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Why did the Palestine Liberation Organization move its main base to Lebanon?

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

The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) moved its main base to Lebanon following its forced expulsion from Jordan in 1971.1

During the late 1960s, the PLO utilized bases in Jordan to launch guerrilla attacks against Israel. These operations triggered significant Israeli reprisals and created internal instability within Jordan, leading to a direct conflict between the PLO and the government of King Hussein. Following a violent confrontation in 1970—often referred to as Black September—the Jordanian army forcibly expelled the PLO from the country.12

After being driven out of Jordan, the PLO relocated its headquarters to Lebanon, which the organization viewed as its last available refuge. This relocation eventually contributed to the polarization of Lebanese society and the country's subsequent slide into civil war.13