Palestinian People's Party
Encyclopedia
The Palestinian People's Party (PPP, in Arabic حزب الشعب الفلسطيني Hizb al-Sha'b al-Filastini), founded in 1982 as the Palestinian Communist Party, is a socialist political party
in the Palestinian territories
and among the Palestinian diaspora
.
The original-named Palestine Communist Party
had been founded in 1919. After the foundation of the state of Israel
and the Jordan
ian annexation of the West Bank
, the West Bank communists joined as the Jordanian Communist Party
, which gained considerable support among Palestinians. It established a strong position in the Palestinian trade union
movement and retained considerable popularity in the West Bank during the 1970s, but its support subsequently declined. In the Gaza strip
a separate Palestinian communist organization was established.
In February, 1982, prominent Palestinian communists held a conference and re-established the Palestinian Communist Party. The new party established relations with the Palestine Liberation Organization
, and joined the PLO in 1987. A PCP member was included in the Executive Committee of the PLO in April that year. PCP was the sole PLO member not based amongst the fedayeen
organizations.
The PCP was one of the four components of the Unified National Leadership
of the First Intifada
, and played an important role in mobilizing grassroots support for the uprising.
The party, under the leadership of Bashir Barghouti
, played an important role in reevaluating Marxism-Leninism
as a political philosophy earlier than many other communist organisations in the region. It was renamed in 1991, after the collapse of the Soviet Union
, to the Palestinian People's Party, arguing that the class struggle
in Palestine
should be postponed until after liberation.
The party was an enthusiastic advocate of the Oslo Accords
.
In 2002, the party's then general secretary, Mustafa Barghouti
left it with some supporters to found the Palestinian National Initiative
.
In the January 2005 presidential election
, the party's candidate Bassam as-Salhi received 2.67% of the vote.
At the Palestinian legislative election, 2006
PPP formed a joint list called Al-badeel
for the left wing parties with Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine
, Palestine Democratic Union
and independents. It received 2.8% of the popular vote and won two of the Council's 132 seats.
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
in the Palestinian territories
Palestinian territories
The Palestinian territories comprise the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Since the Palestinian Declaration of Independence in 1988, the region is today recognized by three-quarters of the world's countries as the State of Palestine or simply Palestine, although this status is not recognized by the...
and among the Palestinian diaspora
Palestinian diaspora
Palestinian diaspora is a term used to describe Palestinians living outside of historic Palestine - an area today known as Israel and the Palestinian territories or the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip...
.
The original-named Palestine Communist Party
Palestine Communist Party
The Palestine Communist Party was a political party in British Mandate of Palestine formed in 1923 through the merger of the Palestinian Communist Party and the Communist Party of Palestine...
had been founded in 1919. After the foundation of the state of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and the Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
ian annexation of the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
, the West Bank communists joined as the Jordanian Communist Party
Jordanian Communist Party
The Jordanian Communist Party is a communist political party in Jordan, founded in 1948. Its current general secretary is Dr. Munir Hamarana...
, which gained considerable support among Palestinians. It established a strong position in the Palestinian trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
movement and retained considerable popularity in the West Bank during the 1970s, but its support subsequently declined. In the Gaza strip
Gaza Strip
thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...
a separate Palestinian communist organization was established.
In February, 1982, prominent Palestinian communists held a conference and re-established the Palestinian Communist Party. The new party established relations with the Palestine Liberation Organization
Palestine Liberation Organization
The Palestine Liberation Organization is a political and paramilitary organization which was created in 1964. It is recognized as the "sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people" by the United Nations and over 100 states with which it holds diplomatic relations, and has enjoyed...
, and joined the PLO in 1987. A PCP member was included in the Executive Committee of the PLO in April that year. PCP was the sole PLO member not based amongst the fedayeen
Fedayeen
Fedayeen is a term used to describe several distinct militant groups and individuals in West Asia at different times in history. It is sometimes used colloquially to refer to suicide squads, especially those who are not bombers.-Overview:...
organizations.
The PCP was one of the four components of the Unified National Leadership
Unified National Leadership of the Uprising
The Unified National Leadership of the Uprising was a coalition of the Local Palestinian leadership during the First Intifada and played an important role in mobilizing grassroots support for the uprising. In 1987 The Intifada caught the Palestine Liberation Organisation by surprise, the...
of the First Intifada
First Intifada
The First Intifada was a Palestinian uprising against the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territories. The uprising began in the Jabalia refugee camp and quickly spread throughout Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem....
, and played an important role in mobilizing grassroots support for the uprising.
The party, under the leadership of Bashir Barghouti
Bashir Barghouti
Bashir Barghuthi was a Palestinian Communist leader and journalist. Barghouti was born in the village of Dayr Ghassana in the Ramallah Governorate. He earned a BA degree in Economics from the American University in Cairo in 1956...
, played an important role in reevaluating Marxism-Leninism
Marxism-Leninism
Marxism–Leninism is a communist ideology, officially based upon the theories of Marxism and Vladimir Lenin, that promotes the development and creation of a international communist society through the leadership of a vanguard party over a revolutionary socialist state that represents a dictatorship...
as a political philosophy earlier than many other communist organisations in the region. It was renamed in 1991, after the collapse of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, to the Palestinian People's Party, arguing that the class struggle
Class struggle
Class struggle is the active expression of a class conflict looked at from any kind of socialist perspective. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels wrote "The [written] history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggle"....
in Palestine
should be postponed until after liberation.
The party was an enthusiastic advocate of the Oslo Accords
Oslo Accords
The Oslo Accords, officially called the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements or Declaration of Principles , was an attempt to resolve the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict...
.
In 2002, the party's then general secretary, Mustafa Barghouti
Mustafa Barghouti
Mustafa Barghouti is a Palestinian democracy activist. He was a candidate for the presidency of the Palestinian National Authority in 2005, finishing second to Mahmoud Abbas, with 19% of the vote.Barghouti was born in Jerusalem...
left it with some supporters to found the Palestinian National Initiative
Palestinian National Initiative
Palestinian National Initiative is a Palestinian political movement or party led by Dr. Mustafa Barghouti.Its formation was formally announced on June 17, 2002 in Ramallah on the West Bank, part of the Palestinian Territories, by Dr. Haidar Abdel-Shafi, Dr...
.
In the January 2005 presidential election
Palestinian presidential election, 2005
The 2005 Palestinian presidential election — the first to be held since 1996 — took place on January 9, 2005 in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Voters elected PLO chairman Mahmoud Abbas as the new President of the Palestinian Authority to replace Yasser Arafat, who died on November 11,...
, the party's candidate Bassam as-Salhi received 2.67% of the vote.
At the Palestinian legislative election, 2006
Palestinian legislative election, 2006
On January 25, 2006, elections were held for the Palestinian Legislative Council , the legislature of the Palestinian National Authority . Notwithstanding the 2005 municipal elections and the January 9, 2005 presidential election, this was the first election to the PLC since 1996; subsequent...
PPP formed a joint list called Al-badeel
The Alternative (Palestine)
The Alternative was an electoral alliance of several socialist Palestinian groups:*Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine *Palestinian People's Party...
for the left wing parties with Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine
Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine
The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine is a Palestinian Marxist-Leninist, secular political and military organization. It is also frequently referred to as the Democratic Front, or al-Jabha al-Dimuqratiyah...
, Palestine Democratic Union
Palestine Democratic Union
The Palestinian Democratic Union is a small Palestinian political party active in the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian National Authority .- Background :...
and independents. It received 2.8% of the popular vote and won two of the Council's 132 seats.
Party leaders
- Bashir BarghoutiBashir BarghoutiBashir Barghuthi was a Palestinian Communist leader and journalist. Barghouti was born in the village of Dayr Ghassana in the Ramallah Governorate. He earned a BA degree in Economics from the American University in Cairo in 1956...
(1982-1998) - Hannah Amireh, Abdel Majid Hamadan, Mustafa BarghoutiMustafa BarghoutiMustafa Barghouti is a Palestinian democracy activist. He was a candidate for the presidency of the Palestinian National Authority in 2005, finishing second to Mahmoud Abbas, with 19% of the vote.Barghouti was born in Jerusalem...
(1998-2002) - Bassam Al-SalhiBassam Al-SalhiBassam Al-Salhi is a General Secretary of the Palestinian People's Party and elected member of the Palestinian Legislative Council.He was the party's candidate for President of the Palestinian Authority in 2005...
(since 2003)
See also
- List of political parties in the Palestinian National Authority
- Palestine Communist PartyPalestine Communist PartyThe Palestine Communist Party was a political party in British Mandate of Palestine formed in 1923 through the merger of the Palestinian Communist Party and the Communist Party of Palestine...
(1923-1943)
External links
- www.palpeople.org (official site, in Arabic but with some pages in English).
- www.mideastweb.org
- http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/ppp.htm