Fatah << FAH tah or fah TAH >>, also called al-Fatah or Fateh, is one of the largest groups within the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). The PLO is a political body that represents the Palestinians, an Arab group native to the historic region of Palestine. This region today consists of Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. Fatah is an Arabic term meaning victory, conquest, or opening. The name Fatah also is derived from the initials—in reverse order—of the Arabic phrase that means Palestine National Liberation Movement. Fatah calls for using both violent and political means to achieve an independent Palestinian state in Palestine.
Fatah began in the late 1950’s as a secret movement of a small number of Palestinians, including Yasir Arafat. In 1959, they started publishing a magazine that promoted taking up arms to free Palestine from Israeli control. Fatah grew into a centrally controlled organization with Arafat as leader. In 1965, Fatah began guerrilla attacks and raids in Israel. After the 1967 Six-Day War, in which Israel gained control of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Fatah and other guerrilla groups took over the PLO. In 1969, Arafat became chairman of the PLO Executive Committee. In 1993, the PLO signed an agreement with Israel to establish the Palestinian Authority (PA) for parts of the West Bank and Gaza. In 1996, Arafat was elected PA president, and Fatah members won most PA legislative seats. Arafat died in 2004. Mahmoud Abbas replaced Arafat as head of the PLO and, as the Fatah candidate, was elected PA president in 2005. That same year, Israeli soldiers and settlers withdrew from Gaza. In 2007, Hamas, a radical Palestinian group often opposed to Fatah, took control of the Gaza Strip.
