BLACK SEPTEMBER
 

If someone speaks of the Black September, he probably talks about one of two things:

a) the civil war in Jordan in September 17 - 25, 1970, or

b) the Palestinian extremist group Black September.

About Black September - Jordan's civil war

Who fought?
King Hussein of Jordan and his army fought against the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO.)

Why did they fight?
The PLO had their headquarters in Jordan from where they planned and launched attacks on Israel. Israel fought back and Jordanians were killed. King Hussein wanted the organization out of his country.

Who won?
The king won, the PLO moved to Beirut, Lebanon.

A ceasefire was signed on September 25, 1970. But the fighting continued until 1971 when the Jordanian army had driven the Palestinians out of Jordan.

About Black September - THE PALESTINIAN EXTREMIST GROUP

Why the name?
The group called themselves Black September after the month in which Jordan started showing Palestinians the door, September 1970.

What triggered the forming of this group?
In July 1971, Jordan killed a prominent PLO leader. Some Palestinians were ready to fight back and kick it up a notch.

At the Olympic Games in Munich, Germany, in September 1972, the group took Israeli athletes hostage and demanded the release of Palestinian prisoners. The deal didn't come through and 11 Israeli athletes, 5 Palestinian terrorists and 1 German policeman died in the resulting shoot-out.