Arabs Report Popular Front, El Fatah Merge and Plan Tactics Change

Arab radio stations reported today that the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine has merged with El Fatah, bringing the two major terrorist organizations under a single command. The Popular Front claimed credit for hijacking the El Al airliner last July 23 and forcing it to fly to Algeria. El Fatah, until recently directed by Syria, is now being run by Egypt although its main bases are in Jordan.

It was reported here that the Palestinian guerrilla organizations are changing their tactics which will result in greater emphasis on terrorist activities inside Israel and fewer clashes across the cease-fire lines with Israeli forces. Their aim will be to infiltrate deep into Israeli territory, and to this end more use may be made of the Lebanese frontier. Sources said that the new plans call for withdrawing the commando bases from the east valley of the Jordan to positions in the hinterland that are not within easy reach of Israeli strikes. King Hussein was reported by West Bank residents to have told El Fatah leaders that they must coordinate their activities with the Jordanian Army or else the Army would fight them. Observers here discounted the latter possibility because of El Fatah’s popularity with the Palestinians who are now a majority of Jordan’s population.

Two Israeli border policemen were killed and nine soldiers and border policemen and three civilians were injured in renewed outbreaks of shooting during the past two days along the Israel-Jordan demarcation line and in the Sinai. One of the border policemen was killed and three of his companions were injured during a Jordanian attack on their armored car in the northern Beisan Valley Friday morning. The other policeman was killed and six soldiers were wounded in a 45-minute artillery duel that erupted Saturday near the confluence of the Jordan and Yarmuk rivers in the Beisan area, a military spokesman reported. Fire was also exchanged with Syrian forces.