Palestine Liberation Army
| Palestine Liberation Army | |
|---|---|
| جيش التحرير الفلسطيني Jaysh at-Tahrir al-Filastini | |
PLA Emblem | |
| Leader | Brig. Gen. Akram Muhammad al-Salti |
| Dates of operation | 1964–present |
| Allegiance | PLO (de jure) Ba'athist Syria (de facto; c. 1973–2024) |
| Active regions | Syria Historically: Gaza Strip, Jordan, Iraq |
| Ideology | Palestinian nationalism Anti-Zionism |
| Size | 6,000 (2017) |
| Allies | As-Sa'iqa PFLP-GC Fatah al-Intifada Ba'athist Syria (until 2024) Hezbollah |
| Opponents | Israel Defense Forces (1967, 1982) Jordan (1970–71) PLO (1976) Free Syrian Army Ahrar al-Sham Jaysh al-Islam Tahrir al-Sham Al-Nusra Front Islamic State |
The Palestine Liberation Army (PLA; Arabic: جيش التحرير الفلسطيني, romanized: Jaysh at-Taḥrīr al-Filasṭīnī) is the de jure military wing of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), set up at the 1964 Arab League summit held in Alexandria, Egypt, with the mission of fighting Israel. However, it has never been under effective PLO control, but rather it has been controlled by its various host governments, usually Syria. Even though it initially operated in several countries, in 2015 the PLA was only active in Syria and recruited male Palestinian refugees.