After Jordan lost control of the West Bank to Israel in 1967 , Palestinian fighters known as fedayeen moved their bases to Jordan and stepped up their attacks on Israel and Israeli-occupied territories . One Israeli retaliation on a PLO camp based in Karameh , a Jordanian town along the border with the West Bank , developed into a full-scale battle . The perceived joint Jordanian-Palestinian victory in the 1968 Battle of Karameh led to an upsurge in Arab support for the Palestinian fighters in Jordan . The PLO 's strength in Jordan grew , and by the beginning of 1970 , groups within the PLO had started to openly call for the overthrow of the Hashemite monarchy . Acting as a state within a state , the fedayeen disregarded local laws and regulations , and even attempted to assassinate King Hussein twice — leading to violent confrontations between them and the Jordanian army in June 1970 . Hussein wanted to oust the fedayeen from the country , but hesitated to strike because he did not want his enemies to use it against him by equating Palestinian fighters with civilians . PLO actions in Jordan culminated in the Dawson 's Field hijackings incident of 6 September , in which the fedayeen hijacked three civilian aircraft and forced their landing in Zarqa , taking foreign nationals as hostages , and later blowing up the planes in front of international press . Hussein saw this as the last straw , and ordered the army to move
Dawson 's Field hijackings
Dawson's Field hijackings
Black September