Palestine Liberation Organization

A government that is recognized by the United Nations as the body that represents the people of Palestine displaced by the establishment of Israel (see Arab-Israeli conflict). The PLO has long been led by Yasir Arafat and, at least officially, is committed to a compromise by which Israel would exchange portions of the Occupied Territories, areas including the Gaza Strip and the West Bank that Israel took from the Arabs in the Six-Day War. Arafat currently heads the Palestinian Authority, which has gained limited self-government over parts of the Occupied Territories. He has been opposed by radical Arabs, especially by Hamas, an organization opposed to compromise with Israel. Israeli opinion on whether the PLO can be trusted to discharge its side of any compromise settlement is deeply divided.