Rare and remarkable periodical, published by the Palestine National Liberation Movement or Fatah. This was a revolutionary group, and later a political party, founded in 1957 by Yasser Arafat (1929-2004), Khalil al-Wazir (1935-1988) and 3 or 4 others. The movement published numerous periodicals and pamphlets between 1968-1972, but Fateh is the most important one. Originally published in Arabic, it was also issued in English from 1969 (bi-weekly), in French from 1970 (monthly) and in Italian from 1971 (bi-weekly). We have not been able to find any other English issues of this periodical for sale anywhere else.
The name of the group, Fatah, is an acronym in reverse for "Harakat al-Tahrir al-Watani al-Filastini", the Arabic translation of "Palestine National Liberation Movement". The intention of the founders was to create an organisation that was independent of governments and political parties, with the goal to liberate Palestine through low-intensity guerilla warfare. It was part of several armed fights with Israeli and Jordan forces during the 1960s and 70s. Fatah modelled itself after the revolutionary groups of Algeria, Vietnam and Cuba. On page 9 of the present issue of Fateh a large photo has been printed of a group of protesters holding signs with the images of the leaders of these revolutions, which is a clear message to the reader.
The present issue of Fateh, contains numerous articles with news from or about Palestine and the movement. It was printed a few months after Black September, the bloody clash between Fatah and the Jordanian army in 1970, during which thousands of Palestines were either killed or expelled from Jordan. The first few pages of the periodical are dedicated to this event and other clashes between the two groups that resulted from it. Other articles discuss a 10-hour battle near Tel Aviv, the relationship between America and Israel, and injustices against Palestinians. Of particular interest are the three powerful full-page illustrations. They were designed in 1970 and issued separately as posters. The first image, of a rifle with an olive branch, was designed by Natheer Naba'a, who is only known for his posters for Fateh. The second image, called "stolen smile", shows a photo of a group of determined children and was designed by Jassem el Zubeidy, who is only known for this design. The last image is an illustration of a Palestinian woman with a moving text about Palestine, designed by Palestinian artist Kamal Boullata (1942-2019).
The periodical is somewhat browned and inkstained, and the edges are slightly frayed. Otherwise in good condition. The English language Fateh periodical is present in ca. 30 libraries worldwide, not all possess all volumes issued 1969-1971, see WorldCat 1568957, 145144012, 72895793, 1036673977, 924471377, 898713265; cf. Interactive encyclopedia of the Palestine question, entry: the Palestinian national liberation movement; Periodicals in review: periodicals and pamphlets published by the Palestinian commando organisations. In: Journal of Palestine studies, vol. 1 (1) , 1971, pp. 136-151.