fighters, mostly because they were no longer needed and because of lack of funds. Organization and structure Since 2007, Farhan Abu Hayja has been Secretary-General of as-Sa'iqa. Muhammad al-Khalifa is its representative on the PLO Executive Committee, but boycotts sessions of the PLO EC. During much of the 1970s, as-Sai'qa's representatives in the PLO EC (Muhsin and al-Qadi) held the prestigious and sensitive post of Head of the Military Department, which reflected the military importance of the movement in those years. Syrian backing in the 1970s gave as-Sa'iqa a military weight far greater than its political influence, which has always been small. During the Lebanese Civil War, it was often the second largest Palestinian faction in fighting strength, after Yassir Arafat's Fatah movement. Under the name Eagles of the Palestinian Revolution - possibly the name of the armed wing of as-Sa'iqa - the organization committed a number of international terrorist attacks. Among these was the 1979 takeover of the Egyptian embassy in Ankara, Turkey (although attributed to Fatah) and a kidnapping of Jews emigrating by train through Austria from the Soviet Union to Israel. Since the early 1990s, the organization has not committed any known attacks, and it is not listed on the U.S. State Department list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations. Ideological profile As-Sa'iqa's political agenda is identical to that of Ba'athist Syria, i.e., Arab socialist, nationalist and strongly committed to Pan-Arab doctrine. While this reflects its Ba'thist programme, it has also used Pan-Arabism as a means of supporting the primacy of its sponsor, Syria, over the Arafat-led PLO's claim to exclusive representation of the Palestinian people. Thus, it rejected "Palestinization" of the conflict with Israel, insisting on the necessary involvement of the greater Arab nation. This occasionally went to extremes, with as-Sa'iqa leaders denying the existence of a separate Palestinian people within the wider Arab nation. The group has generally taken a hard line stance (reflecting that of Syria) on issues such as the recognition of Israel, the Oslo Accords, and other questions of Palestinian goals and political orientation. It was a member of the 1974 Rejectionist Front, despite supporting the Ten Point Programme that initially caused the PLO/Rejectionist Front split. See also Damour massacre Aishiyeh massacre Arab–Israeli conflict Arab Liberation Front Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command Fatah al-Intifada Palestine Liberation Army Notes References Pity the Nation: Lebanon at War Fisk, Robert (2001) ()