Warsaw and the Fedayeen: Wars in the Middle East, Secret Arms Deals and Polish Relations with the Palestine Liberation Organisation, 1967-1976

ABSTRACT

Poland was the second-to-last country in the Soviet bloc to establish official relations with the PLO – only doing this in March 1976. However, mutual contacts date back to the late 1960s, when Polish military intelligence forged a top-secret relationship with the PLO based around the arms trade. Using a variety of archival sources, this paper seeks to re-assess the relationship between Warsaw and the PLO within the broader framework of Polish policy towards the Middle East from the time of the Six-Day War to the time of opening of the PLO Office in Warsaw in 1976.

KEYWORDS:

• Poland
• Palestine
• PLO
• solidarity
• Middle East
• Cold War

Acknowledgment

The author wishes to thank two unnamed reviewers for their constructive comments.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

¹ P. Gasztold, ‘Lost Illusions: The Limits of Communist Poland’s Involvement in Cold War Africa’ in Philip E. Muelenbeck and Natalia Telepneva (eds), Warsaw Pact Intervention in the Third World. Aid and Influence in the Cold War (London & New York: Bloomsbury/I.B. Tauris, 2018), 197-220.

² Paul T. Chamberlain, The Global Offensive. The United States, The Palestinian Liberation Organization, and the Making of the Post-Cold War Order (New York: Oxford University Press, 2012); Osamah F. Khalil, ‘The Radical Crescent: The United States, the Palestine Liberation Organisation, and the Lebanese Civil War, 1973–1978,’ Diplomacy & Statecraft 27, No. 3 (2016), 496-522.

³ Roland Dannreuther, The Soviet Union and the PLO (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1998); G. Golan, The Soviet Union and the Palestine Liberation Organization. An Uneasy Alliance (New York: Praeger, 1980); John C. Reppert, ‘The Soviets and the PLO: The Convenience of Politics’ in Augustus. R. Norton and Martin H. Greenberg (eds) The International Relations of the Palestine Liberation Organization (Carbondale and Edwardsville: Southern Illinois University Press, 1989), 109-137.

⁴ Gangzheng She, ‘The Cold War and Chinese Policy toward the Arab-Israeli Conflict, 1963–1975’ Journal of Cold War Studies 22, No. 1 (2020), 125–174; Raphael Israeli, ‘The People’s Republic of China and the PLO: From Honeymoon to Conjugal Routine’ in Norton and Greenberg (eds), The International Relations, 138-165; Lillian Craig Harris, ‘China’s Relations with the PLO,’ Journal of Palestine Studies 7, No. 1 (Autumn, 1977), 123-154.

⁵ For more on Austria’s relations with the PLO, see Thomas Riegler, Im Fadenkreuz, Österreich und der Nahostterrorismus 1973 bis 1985 (Vienna: Vienna University Press, 2011); on Swiss relations: Marcel Gyr, Schweizer Terrorjahre: Das geheime Abkommen mit der PLO (Zurich: Verlag Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 2016); Marcel Gyr, ‘The Secret 1970 Moratorium Agreement Between Switzerland and the PLO’ in Adrian Hänni, Thomas Riegler and Przemysław Gasztold (eds) Terrorism in the Cold War. Volume II. State Support in the West, Middle East and Latin America,(London-New York: I.B. Tauris/Bloomsbury Publishing, 2021), 63-87.

⁶ Lutz Maeke, DDR und PLO – Die Palästinapolitik des SED-Staates (Berlin/Boston: De Gruyter, 2017).

⁷ Jeffrey Herf, Undeclared Wars with Israel. East Germany and the West German Far Left 1967-1989 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016).

⁸ Ante Batović, ‘Nonaligned Yugoslavia and the Relations with the Palestine Liberation Organisation,’ Presented at the 11th Mediterranean Research Meeting at the European University Institute, Florence, Italy, 24-27 March, 2010, https://academiccommons.columbia.edu/doi/10.7916/D8W66SG7 (accessed 7 January 2023).

⁹ Cezar Stanciu, ‘Romania and the Palestine Liberation Organization, 1972–1974,’ Middle Eastern Studies 57, No. 6 (2021), 956-71.

¹⁰ Klejd Këlliçi, ‘The PLO and Communist Albania: Cold War Relations,’ Journal of Palestine Studies 50, No. 4 (2021), 53-66.

¹¹ Batović, ‘Nonaligned Yugoslavia’, 16.

¹² Herf, Undeclared Wars, 199; Maeke, DDR und PLO, 111-116.

¹³ The office should have been opened in 1975 but it was formally established in 1976. I thank Daniela Richterova for this remark.

¹⁴ Baruch Gurevitz, ‘The Soviet Union and the Palestinian Organisations’ in Yaacov Ro’i (ed.) The Limits to Power. Soviet Policy in the Middle East (‎London: Croom Helm, 1979), 269-274; Kemal Kirisci, The PLO and World Politics. A Study of the Mobilization of Support for the Palestinian Cause (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1986), 110.

¹⁵ Këlliçi, ‘The PLO and Communist Albania’, 63.

¹⁶ Tony Smith, ‘New Bottles for New Wine: A Pericentric Framework for the Study of the Cold War,’ Diplomatic History 24 No. 4 (2000), 567-91.

¹⁷ For more on Polish-Palestinian relations, see Dominika Blachnicka-Ciacek, ‘Lost in Transition? The Forgotten History of Exchanges Between Communist Poland and the Palestine Liberation Organization’ in Kristine Khouri and Rasha Salti (eds.) Past Disquiet. Artists, International Solidarity, and Museums in Exile (Warsaw: Museum of Modern Art, 2018); Przemysław Gasztold, Zabójcze układy. Służby PRL i międzynarodowy terroryzm (Warsaw: PWN, 2017), 19-64; Jarosław Jarząbek, Marcin Szydzisz, ‘Beyond “Recognition”. The Polish Perspectives on Israeli and Palestinian National Identities: Preliminary Assumptions of Research,’ Polish Political Science Yearbook 47, No. 2 (2018), 319-30; Joanna Siekiera, ‘Trudne relacje Polski z Palestyną,’ Acta Erasmiana 15 (2017), 21-29.

¹⁸ Augustus R. Norton, Moscow and the Palestinians. A New Tool of Soviet Policy in the Middle East, Occasional Papers in International Affairs, (Miami: University of Miami, 1974), 7-8.

¹⁹ Chamberlin, The Global Offensive, 51.

²⁰ Dannreuther, The Soviet Union and the PLO, 30.

²¹ Jarząbek, Szydzisz, ‘Beyond “Recognition”’, 323.

²² Przemysław Gasztold, ‘Providing Aid, Arms and Eyes: Polish Economic, Military and Intelligence Support for the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, 1965-1975 in Przemysław Gasztold, Marek Hańderek, and Sylwia Szyc (eds) Eastern Europe and the Far East during the Cold War. International, Economic, Security and Humanitarian Aspects (Warsaw: IPN, 2024) [forthcoming].

²³ James G. Hersberg, Marigold. The Lost Chance for Peace in Vietnam, (Washington-Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2012).

²⁴ Stanowisko Polski wobec sytuacji na Bliskim Wschodzie, [Nov 1967], Dep. V, 60/70, w-1, Archiwum Ministerstwa Spraw Zagranicznych [Archive of the Ministry of Foreign Afairs, hereinafter: AMSZ].

²⁵ ‘Rozmowa z przedstawicielami “Trybuny Ludu” K. Golde i K. Małcużyńskim na temat najważniejszych wydarzeń międzynarodowych 1967 r., Warsaw, 6.01.1968’ in Longin Pastusiak (ed.) Adam Rapacki. Przemówienia, artykuły, wywiady, 1957-1968 (Warsaw: Książka i Wiedza, 1982), 468-70.

²⁶ Geir Lundestad, East, West, North, South. Major Developments in International Politics since 1945 (New York: Oxford University Press), 101.

²⁷ Dariusz Stola, ‘Anti-Zionism as a Multipurpose Policy Instrument: The Anti-Zionist Campaign in Poland, 1967–1968,’ Journal of Israeli History 25, No. 1 (2006), 175-201.

²⁸ Polski Komitet Solidarności z Narodami Azji i Afryki, [1970], PKSzNAAiAŁ-19, Archiwum Akt Nowych [Archive of Modern Records, hereinafter: AAN], 18-19.

²⁹ Polish assistance after the Six-Day War included wheat flour (4,000 tons to Egypt, 1,000 tons to Syria and Jordan); beans and peas (1,500 tons to Egypt, 1,000 tons to Syria and Jordan); sugar (3,000 tons to Egypt, 1,000 tons to Syria and Jordan); soap (300 tons to Egypt, 200 tons to Syria); cotton blankets (60,000 pieces to Egypt, 20,000 pieces to Syria, 40,000 pieces to Jordan). Uchwała 144/67 Komitetu Ekonomicznego Rady Ministrów z dnia 22 czerwca 1967, Dep. V, 26/71, w-1, AMSZ.

³⁰ Jeffrey Herf, ‘“At War with Israel”. East Germany’s Key Role in Soviet Policy in the Middle East,’ Journal of Cold War Studies 16, No. 3 (Summer 2014), 145; Herf, Undeclared Wars, 48-49.

³¹ Protokół z narady ambasadorów PRL w Krajach Arabskich, 29-30 January 1968, Dep. V, 26/71, w-1, AMSZ.

³² O sytuacji na Bliskim Wschodzie, KC PZPR, XIA-1, AAN, 198-99.

³³ For example, by Radio Cairo in the broadcast ‘Voice of the Arabs’ of 17 March 1967: ‘The real Palestine problem is the existence of Israel in Palestine. So long as there is a Zionist presence even in the smaller part (of Palestine), this means the continuation of occupation. The important thing is the eradication of the Israeli occupation, and there is no difference between the areas captured recently and those occupied before.’ Arab Terror Operations, [1968], RG25, vol. 9059, file 20-4-4, vol. 1, Library and Archives Canada [hereinafter: LAC].

³⁴ Two Polish ships, MS Bolesław Bierut and MS Djakarta, found themselves among the 15 stranded vessels in the Suez Canal after the outbreak of the Six-Day War. The Canal was only reopened in 1975, but by then the Polish ships were beyond repair, and were sold off to a Greek company.

³⁵ Protokół ze spotkania Władysława Gomułki i Józefa Cyrankiewicza z ministrem spraw zagranicznych ZRA Mahmoudem Riadem, Warsaw, 14 June 1968, KC PZPR, XI-533, AAN, 28-40.

³⁶ See also: Amélie Regnauld, ‘The Limits to “Socialist Remodeling”: Training Egyptians in GDR (1969-1989),’ Revue Européenne des Migrations Internationales 32, No.2 (May 2016), 57-76

³⁷ Pismo z Ambasady PRL w Chartumie do MSZ w Warszawie, Khartoum, 20 November 1969, Dep. V, 18/73, w-4, AMSZ.

³⁸ George Habash, Les révolutionnaires ne meurent jamais: Conversations avec Georges Malbrunot (Paris: Fayard, 2008), 66-7.

³⁹ Avraham Sela, ‘The PLO at Fifty: A Historical Perspective,’ Contemporary Review of the Middle East 1, No. 3 (2014), 302-5; see also Meng Shu and Aftab Hussain, ‘Transformation of the Palestine Liberation Organization: Goals and Means,’ Asian Journal of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies 12, No. 3 (2018), 342-53.

⁴⁰ From the Canadian Embassy in Beirut to the Under-Secretary of State for External Affairs in Ottawa about Palestinian Commando Groups, Beirut, 6 September 1968, RG25, vol. 9059, file 20-4-4, vol. 2, LAC.

⁴¹ Chamberlin, The Global Offensive, 70-71.

⁴² Aktualna sytuacja w palestyńskim ruchu narodowo-wyzwoleńczym, Beirut, 10 June 1968, Dep. V, 26/71, w-1, AMSZ,

⁴³ Dziedzic referred to Article 9 of the Palestinian National Charter from July 1968, that ‘Armed struggle is the only way to liberate Palestine’. See: ‘The Palestinian National Charter’ in Leila S. Kadi (ed,) Basic Political Documents of the Armed Palestinian Resistance Movement (Beirut: PLO Research Center, 1969), 137.

⁴⁴ Notatka Jana Dziedzica z podróży na Bliski Wschód /23.10-28.11.1968/, KC PZPR, XI/435, AAN, 18-19.

⁴⁵ Notatka służbowa dot. kontaktów z organizacją Al-Fatah, 9 June 1968, 2602/11416, Archiwum Instytutu Pamięci Narodowej [Archive of the Institute of National Remembrance, hereinafter: AIPN],1.

⁴⁶ Notatka służbowa dot. kontaktów z Al-Fatah, 11 September 1968, 2602/11416, AIPN, 12.

⁴⁷ Notatka służbowa dot. kontaktów z organizacją Al-Fatah, 9 June 1968, 2602/11416, AIPN, 2–5.

⁴⁸ Informacja dot. Al-Fatah, [July 1968], 2602/11416, AIPN, k. 7.

⁴⁹ Notatka służbowa dot. kontaktów z Al-Fatah, 11 September 1968, 2602/11416, AIPN, 11–14.

⁵⁰ Pismo gen. Włodzimierza Oliwy do gen. Bolesława Chochy, Warsaw, 5 October 1968. 00733/129, AIPN, 136.

⁵¹ Walter Laquer, The Age of Terrorism (Boston: Little Brown and Company, 1987), 276; Chamberlin, The Global Offensive, 61-62.

⁵² Helena Cobban, The Palestinian Liberation Organization. People, Power and Politics (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984), 217.

⁵³ From the Canadian Delegation to North Atlantic Council to The Under-Secretary of State for External Affairs about Information Committee – German Paper, Paris, 13.1.1967. RG25, vol. 9059, file 20-4-4, vol. 1, LAC.

⁵⁴ Dina Matar, ‘The PLO’s political communication arena; Arafat and the struggle for media legitimacy,’ British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, https://doi.org/10.1080/13530194.2022.2087598, published online: 08 June 2022, 5.

⁵⁵ Arab Terror Operations, [1968], RG25, vol. 9059, file 20-4-4, vol. 1, LAC,

⁵⁶ Background material on the terrorist organizations and the assistance which they are receiving from Arab states, April 1968, RG25, vol. 9059, file 20-4-4, vol. 1, LAC.

⁵⁷ Dannreuther, The Soviet Union and the PLO, 42.

⁵⁸ Ronen Bergman, ‘The KGB’s Middle East Files: Palestinians in the service of Mother Russia,’ 11 April 2016, https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4874089,00.html (accessed: 13 September 2022).

⁵⁹ Christopher Andrew and Vasili Mitrokhin, The Sword and the Shield. The Mitrokhin Archive and the Secret History of the KGB (New York: Basic Books, 1999), 380-382; see also Isabella Ginor, Gideon Remez, ‘The KGB’s Abduction Programme and the PFLP on the Cusp Between Intelligence and Terrorism’ in Adrian Hänni, Thomas Riegler and Przemysław Gasztold, Terrorism in the Cold War. State Support in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Sphere of Influence. Vol. 1 (London-New York: I.B. Tauris/Bloomsbury Publishing, 2021), 21-39; Ronen Bergman, Rise and Kill First. The Secret History of Israel’s Targeted Assassinations (New York, Random House, 2018), 196.

⁶⁰ George Habash, Die Feinde Der Palästinensischen Revolution, Amman 1970, Middle East Ephemera Collection, Archive of the American University of Beirut [hereinafter: AUB].

⁶¹ Herf, Undeclared Wars, 139.

⁶² Batović, ‘Nonaligned Yugoslavia’, 12.

⁶³ Cobban, The Palestinian Liberation Organization, 46.

⁶⁴ Chamberlain, The Global offensive, 51; Cobban, The Palestinian Liberation Organization, 221-2.

⁶⁵ Parafraza szyfrogramu nr 644, 26 February 1970, AIPN, 2602/9679, 98.

⁶⁶ Jilian Becker, The PLO. The Rise and Fall of the Palestine Liberation Organization (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1984), 169.

⁶⁷ Jordan Baev, ‘Bulgarian Military and Humanitarian Aid to Third World Countries: 1955-1975’ in Warsaw Pact Intervention, 309; Batović, ‘Nonaligned Yugoslavia’, 12.

⁶⁸ Notatka służbowa dot. kontaktów z OWP i Al-Fatah, 26 April 1969, 2602/11416, AIPN, 39; Karel Sieber: Československo a Blízký východ v letech 1948-1989 (Prague: Ústav mezinárodních vztahů, 2009); Mikuláš Pešta, ‘Reluctant revolutionaries: Czechoslovak support of revolutionary violence between decolonization and détente,’ Intelligence and National Security 37, No. 7 (2022), 1003-19.

⁶⁹ Maeke, DDR und PLO, 70, 75, 79-81; Herf, Undeclared Wars, 126, 139.

⁷⁰ Military Communique No. 89. The General Command of Assifa Forces, 5 January 1968. RG25, vol. 9059, file 20-4-4, vol. 1, LAC.

⁷¹ Abou Daoud, Giles du Jonchay, Palestine: De Jérusalem à Munich (Paris: Anne Carrière), 278.

⁷² Krzysztof Szczepanik, Anna Herman-Łukasik, Barbara Janicka (eds) Stosunki dyplomatyczne Polski. Informator. Tom IV. Afryka i Bliski Wschód 1918-2009 (Warsaw: MSZ, 2010), 229.

⁷³ Sprawozdanie płk. Mieczysława Ostrowskiego z wyjazdu służbowego do Republiki Libańskiej, Warsaw, 19 February 1969. 248/91/600, Centralne Archiwum Wojskowe-Wojskowe Biuro Historyczne [Central Military Archive – Military Historical Office, hereinafter: CAW-WBH], 82-9.

⁷⁴ Notatka służbowa dot. kontaktów z OWP, 9 March 1969. 2602/11416, AIPN, 33–6.

⁷⁵ Notatka służbowa Bolesława Łukawskiego z rozmowy z przedstawicielami sztabu OWP/Al-Fatah, Warsaw, 12 May 1969. 2602/9681, AIPN, 200.

⁷⁶ Notatka dot. przekazania wzorów pistoletów i amunicji, Warsaw, 24.10.1969. 248/91/608,CAW-WBH, 52.

⁷⁷ Notatka dot. zawarcia kontraktu nr 12910, Warsaw, 29 July 1969. 248/91/600, CAW-WBH, 308.

⁷⁸ Notatka dot. rozszerzenia zamówienia nr 12910, Warsaw, 27 August 1969. 248/91/607, CAW-WBH, 71.

⁷⁹ Notatka dot. zawarcia kontraktu nr 12911, Warsaw, 14 October 1969. 248/91/600, CAW-WBH, 312.

⁸⁰ Habash, Les révolutionnaires, 80.

⁸¹ A Strategy for the Liberation of Palestine, PFLP Information Department: Amman 1969. Middle East Ephemera Collection, AUB, 8.

⁸² Military Strategy of the PFLP, Beirut 1970. PF-P831mi, Institute of Palestine Studies [hereinafter: IPS], 40-2.

⁸³ Projekt komunikatu Polskiego Komitetu Solidarności z Narodami Azji i Afryki, Warsaw, 20 September 1969. Dep. V, 18/73, w-8, AMSZ..

⁸⁴ Materiały do rozmów z dr Nureddin Attasi w czasie jego oficjalnej wizyty w Polsce /17-21 listopada 1969/, Dep. V, 18/73, w-5, AMSZ.

⁸⁵ Address by the Al-Fateh Delegation to the Second International Conference in Support of the Arab Peoples, Cairo, January 1969. F157a, IPS, 4.

⁸⁶ Herf, Undeclared Wars, 132.

⁸⁷ ‘Protokół ze spotkania przywódców PZPR i KPZR w Moskwie, 3-4 marca 1969 r.’ in Tajne dokumenty Biura Politycznego. PRL-ZSRR 1956-1970 (Londyn: Aneks, 1998), 560-1.

⁸⁸ Sprawa Palestyńskich Organizacji Ruchu Oporu, [Nov 1969]. Dep. V, 18/73, w-5, AMSZ.

⁸⁹ Rozwój sytuacji wewnętrznej w Libanie, 27 January 1969, Dep. V, 18/73, w-4, AMSZ.

⁹⁰ Cenzin representatives arrived in Beirut on 29 January and departed on 4 February 1969.

⁹¹ Pismo z MSZ do MON, Warsaw, 3 July 1968, 248/91/600, CAW-WBH, 47.

⁹² Notatka służbowa dot. kontaktów z organizacją As-Saika, 26.05.1970, 2602/11416, AIPN, 52–5.

⁹³ Herf, ‘At War with Israel’, 145.

⁹⁴ Specification to Offer 398/70, Warsaw, 28 July 1970. 247/91/74, CAW-WBH, 123-124.

⁹⁵ Notatka służbowa dot. kontaktów z organizacją As-Saika, 1 July 1970, 2602/11416, AIPN, 56-7.

⁹⁶ Notatka dot. Szubria Buszakra, [January 1970]. 2602/11381, AIPN, 28–30.

⁹⁷ Informacja dot. Szubria Buszakra, 7 March 1970. 2602/11381, AIPN, 31.

⁹⁸ Invoice No. 607/E for PLA – Mustafa Lahaam – Damascus. Contract 12002, Warsaw, 9 April 1970. 247/91/96, CAW-WBH, 92.

⁹⁹ Pismo płk. Kazimierza Mazurka do płk. H. Boratyńskiego dot. pokazu sprzętu, Warsaw, 9 March 1970. 247/91/96, CAW-WBH, 93.

¹⁰⁰ Pismo płk. Henryka Boratyńskiego do Szefa Oddziału Wojskowych Spraw Zagranicznych Sztabu Generalnego, 10 March 1970. 248/91/607, CAW-WBH, 63.

¹⁰¹ Pismo płk. Henryka Boratyńskiego do Komendanta Wojskowego Instytutu Technicznego Uzbrojenia, 10 July 1970. 248/91/607, CAW-WBH, 64.

¹⁰² Notatka służbowa w sprawie dostaw uzbrojenia i sprzętu wojskowego do Syrii i dla arabskiej organizacji wyzwoleńczej Al-Fatah, Warsaw, 30 April 1970, 247/91/74, CAW-WBH, 39.

¹⁰³ Specification of goods to be delivered under contract no 12006, Beirut, 7 April 1970. 247/91/96, CAW-WBH, 117.

¹⁰⁴ Invoice No 1133/E, PMLN Beirut, Warsaw, 23 June 1970. 247/91/96, CAW-WBH, 159.

¹⁰⁵ Specification of goods to be delivered under contract No. 12009, Warsaw, 16 April 1970. 247/91/96, CAW-WBH.

¹⁰⁶ Specification of goods to be delivered under contract No. 12010, [April 1970]. 247/91/96, CAW-WBH, 208.

¹⁰⁷ Pismo płk. Kazimierza Mazurka do płk. H. Boratyńskiego, Warsaw, 23 November 1970. 247/91/188, CAW-WBH, 47-8.

¹⁰⁸ Kosztorys pobytu delegacji LFWP z Iraku, Warsaw, 20 November 1970. 247/91/188, CAW-WBH, 53.

¹⁰⁹ Specyfikacja towaru dostarczanego na podstawie kontraktu nr 12021 [Nov 1970]. 248/91/475, CAW-WBH, 5.

¹¹⁰ Pismo płk. Kazimierza Mazurka do płk. H. Boratyńskiego w sprawie kontraktu nr 12023/LFWP, 24 December 1970, 247/91/188, CAW-WBH, 1-5.

¹¹¹ PFLP Memorandum, 8 March 1971. 247/91/188, CAW-WBH, 180-1.

¹¹² Letter from the PFLP to the Ministry of Foreign Trade in Warsaw, Beirut, 17 April 1971. 247/91/188, CAW-WBH, 194-5.

¹¹³ International Terrorism: A Compendium. Volume II – Middle East, Defense Intelligence Agency, July 1979, Terrorism and US Policy, 1968-2002. TE600, National Security Archive (hereinafter: NSA), 25; Chamberlin, The Global Offensive, 52; Becker, The PLO, 165-6.

¹¹⁴ For more on Polish-Libyan military cooperation, see: Przemysław Gasztold, Jarosław Solarz, ‘Arms, Advisors and Weapons of Mass Destruction: Polish-Libyan Military Cooperation, 1970-1990,’ International History Review 44, No. 4, (2022): 791-811.

¹¹⁵ Pismo płk. Kazimierza Mazurka do płk. H. Boratyńskiego dot. kontraktu nr 12114, Warsaw, 16 June 1971. 247/91/188, CAW-WBH, 334.

¹¹⁶ Specification of goods to be delivered under contract no 12410, [June 1974]. 249/91/539, CAW-WBH, 34.

¹¹⁷ Specification of goods to be delivered under contract no 12413, [October 1974]. 249/91/513, CAW-WBH, 362.

¹¹⁸ Notatka informacyjna o ruchu palestyńskim, Warsaw, 30.07.1974. KC PZPR, LXXVI-868, AAN.

¹¹⁹ From Canadian Embassy in Beirut, 7 February 1969. RG25, vol. 9059, file 20-4-4, vol. 2, LAC.

¹²⁰ Notatka o przemycie broni z zagranicy, [1970], 2602/11416, AIPN, 59.

¹²¹ The Palestinians and the Fedayeen as Factors in the Middle East Situation, National Intelligence Estimate 30-71, 11 February 1971, 6. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp00t02041r000100220001-1 (accessed 8 August 2023).

¹²² Notatka w sprawie dostaw sprzętu specjalnego dla OWP, 1 March 1978. 247/91/903, CAW-WBH, 103.

¹²³ Notatka informacyjna o ruchu palestyńskim.

¹²⁴ Chamberlin, The Global Offensive, 115.

¹²⁵ Przemówienie ministra Stefana Jędrychowskiego. ‘Biuletyn tygodniowy MSZ nr 51/70’. KC PZPR, XIA-1, AAN, 283.

¹²⁶ Habash, Les révolutionnaires, 93.

¹²⁷ Jerzy Eisler, Grudzień 1970. Geneza, przebieg, konsekwencje (Warsaw: IPN, 2020).

¹²⁸ Ocena sytuacji na Bliskim Wschodzie, 14.04.1971. KC PZPR, XI-552, AAN, 17.

¹²⁹ Ocena aktualnej sytuacji na Bliskim Wschodzie [1971]. KC PZPR, XI-533, AAN, 64.

¹³⁰ Protokół z rozmowy Edwarda Gierka z Azizem Sidki, Warsaw, 29 January 1971. KC PZPR, XI-533, AAN, 51.

¹³¹ Sprawozdanie z przebiegu wizyty Przewodniczącego Rady Państwa w Arabskiej Republice Syryjskiej /17-20 February 1973/, 23 February 1973. KC PZPR, XI-524, AAN, 66-67.

¹³² Tezy do rozmów z premierem Indii, 12 January 1973. KC PZPR, XI-53559, AAN.

¹³³ For more on the role of Solidarity Conferences with Palestine, see: Sorcha Thomson, Pelle V. Olsen, Sune Haugbolle, ‘Palestine Solidarity Conferences in the Global Sixties,’ Journal of Palestine Studies 51, No. 1 (2022), 27–49.

¹³⁴ ‘Notatka Wydziału Zagranicznego dotycząca udziału PZPR w międzynarodowej konferencji solidarności z Palestyńczykami, Warsaw, 25 września 1972’ [in:] Włodzimierz Borodziej (ed.) Polskie Dokumenty Dyplomatyczne 1972 (Warsaw: PISM, 2005), 519.

¹³⁵ Kirisci, The PLO, 110.

¹³⁶ Herf, Undeclared Wars, 155, 198-9.

¹³⁷ Available documents do not reveal whether Gierek and his entourage were aware of previous arms deliveries made to the PLO. The evaluations of Polish-PLO relations prepared by the MFA and by the Foreign Branch of the PUWP for Party leaderships between 1974 and 1989 always date the mutual relations back to 1974 and not before this point. While they mention Polish support for the PLO in the form of scholarships, medical and humanitarian aid, they never discuss the arms deliveries – probably suggesting that military contacts were classified and shared on a strictly ‘need to know’ basis.

¹³⁸ ‘Szyfrogram Nr 11051 z Damaszku, 13.08.1973’ in Piotr M. Majewski (ed.) Polskie Dokumenty Dyplomatyczne 1973 (Warsaw: PISM, 2006), 417-8.

¹³⁹ Wanda Jarząbek, ‘Dyplomacja polska w warunkach odprężenia (styczeń 1969 – lipiec 1975)’ [in:] Wojciech Materski, Waldemar Michowicz (eds) Historia polskiej dyplomacji. Tom VI. 1944/45-1989 (Warsaw: PISM, 2010), 718.

¹⁴⁰ ‘Szyfrogram ministra spraw zagranicznych do ambasadora w Damaszku’ in Polskie Dokumenty Dyplomatyczne 1973, 529.

¹⁴¹ Memorandum of Conversation between Hafez al-Assad and Henry Kissinger, Damascus, 11 October 1974. KT01361, NSA, 25.

¹⁴² Notatka w sprawie udzielonej pomocy Rządowi Republiki Syryjskiej, Warsaw, 22 January 1976. KC PZPR, XI-526, AAN, 2-3.

¹⁴³ The first UNEF was created after the Arab-Israeli War of 1956 and was deployed between Egyptian and Israeli border. In May 1967 Egypt asked UNEF to leave the country and during the evacuation in June 1967 Israel launched a military offensive starting the Six-Day War.

¹⁴⁴ ‘Protokół Nr 11/73 z posiedzenia Rady Ministrów’ in Polskie Dokumenty Dyplomatyczne 1973, 558-560.

¹⁴⁵ Zygmunt Czarnotta, Zbigniew Moszumański, ‘Polskie misje pokojowe na Bliskim Wschodzie,’ Wiedza Obronna 2 (2009), 24-43.

¹⁴⁶ Informacja KC KPZR, [1973]. KC PZPR, XIA-601, AAN, 3.

¹⁴⁷ Sela, ‘The PLO at Fifty’, 307.

¹⁴⁸ O trwały i sprawiedliwy pokój na Bliskim Wschodzie, 17-18 April 1974. KC PZPR, XI-806, AAN, 49.

¹⁴⁹ ‘Notatka dyrektora Departamentu V’ in Aleksander Kochański Mikołaj Morzycki-Markowski (ed.) Polskie Dokumenty Dyplomatyczne 1974 (Warsaw: PISM, 2007), 279-80.

¹⁵⁰ Notatka informacyjna o ruchu palestyńskim.

¹⁵¹ Informacja o pobycie w Polsce delegacji OWP, 9 August 1974. KC PZPR, LXXVI-868, AAN; ‘Notatka informacyjna o przebiegu rozmów z delegacją Organizacji Wyzwolenia Palestyny, Warsaw, 15 August 1974’ in Polskie Dokumenty Dyplomatyczne 1974, 530-531.

¹⁵² ‘Pilna notatka, Warsaw, 8 listopada 1974’ in Polskie Dokumenty Dyplomatyczne 1974, 694-5.

¹⁵³ Report of the Polish Solidarity Committee with the Peoples of Asia and Africa activities during 1972 and 1973, PKSzNAAiAŁ-20, AAN, 13-16.

¹⁵⁴ The Activities of the Polish Solidarity Committee with the Peoples of Asia and Africa, [1974]. PKSzNAAiAŁ-20, AAN.

¹⁵⁵ Report of the Polish Solidarity Committee for 1974. PKSzNAAiAŁ-20, AAN, 31.

¹⁵⁶ Sprawozdanie z działalności KSzNAiA w 1975. PKSzNAAiAŁ-20, AAN, 54.

¹⁵⁷ Martin Gilbert, The Routledge Atlas of Arab-Israeli Conflict, 8^th Edition (Abingdon: Routledge, 2005), 103.

¹⁵⁸ Report of the Polish Solidarity Committee for 1974.

¹⁵⁹ Notatka służbowa, 12 March 1968. 2602/9853, AIPN, 12.

¹⁶⁰ Polityczne aspekty współpracy z krajami rozwijającymi się, [1975]. KC PZPR, XI-538, AAN, 91.

¹⁶¹ Sprawozdanie z działalności KSzNAiA w 1975. PKSzNAAiAŁ-20, AAN, 54. These six Palestinians were expelled from Albania. See Këlliçi, ‘The PLO and Communist Albania’, 59.

¹⁶² Sprawozdanie z działalności PKSzNAiA za 1976. PKSzNAAiAŁ-20, AAN, 63.

¹⁶³ Notatka, 29 July 1975. KC PZPR, LXXVI-541, AAN, 44.

¹⁶⁴ Sprawozdanie z działalności PKSzNAiA za 1976 r., 63.

¹⁶⁵ Sprawozdanie z działalności PKSzNAiA w 1975 r. PKSzNAAiAŁ-20, AAN, 54,

¹⁶⁶ Tezy do rozmów z delegacją OWP, Warsaw, 8 November 1975. KC PZPR, LXXVI-868, AAN.

¹⁶⁷ Yassim-Yassen Fuad-Fouad, 1976-1983. 01222/2426, AIPN.

¹⁶⁸ Protokół powołania w Warszawie Stałego Przedstawicielstwa OWP /projekt/, 1976. KC PZPR, LXXVI-868, AAN.

¹⁶⁹ Pismo Sekretarza Generalnego PKSzNAiA, Warsaw, 28 June 1976. KC PZPR, LXXVI-868, AAN.

¹⁷⁰ Sprawozdanie z działalności PKSzNAiA za 1976, 67.

¹⁷¹ Informacja o pobycie w Polsce Faruka Kaddumi, Warsaw, 25 March 1976. KC PZPR, LXXVI-868, AAN.

¹⁷² In Portuguese: Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola, MPLA.

¹⁷³ In Portuguese: Partido Africano para a Independência da Guiné e Cabo Verde, PAIGC.

¹⁷⁴ In Portuguese: Frente de Libertação de Moçambique, FRELIMO.

¹⁷⁵ Sprawozdanie z działalności PKSzNAiA za 1976, 63.

¹⁷⁶ Thomas Kunze, Ceaușescu. Piekło na ziemi, (Warsaw: Prószyński i S-ka, 2016), 232-3.

Additional information

Funding

National Science Centre, Poland, under Research Project no 2019/35/D/HS3/03581.