" Bickering over the intentional ambiguity of the document began immediately, while the situation on the Israeli-Egyptian bor- der . THE PLO AND JORDAN The 1967 War created more than 400,000 Palestinian refugees, most of whom went to Jordan. With this influx of Palestinians, the Jordanian government and the PLO were thrown together in a tense relationship: Hussein wanted to hold secret peace negotiations with the Israelis, while the PLO hoped to use Jordan as a base for attacks on Israeli-held territory. Responding to PLO raids, the Israeli army attacked the Jordanian town of Karameh. Though the town's resident Palestinians were defeated, the image of FATAH members standing together against Israeli forces became a successful image for FATAH. Young recruits flocked to it, giving the PLO greater control over the camps and threatening Hussein's sovereignty. In September 1970, Hussein and PLO leader Yassir Arafat's conflicting ambitions exploded. Infuriated by a hard-line PLO faction's hijacking of a number of com- mercial airliners , Hussein declared war on the PLO. Martial law was imposed, and fighting between Jordanian and PLO troops took over 3000 lives. September 1970 became known among Palestinians as Black September. After Arab League mediation and Nasser's personal intervention, an agreement was forged, requiring the PLO to move its headquarters to Lebanon. In October 1974, the Arab League declared in Rabat, Morocco that the PLO, not Jordan, was "the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people." This incensed King Hussein, but when the other 20 Arab nations assented to PLO repre- sentation in the League, he was forced to agree. In November 1974, the UN Gen- I eral Assembly granted the PLO observer status in the UN. WAR AND PEACE: 1970-1988 WAR OF ATTRITION. In 1969, with the help of Soviet military instruction and sup- plies, Egypt launched the War of Attrition against Israel. The two governments hoped to extract concessions from Israel by inflicting heavy material and human losses on the country. Within a few years, the war became too heavy a burden for Egypt to bear. In order to alleviate his country's financial crisis, Nasser's succes- I sor, Anwar Sadat, sought to reopen the lucrative Suez canal and reclaim the desper- ately needed Sinai oil fields. In 1972, he expelled the Soviet military advisors in Egypt, and seeing little hope in negotiations, began preparing to attack Israel. YOM KIPPUR WAR. On October 6, 1973, when most Israelis were in synagogues for Yom Kippur , the holiest day of the Jewish year, Egypt and Syria launched a surprise assault. In the war's first three days, Egyptian forces I crossed the Suez Canal, swept through the Golan Heights and almost reached the Jordan River. Within a matter of days, Israel launched a series of fierce missile attacks that stopped the Arab advance. The Arab states initiated an oil embargo against the United States and Holland in retaliation for their support of Israel.