Despite Hussein 's intervention , militant actions in Jordan continued . On 15 September 1970 , the PFLP ( part of the PLO ) hijacked four planes and landed three of them at Dawson 's Field , located east of Amman . After the foreign national hostages were taken off the planes and moved away from them , three of the planes were blown up in front of international press , which took photos of the explosion . This tarnished Arafat 's image in many western nations , including the United States , who held him responsible for controlling Palestinian factions that belonged to the PLO . Arafat , bowing to pressure from Arab governments , publicly condemned the hijackings and suspended the PFLP from any guerrilla actions for a few weeks . He had taken the same action after the PFLP attacked Athens Airport . The Jordanian government moved to regain control over its territory , and the next day , King Hussein declared martial law . On the same day , Arafat became supreme commander of the PLA
Dawson 's Field
Dawson's Field hijackings
Yasser Arafat