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Tunis and Algeria
In 1982, the PLO relocated to Tunis after it was driven out of Lebanon by Israel
during Israel's six-month invasion of Lebanon. It remained active in Lebanon,
but not to the same extent as before 1982.
On October 1, 1985, in Operation Wooden Leg, Israeli Air Force F-15s bombed the
PLO's Tunis headquarters, killing more than 60 people.
First Intifada
First Intifada
In 1987 the First Intifada broke out in the Occupied Territories. The Intifada
caught the PLO by surprise, and the leadership abroad could only indirectly
influence the events while a new local leadership, the Unified Intifada
Leadership comprised of many leading Palestinian factions, emerged. After King
Hussein of Jordan proclaimed the administrative and legal separation of the West
Bank from Jordan in 1988, the Palestine National Council adopted the Palestinian
Declaration of Independence in Algiers proclaiming an independent State of
Palestine. The declaration made reference to UN resolutions without explicitly
mentioning Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338. A month later, Arafat
declared in Geneva that the PLO would support a solution of the conflict based
on these Resolutions. Effectively the PLO recognized Israel's right to exist
within pre-1967 borders, with the understanding that the Palestinians would be
allowed to set up their own state in the West Bank and Gaza. The United States
accepted this clarification by Arafat and began to allow diplomatic contacts
with PLO officials. The Proclamation of Independence did not lead to a
Palestinian State, although over 100 states recognized the "State of
Palestine"[citation needed].
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