high risk operations, and the use of a motorized hang-glider to infiltrate enemy territory.
