<P> After the eruption of the First Intifada and the subsequent Oslo Accords the PFLP had difficulty establishing itself in the West Bank and Gaza Strip . At that time (1993--96) Hamas enjoyed rapidly rising popularity in the wake of their successful strategy of suicide bombings devised by Yahya Ayyash ("the Engineer"). The fall of the Soviet Union together with the rise of Islamism--and particularly the increased popularity of the Islamist groups Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad--disoriented many left activists who looked towards the Soviet Union, and has marginalised the PFLP's role in Palestinian politics and armed resistance . However, the organization retains considerable political influence within the PLO, since no new elections have been held for the organisation's legislative body, the PNC . </P> <P> The PFLP developed contacts at this time with Islamic fundamentalist groups linked to Iran--both Palestinian Hamas, and the Lebanon - based Hizbullah--a detour from its avowedly Marxist orientation . The PLO's agreement with Israel in September 1993, and negotiations which followed, further isolated it from the umbrella organization and led it to conclude a formal alliance with the Iranian backed groups . </P> <P> As a result of its post-Oslo weakness, the PFLP has been forced to adapt slowly and find partners among politically active, preferably young, Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, in order to compensate for their dependence on their aging commanders returning from or remaining in exile . The PFLP has therefore formed alliances with other leftist groups formed within the Palestinian Authority, including the Palestinian People's Party, the Popular Resistance Committees of Gaza . </P> <P> In 1990, the PFLP transformed its Jordan branch into a separate political party, the Jordanian Popular Democratic Unity Party . </P>

People's front for the liberation of palestine