Palestine Liberation Army
|
|
The Palestine Liberation Army, also known as the PLA, was a regular military force recruited from among Palestinians by the Syrians. It was trained and equipped by them and was not under the umbrella of the PLO.
It reached a maximum strength of 12,000 men deployed in 8 brigades. They were equipped and trained by the Syrians as a Palestinian Auxiliary to the Syrian army with at least one brigade seconded to the Egyptian army. It saw extensive operations in Lebanon. All of its personnel wore uniforms and served in its infantry brigades or small as saiqa (Arabic for lightning) commando battalions. They were equipped with small arms, mortars, rocket launchers, wheeled armored personnel carriers and T34 tanks.
It was largely destroyed as a fighting force during Operation Peace for Galilee, the 1982 Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon. Some of them later became the core of the Palestinian Authority's National Guard.