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Why did the Palestine Liberation Organization form in 1964?

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Panoramic view of a small valley with a stream, olive trees, and terraced hillsides in the countryside near Ramallah, Palestine, under a sky with scattered clouds. — Palestine View from a small valley with a stream between large hills of olive groves.

The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was formed in 1964 at an Arab summit meeting primarily to centralize the leadership of various Palestinian groups.123

Following the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, Palestinians had been dispersed across several countries and lacked a unified central authority. Consequently, many small, diffuse resistance organizations emerged, often operating under the patronage of different Arab states, which limited the effectiveness of Palestinian political activity. By creating the PLO, the Arab states aimed to bring these disparate groups together under one umbrella organization.243

Initially, the PLO did little to advance Palestinian self-determination, as its leadership was closely tied to Egypt and its military forces were integrated into the armies of surrounding Arab states. It was only after the 1967 Six-Day War—which discredited the Arab states—that the PLO began to be widely recognized as the representative of the Palestinians and started promoting a distinctively Palestinian agenda, leading to a push for greater autonomy in their struggle with Israel.2135