Fatah, which means victory through Jihad (holy war), is the leading political and military faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). It was founded in 1959 in Kuwait by the late Yassar Arafat, who passed away on Thursday, having risen to become leader of the Palestinian National Authority.

Fatah, which originally advocated direct military confrontation with Israel to win back land lost to the Jewish state, is recognized as the ruling party of Palestine by the Arab world.

Fatah joined the PLO in 1968 and subsequently assumed the leading role in the organization in 1969. Since then, Fatah has been the PLO's most prominent faction under the direct control of PLO Chairman Yassar Arafat.

As part of a strategy to gain mainstream recognition out of itsearlier incarnation as a guerilla organization, Fatah's politics in the 1980s changed dramatically from hardline militarism to pragmatic politics.

In 1993, Arafat signed the Declaration of Principles with Israel and renounced terrorism and violence. Fatah also accepted the existence of Israel and the principle of "land for peace."

Fatah maintains several armed wings including Force 17, the Hawari Special Operations Group, Tazim and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades.

Fatah's emblem, in which the grenade and crossed rifles are superimposed on the map of Palestine, symbolizes Fatah's commitment to armed struggle against Israeli occupation until a Palestinian state is created.

(Xinhua News Agency November 11, 2004)