Palestine Liberation Organization

American  

noun

1. an umbrella organization for several Arab groups dedicated to the recovery of Palestine from the state of Israel and the return of refugees from the area to their homeland through diplomatic, military, and terrorist means. PLO

---

Palestine Liberation Organization British  

noun

1.  PLO.  an organization founded in 1964 with the aim of creating a state for Palestinians; it recognized the state of Israel in 1993 and Israel granted Palestinians autonomy in the Gaza Strip and West Bank

---

Palestine Liberation Organization Cultural  

1. 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.

---

Example Sentences

Especially after the Palestine Liberation Organization was established in 1964, “Palestinian” became associated with Arab nationalism.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 3, 2026

A convoy of Syrian army vehicles leaves Beirut, on Aug. 30, 1982, as more than 10,000 fighters from the Palestine Liberation Organization evacuate from the city.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2026

At the close of the Cold War, when the Middle East was momentarily disentangled from great-power politics, Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization signed the 1993 Oslo Accord.

From Salon • Mar. 17, 2024

The PA was created in the early 1990s through interim peace agreements signed between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization, then led by Yasser Arafat.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 26, 2024

But I must confess that it wasn’t until much later on that I realized that conversational mentions of “PLO” referred to the Palestine Liberation Organization, not to “People Like Ourselves.”

From "Class Matters" by The New York Times