Battle of Amman

Overview

The Battle of Amman took place in September 1970 between forces of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Jordanian Army. Hussein's government considered that the casus belli of the battle was the hijacking of planes carried out by the Popular Front on 6 September. On 17 September, the army launched a big attack against a Palestinian commandos bases in Amman.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Battle of Amman was the central confrontation of the Black September crisis, pitting the Jordanian Army against PLO forces operating within the kingdom. Hussein's government used the Popular Front's aircraft hijackings of 6 September as the casus belli to justify a full military campaign against Palestinian commando bases in Amman. The army launched its major assault on 17 September, signaling the Jordanian state's determination to reassert sovereignty over territory and armed factions that had effectively operated as a state within a state. With Jordanian casualties recorded at 5,000, the engagement reflected the scale and intensity of urban fighting involved. The battle marked the decisive turn in Hussein's effort to suppress the PLO's military presence in Jordan, a confrontation that defined the broader Black September conflict and ultimately led to the expulsion of PLO forces from Jordanian territory.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (3)