Fatahland

Fatahland or Fatah land was a term used by Israel to refer to the areas in Southern Lebanon controlled by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and its largest faction, Fatah, during the Palestinian insurgency in South Lebanon from 1968 to 1982. Today, the term is used to refer to Fatah's governance over the Palestinian enclaves in the West Bank, as opposed to Hamastan, in the context of the Fatah–Hamas conflict that has been ongoing since 2006.

History
The term "Fatahland" emerged following the Six-Day War in 1967, after which the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) relocated to southern Lebanon and established a semi-autonomous region there. This effort gained momentum with the complete relocation of PLO leadership from Jordan to Lebanon following Black September from 1970 to 1971, which led to the PLO being expelled from Jordan. With its own army operating freely in Lebanon, the PLO had effectively created a state within a state in Lebanon. The 1969 Cairo agreement, signed by PLO chairman Yasser Arafat and Lebanese Armed Forces commander Emile Boustany, established that the presence and activities of Palestinian guerrillas in southern Lebanon would be tolerated and regulated by the Lebanese authorities.

Israel regarded "Fatahland" as a serious threat, as Palestinian fedayeen used the area as a base for launching artillery shells and guerrilla operations into Galilee. Fatah grew in power in Lebanon during the Lebanese Civil War. In March 1978, Israel invaded southern Lebanon up to the Litani River in an effort to drive the PLO away from the Israeli border. Control of the area near the Israeli border was subsequently transferred to the South Lebanon Army. In 1982, Israel launched another invasion of Lebanon with the goal of eliminating the PLO. Following the Israeli siege of Beirut, the PLO evacuated and relocated to Tunisia.

Following the escalation of the Fatah–Hamas conflict into a civil war, Fatah and Hamas respectively seized control of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Consequently, the West Bank was described as a new Fatahland. According to Riyad al-Maliki, instead of a two-state solution with a united State of Palestine and Israel as neighbors, the new map of the region may feature Gaza as a country and the West Bank as another, with Israel situated in between. Scholars note that Israel, the United States, and the European Union viewed the split favorably as it allowed for the Islamist government in Gaza to be isolated while the Fatah government in the West Bank could engage in agreements more amenable to Israel.