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How did the PLO’s recognition of UN resolutions change its policy toward Israel?

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Yasser Arafat Yasser Arafat, leader of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), wearing the keffiyeh, 1996.

The Palestine Liberation Organization’s (PLO) recognition of United Nations Resolution 242 and Resolution 338 marked a fundamental shift in its policy toward Israel. By formally accepting these resolutions, the PLO tacitly acknowledged Israel’s right to exist as a state in the region.12

This move represented a departure from the organization's long-standing objective of replacing Israel with a secular, democratic state across all of Palestine. Instead, the PLO adopted a more conciliatory and flexible approach, favoring a two-state solution that envisioned separate Israeli and Palestinian states, with the latter established in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.1

Furthermore, in conjunction with this recognition, the PLO leadership under Yasser Arafat condemned terrorism in all its forms. These policy changes served as a critical foundation for the Oslo Accords, which eventually led to mutual recognition between the PLO and the Israeli government and the creation of the Palestinian Authority.21